What is Happening in the Real Economy ?

Bigpeetee said:
However, the Lazy culture that has developed in this country is partly to blame.

I know young parents, male & female, that are on the breadline, yet still buy ready prepared vegetables in supermarkets.

They can't be bothered to peel and slice, even saying they don't know how too.

How can we have a generation that can't/won't peal a vegetable, never mind cook them.??

Sorry, but there's something missing in our parenting skills as a nation.

We've collectively kidded our children into believing that it's OK to buy,buy,buy without any care for the consequences.

Probably this is the wrong forum to go on about this as by reading many of the points of view on these forums, many of us DO care. But there's a great majority that have been hoodwinked from an early age that the only solution is to buy ready made everything and that knives, pointy things and matches are too dangerous.
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I've always done my own but when you can buy 1kg of chopped carrot and turnip for 50p in Asda, and its keeping someone in a job, now that's a no brainer for me
 
i think you would know if it had horseradish in there!

They do bulk up manufactured horseradish sauce with other veggies like turnip, though...
 
can't be anything wrong with the economy for many people, judging by the amount of Bingo, casino sites advertised on T.V. it seems we must all have more money than we know what to do with..................
 
Big bed camper said:
can't be anything wrong with the economy for many people, judging by the amount of Bingo, casino sites advertised on T.V. it seems we must all have more money than we know what to do with..................
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Apparently there's a massive, and growing, problem with gambling in the UK, Big bed.

Gordon Brown loved it ;)
 
Big bed camper said:
can't be anything wrong with the economy for many people, judging by the amount of Bingo, casino sites advertised on T.V. it seems we must all have more money than we know what to do with..................
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No problem. All you need do if you lose your money on the Bingo site is take advantage of one of the many adverts that go out at the same time for pay day loans or accident and injury lawyers.
 
Take out the pay day loan to play bingo, get addicted and then use the lawyers to sue the gambling sites for your addiction. Time for bed said Zebedee!
 
Flip Flap said:
Do you really believe it's as easy as that? It's because of highly educated bright Americans loaning money they had no realistic chance of recovering that the world's finances are screwed.
So why would the uneducated and not so bright amongst us think gambling's a bad thing? And why should they not expect to get bailed out either come to that. Think on folks. DOHHHHHH !
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No I don't really believe it. It was a light hearted comment on the number of advertisements for loans, injury lawyers and gambling sites that proliferate day time television. But you new that already didn't you Flip Flap.
 
It's because of highly educated bright Americans loaning money they had no realistic chance of recovering that the world's finances are screwed.
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Well, that can't of helped! (As I understand it though - even more mental is their housing market, as unlike here, if you can't make the mortgage payments, you have the right just to vacate, and hand the property back to the back with no penalty, negative equity, nothing - free n clear! So there's nothing stoppoing anybody taking on a property they probably cannot sustain as long as a lender is daft enough to take a chance on them. So USA banks got loads of property's handed back to them worth less than was borrowed against them and stuck with a portfolio worth billions less that they couldn't shift).

But..... we can't blame anyone else but our own Governments and Civil Servants for our mess. I think no-one has wanted to risk the wrath and upset of the electorate for decades by telling them that we are a small country without a pile of commonwealth cash coming in any more, and we've been living beyond our means for decades. We aren't a superpower any more, just a small rock on the periphery of Europe with delusions of grandeur for an Empire long since faded away.

We needed to pull our belts in and accept our waning income and global standing after the end of WWII with our massive American debt for all those tanks n planes etc. and the break-up of the Empire (e.g. India's Independence in 1948 etc. etc.) and the huge loss of income to the Uk from it.

Instead, we've carried on with spending even though we didn't have the money, so we've spent decades borrowing more while earning less, and with open borders and free trade, and massive immigration and social policies that add a financial burden thats grown way beyond sustainability. Humane policies that while very laudable and humane simply cannot be sustained. While I can feel for asylum seekers and so forth, a lot who came here did so as they could get what they couldn't elsewhere (and would simply relocate again if these things were closed to them here - harsh but true). The sorry truth is that we should have closed the borders, benefits and laws permitting this influx ages ago as the country simply cannot afford it - we'll be like an overloaded lifeboat and we'll sink with everyone, when we could have saved a sustainable load IMO.

We needed to cut outgoings and cut our cloth according to our finances decades ago and accept lower standards of services and so on to fit our falling income as a nation. But we didn't as politicians were either too thick or too weak to tell it like it is to the nation. The UK is on the downward part of a curve.

All countries economies have tended to be cyclic across history - as a nation 'A' gets wealthier the aspirations and demands of its residents grows. So goods and exports from 'A' become more expensive, and some new kid country 'B' develops and does things cheaper and grows, while 'A' suffers decline. Eventually 'B' peaks like 'A' did, and meanwhile 'C', 'D' & 'E' are on the way up, and (if run well) 'A' might be able to regroup and compete too.

Trouble is, the UK is 'A' in my example above, but with successive appallingly bad decision-making and mis-management, so it has never really staged a comeback - its flogged off its assets to short-term sustain its overspend with no attention to the long-term crisis ths would (and has) caused.

In the childs story of 'The Grasshopper & The Ant' the UK has been a Grasshopper fro a very long time, and is seems it will have to starve and freeze to death as it can't get its collective head around this fact.

