UK Economy

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Golfer
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It's ironic, in a past life I was chasing Moody's for outstanding receivables.

It's going to be an impossible budget for the government!
Iron
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Moody’s: Why Britain lost its AAA rating - http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehous ... aa-rating/
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Euler
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I'm half tempted to go on the campaign trail in the next election to try and force policitians to confront the debt situation.

I just fear that they will all talk about how they are going to make things better without any credible plan and in an attempt to address the situation they may use tax rather than cutting out the crap from the system. That would end up making things worse. We need people to wake up a bit. I laugh when I read story about how government cuts have made the situation worse, how niave can people be. Time to get the facts into the public eye and make some tough decisions.
Iron
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Euler wrote:I'm half tempted to go on the campaign trail in the next election to try and force policitians to confront the debt situation.
Why not see if you can get selected as a UKIP candidate, given that they are the nearest thing we have to a Tea Party?

I reckon they could be Britain's third largest party after the election.
Euler wrote:I just fear that they will all talk about how they are going to make things better without any credible plan and in an attempt to address the situation they may use tax rather than cutting out the crap from the system.
Possibly.

Tax increases will be deeply unpopular, but so would cuts.

I think Osborne is trying to put off the really tough decisions till after the next elections, as his priority is to be re-elected and he knows that the level of cuts needed would cause electoral meltdown (if the Lib Dems even allowed it to happen).

I agree about the need for a mature debate. I was debating the economic situation the other day with a Guardian reader, and he had no idea of how bad things are. That's not surprising, given that the Guardian (and their broadcasting arm, the BBC) don't want people to think 'If we carry on spending like this, we're screwed as a nation!'.

Jeff
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superfrank
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Euler wrote:I'm half tempted to go on the campaign trail in the next election to try and force policitians to confront the debt situation.

I just fear that they will all talk about how they are going to make things better without any credible plan and in an attempt to address the situation they may use tax rather than cutting out the crap from the system. That would end up making things worse. We need people to wake up a bit. I laugh when I read story about how government cuts have made the situation worse, how niave can people be. Time to get the facts into the public eye and make some tough decisions.
it's a travesty how the crisis is being portrayed by the mainstream media in this country - it's a conspiracy imho designed to get another clueless left-wing government into power. the tories have also been pathetic in their response because they care more about their own political careers than they care about the country. Maggie in 79 came in with the country in crisis and simply did what was required, popular or not.

countries need to adjust (dramatically in most cases) to living within their means, and accept that growth via credit alone was/is unsustainable.

if your policy is as you described above Euler then you can count on my vote!

ps. the investment banks obviously knew that the downgrade was coming - hence the plunge in sterling over the last 2 weeks.
Iron
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I actually got into a disagreement on Twitter with Alaistair Campbell this morning about the economy.

Charming man...

Michael Crick: "Oxford Student" paper reports second-hand claim that Bullingdon Club initiation last year involved burning a £50 note in front of a tramp

Campbell: when Dave George and Boris did it it was two fifties but we've been downgraded #Bullingdon

Me: How can you joke about the downgrade when your government sewed the seeds the lead to it?

Campbell: bullshit. Other countries have pulled thru witj strategy closer to the one GB and AD suggested. Ps led not lead

Me: How is it bs? Did Labour's profligacy not lead to a situation where we were in debt up to our eyeballs?

Campbell: no we had ten years of growth and then a US inspired crash with the wrong reaction from new UK govt.

Me: You're rewriting history, with respect. The bailouts only account for a small proportion of our debt. Also, why didn't Gordon Brown do anything to prevent the crash? Many people saw it coming. And was the 'growth' you refer to not actually just to borrowing-funded spending, rather than real growth?

I'm still awaiting a reply...

Jeff
Iron
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Perhaps I should have reminded Mr Campbell of this note: http://twitpic.com/9dr9sc

Jeff
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superfrank
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a little bit of typical BBC bias in the image below (from a story about Eurozone growth/deficits http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21544328).
Untitled-1.jpg
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Iron
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I don't like the fact that BBC articles with comments include Editor's Picks - it's just another way in which the BBC can introduce bias. Why not just let people comment on an article and view other comments by popularity (for people who want comments that have been recommended by someone)?

Interesting article:

Conservatives go to war on ‘bias’ at the BBC – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvan ... e-BBC.html

Jeff
superfrank wrote:a little bit of typical BBC bias in the image below (from a story about Eurozone growth/deficits http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21544328).
Untitled-1.jpg
Tobedotty
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superfrank wrote:a little bit of typical BBC bias in the image below (from a story about Eurozone growth/deficits http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21544328).
Untitled-1.jpg
You cannot possibly say this is bias, if anything you've just shown that it is unbiased because it is willing to voice less popular views and show two sides of an argument. I'm sure there were comments about leaving the eurozone that were editors picks too.
Iron
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The BBC is profoundly left-wing in its outlook, and the way in which the government is portrayed by them on the economy may affect policy.

The irony is that Call Me Dave is being savaged by the BBC and the Guardian for savage austerity despite hardly cutting spending at all, so he might as well have gone down the proper austerity route, and maybe Britain wouldn't have lost its AAA status! As things are, he's spending far more in real terms than Tony Blair, yet the BBC never accused Blair of being austere when it came to public spending! See http://moneymovesmarkets.com/journal/20 ... estly.html

Dave doesn't seem to realise that Guardian readers would rather stick needles in their eyes than vote for him, so he's wasting his time trying to placate them...

Jeff
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superfrank
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Tobedotty wrote:You cannot possibly say this is bias, if anything you've just shown that it is unbiased because it is willing to voice less popular views and show two sides of an argument. I'm sure there were comments about leaving the eurozone that were editors picks too.
i know it's just one example and proves nothing, but if you look closely you can see it all the time.

btw, 3 picks from the 10 lowest rated comments were chosen by the editor; 2 picks from the first 200+ highest rated comments.
Iron
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America Is Becoming The United States of Britain: Schiff - http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout ... 06217.html
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superfrank
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Ferru123 wrote:America Is Becoming The United States of Britain: Schiff - http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout ... 06217.html
we're living on borrowed time... literally.
great line. Schiff is a top man.
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Euler
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GDP: UK economy grew more than thought in 2012
The UK economy grew by more than previously thought in 2012, official figures have shown.

The Office for National Statistics revised its growth estimate for the year up from no growth to 0.3%.

But the figure for the last three months of the year was left unchanged at a contraction of 0.3%.

Last week, credit rating agency Moody's downgraded its rating of the UK economy over fears that growth would "remain sluggish over the next few years".
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