ChatterBank0 min ago
Voter's rejection of austerity measures
Following recent election results in several European countries that show a rejection of any austerity measures to bring down national debt, what do these people propose as an alternative? Pile debt onto more debt, how can that be sensible? I think it's a case of burying their heads in the sand and hope it all goes away. There obviously has to be cuts in spending because current levels are unsustainable and any politician who pretends otherwise is either a fool or a liar.
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You are right.
Unfortunately asking people to vote for a party who will bring in austerity cuts is like asking for a turkey to vote for Christmas.
In many ways this is above normal democracy and should be like in the war when all parties get together and work for the common good.
It is a bot like Labour now critisizing the Tories, but I bet all their plans involve spending more money and creating lots of non jobs (like Gordon Brown did).
Unfortunately asking people to vote for a party who will bring in austerity cuts is like asking for a turkey to vote for Christmas.
In many ways this is above normal democracy and should be like in the war when all parties get together and work for the common good.
It is a bot like Labour now critisizing the Tories, but I bet all their plans involve spending more money and creating lots of non jobs (like Gordon Brown did).
It isn't an either / or option.
In France Hollande says he will continue to pay back the debts, only more slowly. He will divert some money for projects to grow the economy. That seems sensible.
Here in the UK we are paying off debts quickly but that has sent us back into recession. There is no growth, just stagnation. No credible plan for growth (not one that works anyway). That means more people unemployed and so they are not paying tax. And then you have to pay them unemployment benefit. The result is revenues raised by the Treasury deminish, and expenditure rises leaving the Government with less money to service debts and maintain services.
It is not about avoiding the pain, it is about getting some gain as well.
In France Hollande says he will continue to pay back the debts, only more slowly. He will divert some money for projects to grow the economy. That seems sensible.
Here in the UK we are paying off debts quickly but that has sent us back into recession. There is no growth, just stagnation. No credible plan for growth (not one that works anyway). That means more people unemployed and so they are not paying tax. And then you have to pay them unemployment benefit. The result is revenues raised by the Treasury deminish, and expenditure rises leaving the Government with less money to service debts and maintain services.
It is not about avoiding the pain, it is about getting some gain as well.
Oh great, jomifl !!!!
You avoid £4.95 commission when changing your £££s into Euros. Good for you. Meantime, those poor sods in Greece and Portugal (and a few other nations) have seen their nation locked into a generation of debt accumulated in a currency that they cannot afford to use, and into which they are locked with no painless route of escape. Never mind. So long as you can have your ten days in Benidorm without having to pay a Fiver.
Get real old son. The Euro has been an absolute disaster for Europe, especially for those people in the lesser nations and particularly for those in Greece. It has caused untold misery for them (and their nation should never have been allowed to join) and there is now no easy escape. The politicians responsible should hang their heads in shame. But more importantly they should take immediate measures to end the misery forthwith by allowing Greece (and the others who are similarly effected) to revert to their own currencies over which they have full control.
Voters in Greece have said that is precisely what they want.
You avoid £4.95 commission when changing your £££s into Euros. Good for you. Meantime, those poor sods in Greece and Portugal (and a few other nations) have seen their nation locked into a generation of debt accumulated in a currency that they cannot afford to use, and into which they are locked with no painless route of escape. Never mind. So long as you can have your ten days in Benidorm without having to pay a Fiver.
Get real old son. The Euro has been an absolute disaster for Europe, especially for those people in the lesser nations and particularly for those in Greece. It has caused untold misery for them (and their nation should never have been allowed to join) and there is now no easy escape. The politicians responsible should hang their heads in shame. But more importantly they should take immediate measures to end the misery forthwith by allowing Greece (and the others who are similarly effected) to revert to their own currencies over which they have full control.
Voters in Greece have said that is precisely what they want.
DTCrosswordfan
Your post is pure lies. Tax revenues are 3.6% down on last year. Why do you bother posting untruths on something that is very easy to check?
// The drop in total income tax revenues to £11.7 billion — down from £12.2 billion a year earlier — was put down to “the fall in financial-sector bonuses” by the Government’s fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility.
The figures came as Chancellor George Osborne was warned of a looming tax crunch as weak growth and sliding revenues jeopardised his plans to cut the deficit. //
http://www.thisislond...come-tax-7675364.html
Your post is pure lies. Tax revenues are 3.6% down on last year. Why do you bother posting untruths on something that is very easy to check?
