Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Well, clearly, we wouldn’t have been down by so many billions had we been able to draw on our gold reserves and balances, so austerity measures would have been considerably less impactful, and maybe not necessary at all, had Gordon Brown not frittered away our money.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Can you prove it wouldn't be necessary at all? No. It was a global recession.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Without the massive annual spending splurge(since around 2000) that couldn't easily have been got rid of, there was no room for a post 2008 boost. As a result, by 2008 we were paying an extra £10bn/year just in interest payments.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Deja Vu .. you have this thing about Mr Brown and his Gold. You were told a while back he did not sell "off our gold reserves".

You forgot to criticise the nice and responsible Banking sector, they are also culpable in this period.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Indeed both were culpable but we must remember OB has his permanent political blinkers on..

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

But sub-prime mortgages were driven by the socialist mantra that everybody and their cat should be able to afford to buy a house, just in order to profit months down the line from price increases.


What idiot invented the term "property ladder"?

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Or the Conservatives who sold off every other state asset!

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

That were costing us money.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

The "property ladder" phrase is widely attributed to Rt Hon Major Hugh Jarse M.B.E.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

So all the utilities are now free? Why didn't anyone tell me I've been paying direct debits all these years.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

And are costing consumers a whole lot more now...

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

I said maybe. I know it was a global recession. My point is that we had no reserves to offset it. This was flagrant mismanagement of our economy by Labour, and what we would expect from them.

---------- Post added at 10:01 ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 ----------

Yes, he did sell off our gold reserves and then wasted all of the money that he could have put aside for events like this.

The banking sector was certainly not without its faults, but the government was responsible for the economy.

---------- Post added at 10:03 ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 ----------

What he meant was that they were a drain on the economy, not on household budgets. I think you know that, though.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Link


---------- Post added at 10:07 ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 ----------

The notion that just about everybody should be able to afford to BUY a house, is a socialist mantra. Being able to buy a house is meant to be an aspiration, not a right.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

And one needs to have a chance to buy a house something many of the younger generation nowadays have no chance of doing now with hefty deposits and house prices well out of their range now...

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Buying houses was very popular when I was young. The fact that young people have been priced out of the market is due to the 2008 crash. Now that we are gradually emerging from the austerity measures that followed, hopefully we can start to restore that balance.