This.
Not sure why everyone's having a go at the bankers/recession for causing the budget deficit/cuts. It was the overspending by Labour that got us into this mess.
Has Britain gone soft
- Thread starter jas72
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This.
Not sure why everyone's having a go at the bankers/recession for causing the budget deficit/cuts. It was the overspending by Labour that got us into this mess.
It argueable that by the Government keeping their shares in the banks they could end up making a profit as they bought the shares at near rock bottom.
Also just because there is money to gained elsewhere doesn't mean the civil service/benefits system isn't in need of a radical overhaul to make it more efficient and sensible.
Why would we want to do that after they have started making a profit again?
What is Tridan and what money would that free up?
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Many people seem to have conveniently forgotten that Labour got us into this mess. I wonder why.
i would put us in at gas mark 6 for 10 minutes.
If the government flooded the stock market with its shares of RBS, Northern Rock and Hailfax the share price would plummet and they would be worthless. Once the banks get sorted out (and they are getting there) the gov. can sell the shares at a rate higher than they paid and recoup a chunk of change. They wont own RBS forever as it's just not in their interests to do so. And they sure as hell won't just give the shares away. It would be political suicide.
Trident isn't a problem, Tridents replacement is where the problem lies and that is still up in the air. Some are adamant that we need a red button while others don't think so. In reality i don't think we need it when we could just do what canada does and house US missiles for them instead of owning our own. That however is a massive and seperate debate.
The gov will eventually sell the stakes it has in these banks, but it would be better if they do it when they are in the money. If the economy grows a bit that should happen fast.
I agree with you on Trident, it should be scrapped.
Nonetheless, as others have pointed out, the fact that we could save money by doing what you suggested doesn't mean that we should let overspending in other sectors continue.
Finally, about pensions. The pension system was designed decades ago with different social/demographic circumstances in mind. Things have changed, people live longer (and work for longer) and the system has to change too.
What we still don't know is what damage would have been done by not bailing them out. The Us have already brought in legislation to prevent any bank form being "to big to fail" in the future. I don't know if the UK has yet.
I do totally agree about the unknown, i am still surprised they are as free to operate as they want to. (with a government umbrella)
The deficit wasn't caused by the credit crunch rather by increased government spending over many years. FWIW the govt will be getting its money back + interest from the now majority state owned banks.
We do need to cut back on spending otherwise we'll end up in a situation not too dissimilar from Greece.
The private sector is finite and taxation only produces X amount of revenue - you can't keep spending and handing out in benefits/pensions an amount bigger than X each year - we're getting to the point where it is unsustainable - benefits need to be reformed/cut, people will need to work for longer and govt departments that have seen increased spending year on year will need to face cuts.
We're facing a retirement age of 65 at present so it is a complete joke that the french are moaning about an increase from 60 to 62.
That's because it's what we wanted. At least the majority did.
We are broke. To the tune of almost a trillion sterling pounds. Yes a trillion. The sooner people try to understand how many years it will take to pay this off and return to anything resembling the "open tap" Labour boom years, the better. I doubt this country will ever recover, personally.
Tbh.. the people who lack the ability to sort their own lives out and are continually reliant on the state are the ones acting like babies here.
Its a complete joke that they want to be spoon fed by the state (other tax payers) without any thought of the consequences.
The state has a finite amount of money to spend out of its total income from taxation - if more and more people are getting old and living for longer then the current pensions provisions likely won't work - something has to give... raising the retirement age for example.
If you want to retire at 60 then contribute to your own pension/savings and retire at 60. No one is stopping that, the state is simply turning around and realising that they'll soon have a much larger population of pensioners and relatively fewer people in work subsidising them.
I agree with you but the vast majority of people are not in an earning position where saving extra money is viable, but then isn't this where the whole lousy endless credit, buy now pay later culture has come from.
We need a culture shift with a new respect for money and work that we lost somewhere in the last 25 years.
revolution now, comrades.
/smileyface just in case anyone takes the last line seriously
We need a culture shift with a new respect for money and work that we lost somewhere in the last 25 years.
revolution now, comrades.
/smileyface just in case anyone takes the last line seriously