// The drop in total income tax revenues to £11.7 billion — down from £12.2 billion a year earlier — was put down to “the fall in financial-sector bonuses” by the Government’s fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility.
The figures came as Chancellor George Osborne was warned of a looming tax crunch as weak growth and sliding revenues jeopardised his plans to cut the deficit. //
http://www.thisislond...come-tax-7675364.html
DTCrosswordfan
I hadn't seen this before I made my first post, but it confirms may comment.
// Centre for Economics and Business Research economist Daniel Soloman warned: “Going forward, the fly in Mr Osborne’s debt-reduction ointment will probably be slow GDP growth.
“This is a problem for the Government’s debt-reduction strategy because slow growth goes hand-in-hand with comparatively modest tax takings.
“Without robust tax takings, the Government will find it difficult to reduce the deficit and its borrowing requirements,” he added. //
I hadn't seen this before I made my first post, but it confirms may comment.
// Centre for Economics and Business Research economist Daniel Soloman warned: “Going forward, the fly in Mr Osborne’s debt-reduction ointment will probably be slow GDP growth.
“This is a problem for the Government’s debt-reduction strategy because slow growth goes hand-in-hand with comparatively modest tax takings.
“Without robust tax takings, the Government will find it difficult to reduce the deficit and its borrowing requirements,” he added. //
Voters in Greece have said that is precisely what they want.
Eh? Which parties had restoration of the drachma in their manifestos?
Polls suggest very few Greeks want it back
http://www.npr.org/20...return-to-the-drachma
Eh? Which parties had restoration of the drachma in their manifestos?
Polls suggest very few Greeks want it back
http://www.npr.org/20...return-to-the-drachma
Probably going to echo some of the sentiments here, b ut - its not an either/or proposition, the way some of the press and the coalition are presenting the problem, No one can seriously argue that we have been spending more that we should have done, for several decades now, much like the rest of the developed worlds.
The critical issue here is timing.This coalition government made a statement of choice - to attempt to address the deficit in one parliamentary term. The payback term could be any length we like, and the level of pain associated with large scale cutbacks in public spending could be ameliorated by a greater time scale. Take 2 terms to payback - the markets wont care - all they want is a firm commitment that they will get a return on their investment - a longer term would probably in fact suit them!
The critical issue here is timing.This coalition government made a statement of choice - to attempt to address the deficit in one parliamentary term. The payback term could be any length we like, and the level of pain associated with large scale cutbacks in public spending could be ameliorated by a greater time scale. Take 2 terms to payback - the markets wont care - all they want is a firm commitment that they will get a return on their investment - a longer term would probably in fact suit them!
Lazygun
The Government will not clear the debt in one term anyway. The have admitted as much. They had planned for annual growth which never materialised. Which means their planned tax rake is down and their expenditure keeping people unemployed is up. The result is that the schedule for repaying in one term of Fovernment is way off.
http://m.myfinances.c...trategy-is-off-target
http://m.myfinances.c...trategy-is-off-target
The Government will not clear the debt in one term anyway. The have admitted as much. They had planned for annual growth which never materialised. Which means their planned tax rake is down and their expenditure keeping people unemployed is up. The result is that the schedule for repaying in one term of Fovernment is way off.
http://m.myfinances.c...trategy-is-off-target
http://m.myfinances.c...trategy-is-off-target
NJ, I don't change my pounds into Euros and I don't go to Benidorm and I am not a 'little englander'. I do occasionally use irony . My point was that there are 2 sides to this argument. I was hoping that Baz would explain why the Euro has been so damaging to him. As someone who uses the Euro nearly every day I have no problem with it. Greece's problems were not caused by the Euro, they were caused by incompetent politicians and dishonest and greedy citizens.(that is not to say that all Greeks are dishonest or greedy).
d9f, You and NJ could win prizes for jumping to conclusions and making rash assumptions. When I said that I use the Euro nearly every day, it wasn't because I go on regular ''junketts' it was because I nip down the road to the boulangerie or 'huit a huit' for some shopping in euros. The lack of cross border currency changes hardly affects me as I have only gone to a neighbouring country twice in the last 3 years. The current financial difficulties in Europe have nothing to do with the Euro, they are the result of financial imprudence throughout the world. As an inhabitant of mainland Europe I can asure you that problems with the euro as a currency exist only in the minds of sad 'little englanders' who await it's demise with glee. What is your problem?
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