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Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Old Aug 21st 2013, 8:44 pm
  #601  
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by chris955
I have been part of the discussion from the start.
Post 598 is not.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 8:47 pm
  #602  
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by roaringmouse
Post 598 is not.
The links seemed relevant to the discussion to me
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 8:47 pm
  #603  
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by roaringmouse
The official interest rate is more of an indication of the economy, rather than whether it affects borrowers or savers.
It's both a reflection on the state of the economy and a help in stimulating it. And just as clearly it affects savers in a negative fashion.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 9:01 pm
  #604  
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by Sally Redux
The links seemed relevant to the discussion to me
Perhaps, but they are just links with nothing from the poster. Putting aside the laziness of doing that, it is unclear if they are in reply to something, and what if any point he may be making. Without that, I won't be following the links as part of a discussion.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 9:04 pm
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by roaringmouse
Perhaps, but they are just links with nothing from the poster. Putting aside the laziness of doing that, it is unclear if they are in reply to something, and what if any point he may be making. Without that, I won't be following the links as part of a discussion.
It's annoying when someone does that at the very start of a thread, but Chris was already exploring a line of argument and had talked about positive news items in several preceding posts.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 9:11 pm
  #606  
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by Sally Redux
It's annoying when someone does that at the very start of a thread, but Chris was already exploring a line of argument and had talked about positive news items in several preceding posts.
It's also annoying when someone does it all the time, but the occasional "link only" post never hurt anyone, especially if you can tell what the link is about.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 9:11 pm
  #607  
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by Sally Redux
It's annoying when someone does that at the very start of a thread, but Chris was already exploring a line of argument and had talked about positive news items in several preceding posts.
The posts immediately before the one we're talking about was his post talking about effective zero interest rates for mortgage holders being good, and institutions being wary about lending - and the next post was mine saying that the official interest rate is an indication of the economy, rather than whether it affects borrowers or savers.

Were the 3 links he posted about this?
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 9:13 pm
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by dunroving
It's also annoying when someone does it all the time, but the occasional "link only" post never hurt anyone, especially if you can tell what the link is about.
Agreed.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 9:25 pm
  #609  
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by dunroving
It's also annoying when someone does it all the time, but the occasional "link only" post never hurt anyone, especially if you can tell what the link is about.
Going by the 3 posts immediately prior to his post with 3 links, then I can only presume the links are about mortgages, the effective zero interest rate, or institutions lending money. Without any discussion, or a quote of another post, then posting about anything else seems confused without any input from the poster if they just post links.

How many of the links are about mortgages, the effective zero interest rate or institutions lending money?
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 9:57 pm
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by roaringmouse
Going by the 3 posts immediately prior to his post with 3 links, then I can only presume the links are about mortgages, the effective zero interest rate, or institutions lending money. Without any discussion, or a quote of another post, then posting about anything else seems confused without any input from the poster if they just post links.

How many of the links are about mortgages, the effective zero interest rate or institutions lending money?
Maybe you just joined the discussion at that point.

I think you are being unnecessarily pedantic.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 10:16 pm
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by Sally Redux
Maybe you just joined the discussion at that point.

I think you are being unnecessarily pedantic.
As I haven't followed the links, I don't know how many are relevant to the discussion at the time. If they refer to something else in this thread, then the quote system wasn't used. I'm guessing with this reply that none of the links are relevant to where the discussion was at the time. Expecting a poster to use the quote system if not making a reply about where the discussion is at the time isn't really pedantic as it's the normal approach expected on a forum.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 10:21 pm
  #612  
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by roaringmouse
How would just posting positive news help anyone wanting to know the current situation in the UK. It's not all positive, and is probably more negative than positive on the spectrum.

The current official unemployment rate is 7.8% - this is high. Not as high as certain other European countries, but high nonetheless.

The official interest rate set by the Bank of England has been 0.5% since March 2009 - that is not good. As it is now tied to unemployment falling to 7% (still high unemployment), the rate is unlikely to change for 2-3 years unless inflation forces a change. That is potentially 7 years of effective zero interest rate.

A news article in June suggests that the 2020 general election could be an "austerity" election. That means at least 10 years, probably much more, of so called austerity measures.

Of course, most of this doesn't have any affect on you personally, but it does on a whole load of people. The situation in the UK is not good - exactly where it lies on the spectrum is down to personal situations, but over all it cannot be described honestly as good.
I originally came on this thread at post#532

I don't have the crystal ball...

RM, is it really that bad, if so, is it fixable ever or will it just keep on sinking in your opinion?

As for the next 10 years as you pointed out, can the common electorate do anything about it or is it a wait & see to 'carry on Britain' trust the UK government to fix it or WISH & HOPE some white knight will snap its fingers and it'll be alright?

If its fixable, RM what would you like to see done if you had the power to do it?

What are the options - to stand & fight to make it better or leave the sinking ship Britannia. I'd add that whinging doesn't make the problem go away, nor will each successive government IMO

Last edited by not2old; Aug 21st 2013 at 10:37 pm.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 10:26 pm
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Originally Posted by roaringmouse
As I haven't followed the links, I don't know how many are relevant to the discussion at the time. If they refer to something else in this thread, then the quote system wasn't used. I'm guessing with this reply that none of the links are relevant to where the discussion was at the time. Expecting a poster to use the quote system if not making a reply about where the discussion is at the time isn't really pedantic as it's the normal approach expected on a forum.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 10:58 pm
  #614  
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

On this subject more broadly, and pulling away from the links issue, if we're all being honest - who here really knows the first thing about any of this? It strikes me that if anyone even in government knew anything about this it wouldn't be as bad as it is, never mind anyone else. The bottom line seems to be that the debt the democracies have built up is totally unrepayable, but that this doesn't seem to matter for various reasons than fly over my head.

On the one hand we have the doomsters, who claim we're always just a few months away from Armageddon, and we all need to start stockpiling generators and shotguns and gas masks right now, and on the other hand we have people who claim money and debt don't really exist and this can carry on ad infinitum.

I don't know what to believe any more, frankly. I am inclined to think that the debt is real, and so high it just cannot be allowed to cave in.

In the graph below note the impact of Presidents Nixon, and Clinton.



And here is the historical value of British Sterling, which I am also told is irrelevant.


Last edited by Zen10; Aug 21st 2013 at 11:12 pm.
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Old Aug 21st 2013, 11:34 pm
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Default Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?

Hard to interpret a debt graph like that without knowing how the economy has grown over the same period. I will say that the period post-2000 is scary in the way government debt has grown in western countries, mainly but not wholly to bail out banks and -in the US's case - to fight an ill-planned war in Iraq.
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