| + Visit Cardiff FC for Latest News, Transfer Gossip, Fixtures and Match Results |
Growth slows in Britain and the US as GDP reports miss forecasts - as it happened -
https://www.theguardian.com/business...-business-live
Central banks have thrown about 10 trillion dollars of funny money created from zilch to prop-up the world economies while suppressing interest rates to absurdly low levels thus inflating gigantic housing, stock market and debt bubbles to produce pitiful growth. When this sh*t show finally implodes it won't be pretty.
Glad to see austerity has worked.Originally Posted by Organ Morgan.
In spite of austerity, the Tories have tacked on around £830 billion to the national debt in the past seven years. It's currently at £1,730 billion. They've practically doubled it in that time. That's some going as it took a thousand years to get to to the debt level what they inherited, £900 billion.
At least they fixed the roof while the sun was shining. Well done George, great forsight
But they have provided "strong and stable" leadership.
Everyone should read this article no matter what you political persuasion: https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...afety-electionBut they have provided "strong and stable" leadership
If you are going to vote Tory then please vote because you agree with their policies (make them tell you what they are) rather than voting for them because you believe in the buzzwords and slogans.The 2015 Tory manifesto used the word “plan” 121 times, devoting a mere seven words to one aspect of this plan that would affect the lives of millions of voters. Namely: “We will find £12bn from welfare savings.” That was it.....they devoted three times as many words to polar bears.
What a superb article, the Mourinho comparison is so appropriate - thanks for posting it.
Yeah but at least crime rates have gone down. Oh.
Its a myth that the Tories are the safe bet with the economy. As alluded to in the opening post national debt under this lot has doubled in seven years and for what exactly? We have seen shag all growth in that time and may well end up with another recession under the Tories.
On the bright side we will have strong and stable leadership. Its just a shame she is running scared of the electorate.
would you have expected the national debt to have fallen whilst we still had a deficit?
Yeah but its hand-picked austerity only. Its for those who don't have a voice and are easy targets. Just look at our High streets. They have been transformed. Lots of people like sleeping and living on them these days.
"Then it's simple you either cut by 80 million or reduce spending by 80 million"
Or you can have a more balanced plan that has everyone contribute. Surely if empty rooms are so bad in social housing then, while so many are without any accommodation, there can be a small additional charge for empty rooms in much, much bigger houses? Or perhaps reducing ctax reductions for second homes which are empty most of the year.
"So logical step is to do it bit by bit"
7 years worth later and every Osbourne target has been failed. A balanced commentary would talk about external factors for both Tory and labour governments but that doesn't quite fit the popular political narrative.
Hammond, Cable and McDonnell all seem to be saying that there needs to be some tax increases and borrowing should take place where used to invest in infrastructure and other projects that help growth.
the deficit has reduced by almost £100bn in those ten years, that is hardly a failure. would you have preferred greater austerity and massive cuts to public services to bring the deficit down sooner?
Dont confuse them. Its their right to complain that austerity is too high and debt too high. Dont try and point out the obvious link between the 2. It doesnt compute in their head.
The 0.7 is an annualised rate, and the 0.3% for britain is a quarterly growth figure. So our growth is roughly equated at 1.2% as a n equivalent figure to the US. Plus the first quarter in recent years has been the slowest period of the year. Same last year.
Taking the figures on their own may not be looking great, but an overall growth rate for developed economies we are still near the top of the pack.
The bubble created by QE is huge though. And no-one seems quite sure what to do with it. Americans seem to be winding it in over there, but the EU is still pumping loads in as they were late to the QE party. And if you note that using QE has been a prerequisite to the economy picking up. Worked in the US, worked here, and as the EU finally started it last year so their economy is slowly picking up. Without it we could have truely had a decade with zero growth. But lets just look at the bad side of it shall we?
Last edited by Barry Dragon; 03-05-17 at 13:08.
QE is and was another prop to keep things afloat. Again, the biggest clue to how fragile Western economies are is the absurdly low interest rates. Britain's went to an all-time low last year, after 7 years of being stuck at the previous all-time low. That's the tell because the Bank of England's been around since the 1690s.
GDP is an easily manipulated measure, so too inflation rates which are directly linked to the former when making the equation. The USA's data is a joke. Their inflation number doesn't include fluctuations in food and energy prices (which everyone must consume). Here it's based on CPI when it used to be RPI. RPI is nearly always higher, and more accurate, because changes to housing costs are included which most people have to bear.
Getting back to the Yanks, their headline unemployment rate is 4.7%, and yet 94 million (from a 324 million total population) of their fit and able citizens of working age are not in work. If they totted-up the total in the same way as they did until 1985 that headline rate today would stand at 23% - just 2% lower than what it stood at during the Great Depression.
when the deficit starts at £157bn per annum then the debt pile is going to rise until such time as the deficit is reduced to nil. simple arithmetic really. it is disingenuous at best to state that the tories have run up more debt than all labour governments, when you consider the starting position of the 2010 government.
that is not to to say that the government couldn't have done more to reduce the deficit, but that is a different argument altogether
So when the next England manager comes in and says 'I will build a team to win the world cup', he should be judged a success because he got out of the group stages. They told us categorically they would do something and then they didn't manage it, if that isn't the definition of failure then maybe we don't speak the same language!
Pointing out a governments failures can lead to alot of tit for tat replies. I though the boom bust period was over in the noughties. Oops there's another failure.
i said getting the deficit down £100bn was hardly a failure. i didn't say they had achieved their forecasts.
Austerity is an ideology.
Its one of many paths available. Lets be thankful they didn't implement it fully like Feedback wanted. It was austerity lite as worst. Cant compare what Greece has been forced to do by the EU to what we had.
We could of carried on spending the next generations tax receipts like we were and piled up the debt to encourage growth. But we have already spent the next generations tax receipts, can we allow ourselves to spend 2 generations of tax receipts before they are even paid? They call the tories greedy, but I think spending the next generations tax receipts so we can live a comfortable life and leaving them to pay is greedy.
And the party political wand comes out.
It is hardly tit for tat, I didn't even raise the issue. Any politician that tells the electorate they will do something and then can't achieve it, has failed. People fail in their jobs every day, no one defends me when I miss a target or deadline, why are we so precious about politicians?
So is it a success?
That is what we are doing currently.
When someone borrows money to start a business, are they being greedy and hoping their kids eventually foot the bill or are they hoping that their idea is good enough to outperform interest rates?
A government can borrow money to invest. Austerity leaves us treading water and we have ended up in a situation where our 'growth' relies upon things that will eventually implode.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
