This is actually a serious question. The UK owes big time, as do almost every other country, with the possible exception of Monaco.

Who do we all owe this money to? Do we just owe it to each other, and if so, couldn't we all agree to wipe the frigging lot and move on?

From what I can gather much of the debt is owed to the Chinese by the US and many other countries incl.the UK.
Now it would be very nice if the Chinese just wiped the slate clean as we have done previously for other hardup countries, but somehow I can't see that happening.
Now they've got us by the balls I don't see them letting go
What sickens me off is why our govts have allowed it to happen.
I mean free trade on equal tems is one thing, but it's obvious that no one compete with a country that uses slave labour and political prisoners to churn out so many of their products.

That must be nice for the Yanks, knowing that the Chinese own them.

I read an article a few weeks ago which showed that all the european banks are incestuous. eg. Ireland owes Portugal who owes spain, spain owes ireland and so on. Sure a lot could be written off

Just to brighten up your day bil, watch the clock.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

US is the worlds biggest debtor.
China the worlds biggest creditor.

That just makes my head spin.

We need to open some Fish n Chip or Pie N Mash shops in china

With a view to killing them all off?

Great idea.

Chippies, Pork pie butchers, plus Mcdonalds and Burger joints everywhere should do the trick nicely.

Take them over by stealth as they have done to us.

I have been wondering for some time now (well ever since the crisis) just who gains from the present situation ?

Governments do as they have a cast iron excuse to tax us more, they can also use it to control wage demands and demonise any who they say are making excessive claims. We have also seen that they can use it to make changes to the pension system without upsetting the electorate to much (its the crisis)

Big business can of course make great use of the situation to drive down wage costs/wage demands & create a real unease about the near-to-long term job security, once done its very easy to put any future employee's onto vastly different job contracts that would have been nigh on impossible before the crisis.

Banks don't give a monkeys of course as its not there money that will be lost & as we now know their policy of creating bigger and bigger global entity's has given them enormous power over world leading governments.
So much power in fact that governments committed tax payers money for decades to come to bail them out !
I believe (but I could be wrong) that .........
It was the tax payers money that disappeared.
It was the tax payers debt to the banks (as a result of easy credit that was heavily advertised & paid for by the banks on every platform available to get you to sign on the dotted line) that kick started this issue.
Had the government's in question told the banks to take a hike & written off the debt (via taxes) that was potentially owed, then the bill would have been a fraction of the bill that was underwritten to save these global giants (so I have read)

So for those at the top its a win win scenario & for the working masses (or not) its back to the grindstone as is our lot in life

It has always been the same and always will be and as one goes through life one meets stupid working class people who believe that this scenario is right.
Sorry there are not any working class people now everyone believes that they are middle class.

Graham

There are still working class.

Also, this has always been the way.

"It's the rich what gets the pleasure, it's the poor what gets the blame."

So define working class.
I would think there are lots of folk who may still consider themselves working class today, enjoying a lifestyle that even many of the hoyty toyty upper class might only have dreamed of fifty to a hundred years ago.
Many have experienced the pleasures of worldwide travel or have a couple of decent cars in the driveway for instance, plus a decent house with all mod cons plus a few in-built luxuries
OK the World moves on and thats progress.
They probably won't have a few million in their bank accounts, and often be in debt, but in my eyes the gap has narrowed to a certain extent compared to what it was or maybe they aren't really working class at all anymore ?

It was just the time to find the two Ronnies and John Cleese doing the class thing, but it doesnt seem to exist :-(

It was on youtube but has been taken off owing to: "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by The Estates of the late John Law and the late Marty Feldman."

Sad.