I do try not to be quite this 'cheerful' down the pub though :lol-053:!
 
I beg to differ, blame Americans allowing capitalism to get out of control.
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My opinion is that the Americans caused their model of capitalism to implode. We (or any other nation) didn't have to copy the Americans like Lemmings. Economists rather than dumb politicians could see that we were selling the house from under us to hide the fact that we were overspending on the housekeeping from the outset.

Yes, we'll always be affected by the European and Global Economy, but we've never shifted with the times and the circumstances - instead we've continued pressing the long-term self-destruct button. We can't blame the Yanks for this - our Govt is responsible for the UK, we could have taken a more sensible path to protecting and sustaining the remaining wealth of the country by controlling wages, inflation etc. and holding on to our public utilities and assets, thus circulation far more of our money back into the UK economy. Instead it all goes abroad - the profits disappear from the UK purse and all we get is lots of minimum wage jobs so we can generate greater profit for a foreign /global company and wealthy shareholder somewhere - and all so you can get water out of your tap, or a light come on when you flick a switch to add to their incomes while the householders bills fro poorer service skyrocket.

Economics are often the true reason for Global Conflict. e.g. who believes the USA went steaming into Iraq for the WMD's? More like they did so for the Oil, as the USA has to import about 90% of its oil to sustain itself and its economy. No oil, and the USA is just one big chunk of ground with a population starving and back in the dark ages. If push comes to shove IMO they'll pick a big fight with someone with their superior firepower stockpile to get their hands on what they need if they can't get it any other way (affordably). They won't just go 'ok then' and go quietly into the night. But that's a whole new and terrifying concept and conversation!

But there's little point in us looking to 'blame' the Americans for our mess - the UK had its own choice of policy and management and made a bloody hash of it IMO. There's a danger is saying its someone else's fault, as that then suggests a lack of responsibility at home, so nothing happens. The UK Govt needs to (even though its closing the door after the horse has been sold off too cheaply) grasp this nettle or (once again Private Fraser!) - "WE'RE ALL DOOMED!"

(I'll never be welcome at a Meet after this - attendees would be worried I'd have them wanting to dangle from branches if they speak to me :lol-053:)
 
Well done David!

I just spout personal opinion and overview generalities of doom and gloom (cos I'm not that well-versed or have in-depth knowledge and freely admit my drivel is just my own take on things more than anything else), but that's some proper detail there :lol-053:!
 
The cancer was in all the banks; American, British, whatever.

I still doubt that the Bank of England would have been able to prevent the crash happening.
The fraud appears to have been too widespread and deep, imo.

Interesting to note that the criminals are still loose and the fraud is still continuing...
 
I have a feeling a large part of the issue now that simply the large corporations (be they banks or businesses) are now independent and global enterprises with no real affiliation or care for ANY country - the country is just something to feed off while paying it back as little as possible, and when it becomes more costly or more hassle to make the money they expect as a return, then they will pull the plug without compunction and happily leave individuals and the country as a whole in the lurch.

The ONLY protection a nation has (or ought to have or have had) against the bullying, rape and pillage of the country by global corporations and business is the Government IMO.

And (IMO) IF the UK (starting with Maggie, who [if she was still in possession of her marbles anymore] should be treated as a traitor to her country by flogging off all the citizens property to those same global corps through privatisation, as should every Politician who has continued the Fire sale ever since) had held on to the utilities and all key businesses, so that they operated with the best interests of the Uk at their core instead of to their own multi-national, uber-wealthy board memebers and shareholders.

So new we have no protection from, and utter dependence upon massive companies who are totally self-serving and fickle and care nothing at all whether you live or die in the final analysis. Its a case of 'not our problem, blame your Government' if they close a plant or shift production to China as we didn't give them anything they wanted (e.g. massive tax concessions, free land and factories etc. etc. so they will grace us with giving us some minimum wage jobs in return, and take all their profitrs and invest them and spend them elsewhere.

This is why I keep saying, 'its too late already' and that 'we're all doomed'. The gap between the haves and have nots cannot do anything other than widen, and Government has sold anything that might have enabled them to buffer the majority of their citizens from the worst. If (like me and so many others) you don't already have a big pile of assets to see you through your days already, then do not expect a social system and service to support you in your dotage - cos I really can't see where the hell that can come from. Enjoy life today folks, cos that's all we have.

(God I AM depressing :raofl:)
 
Flip Flap said:
Realistic though unfortunately. Maggie sold us down the river and big business has shown its true colours eventually. Thing is the cheeky ba$tards expect to be bailed out by us when they screw up.
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...with successive Governments bailing them out with our money.

If only they had gone to the wall we could have restarted with a clean state and a wiser knowledge of what not to do...instead we are burdened!
 
sp2 boy said:
...with successive Governments bailing them out with our money.

If only they had gone to the wall we could have restarted with a clean state and a wiser knowledge of what not to do...instead we are burdened!
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Iceland didn't go far enough.

Rebellion of the Outraged

Take note of the last comments on the page.

According to this website, nothing short of revolution will remove the yoke of debt.

Interesting times we live in.
Certainly more lively (and potentially dangerous) than we've know for quite some time ;)
 
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