Cable Forum - [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

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Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowcoach (Post 35025324)

The thing is, the fact that there is money in the system which can be earned by these companies to produce increased profits during a World recession is due entirely to money being pumped into the system by the Government and the BOE. The media slammed GB for borrowing but you only have to look to America to see what happened in areas where the local steel works closed down or in parts of Detroit as the motor industry went into recession, whole areas are now completely empty of people with property falling down, we haven't suffered anything like that.

Their revenue dropped. Profit increase was due to cost savings and efficiency, absolutely nothing to do with government investment.

Bad example regarding Detroit, etc, the US have had a big stimulus package, far more complete than ours.

Brown's policies largely consisted of increasing spending in the public sector, the main stimulus to the private sector being a 2.5% VAT cut and the scrappage scheme, both of which were a good thing I might add.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowcoach (Post 35025324)

As far as Royal Mail goes, time was when each day I used to go to the post box with a carrier bag full of floppy disks containing applications for customers, many a time I had to wait for the postman emptying the box as it was already overflowing with mail when I got there, now on the rare occasion that I post a letter I hear it drop to the bottom of the box, obviously RM had to make changes, times change for all of us and we all have to expect that things cannot carry on as before, but hey, I find change exciting although it appears most people are afraid of change which I feel is quite sad.

I remember before privatisation of the utility companies when utility bills were very modest, I think privatisation was just a rip-off.

So what are you trying to say? You're making absolutely no sense giving the previous government all the credit for the Royal Mail's increased profits and ignoring their plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail.

I'm completely lost, you seem to be picking on random things and claiming they are the result of government policy which they very simply aren't, government policy doesn't make companies more efficient it tends to make them less efficient if anything and as mentioned demand for Royal Mail services continues to go down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowcoach (Post 35025324)

I can only speak for myself and the area I live in, under Thatcher we got bugger all in the way of government money as the Tory's flooded London and the South East with the stuff, under Labour you can see the difference as money from the Government and Europe has been spent here to help a deprived area become less deprived, all we want is our fair share after all we pay tax the same as everyone else and although a house may cost more in London and the South East a loaf of bread costs us just the same.

London and the South East more than pay for themselves actually. They subsidise various other parts of the rest of the country according to the gross value add statistics. The North East especially is horrifically reliant on funding from London and the South East. This isn't actually a good thing!

You really don't get it. While Labour were happily employing people in the public sector in various parts of the country and making them more dependent on the state they should have been stimulating the private sector there so that the economies became self-sufficient and didn't need subsidy from London and the South East. As it is when the cuts to the public sector start to bite they'll hurt areas like yours the most because instead of trying to get the areas to stand on their own and stimulate the economies they were being fed and became reliant on the public purse. You'll happily blame the current government for this no doubt but very simply the plans of the previous one weren't sustainable and a lot of that case would have had to be withdrawn either way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowcoach (Post 35025324)

It's simple really, people swallow everything the media throws at them and the media wanted a change, for some reason best known to themselves they wanted the Tory's in power which is why they promoted the Lib-Dem's hoping that floating Labour voters would be more likely to vote for them than to vote Tory, now we see them sniping the Lib-Dem's at every opportunity presumably hoping to derail the coalition and give the Tory's another chance to get an overall majority sooner rather than later.

That entire paragraph reeks of anti-Tory and pro-Labour, I just can't say I've noticed what you describe and it strikes me as far more of an attempt to undermine the current coalition than anything I've heard from Tories trying to undermine the Lib Dems. Most sensible and moderate people I know are quite enthusiastic about the coalition for the precise reason the Lib Dems moderate some of the less palatable policies the far-right of the Tory party would want to push through and are much less authoritarian. I've no doubt those on the far-right would feel like that but for myself it's not really crossed my mind. I can't say I'm overjoyed at the prospect of paying more taxes but if it improves people's lot in life and is good for the economy I'm fine with it - healthier economy equals more wealth for all of us. I probably pay less than my fair share compared with some anyway.

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet (Post 35025361)

London and the South East more than pay for themselves actually. They subsidise various other parts of the rest of the country according to the gross value add statistics.

Which is why Brown was so keen to 'encourage the risk takers' in the City of London (who were stumping up Â£billions in tax every year to fund his profligacy) that he doled out gongs to so many of them and so crucially took his eye off the ball.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.g...ress_56_04.htm

Quote:

Gordon Brown - Let me thank you first for the scale of the contribution you make to the British economy - the Â£50 billion of income, 4 per cent of national output, and the 1 million jobs that arise.

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet (Post 35025361)

The moving of government departments out of London to areas of high unemployment was just a token gesture, very welcome but nowhere near enough to redress the balance.

It isn't just our taxes which end up in London, most large companies have their head office and consequently their bank accounts in the City so every time we pay for insurance, go to Tesco, book a flight etc. etc. all the money ends up going down a one way street to London. Once all the money arrives it needs an army of very well paid people to do with what has to be done, these people then spend their earnings in their locale to the benefit of everyone there, no wonder then that the Government has to redistribute some of the money back seeing as these same companies are paying the people who collect the money for them in other parts of the country a pittance by comparison.

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

slowcoach, I think you may find that all those transactions you mention are automatically processed by computers, and most big bank/supermarket data centres are spread throughout the country.

The money doesn't go to London - it's all bits and bytes, not big bundles of notes. ;)

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by foreverwar (Post 35025491)

The next time you are in London pop into Jack Barclay's and then tell me that the money doesn't end up in London. :mad:

Cash is King... ;)

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Well, we have the following showrooms in Leeds
Bentley
Rolls Royce
Aston Martin
Ferrari
Maserati
Porsche

(as well as the standard BMW, Mercedes, Audi, et al)

Anyhoo, under the cash laundering rules, do you actually believe that a garage would accept a couple of hundred thousand pounds in cash for a car?

So I really don't understand your point :confused:

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by foreverwar (Post 35025564)

What???.. You mean people north of London actually have cars and don't have to walk everywhere in rags and bare feet???... I really thought all the wealth of the UK was spent here.... :shocked: :shocked: :shocked:

:rolleyes:

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Anyone else fed up with this ConDem party ?

Let's all jump on the Milibandwagon :D

Just kidding folks.

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by foreverwar (Post 35025564)

Well, we have the following showrooms in Leeds
Bentley
Rolls Royce
Aston Martin
Ferrari
Maserati
Porsche

(as well as the standard BMW, Mercedes, Audi, et al)

Since when did car boot sales keyring stalls constitute "showrooms"? ;)

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Angry (Post 35025637)

Since when did car boot sales keyring stalls constitute "showrooms"? ;)

It's a start.

It's grim oop north, but it's carp dahn sarf! ;)

As I was saying to a southern colleague the other day, when he was indulging in some banter about whippets, black pudding, ecky thump, etc - "what's your house worth now?". :D

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by foreverwar (Post 35025688)

Actually it's the lack of open spaces and being able to find somewhere nice and quiet where you aren't having your ears ripped off by someone's stereo,BBQ party,mowing the lawn,car exhaust fumes

Some days it's hard to breathe round here or even think.At least oop north you have some terrific open spaces where you can get away from everyone...

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by foreverwar (Post 35025688)

In my case, my house is worth considerably more than my cousin's (she lives on the border of North Wales), despite my cousin's being considerably larger.

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart C (Post 35025715)

In my case, my house is worth considerably more than my cousin's (she lives on the border of North Wales), despite my cousin's being considerably larger.

Yeah, but I bet your cousin didn't have her car tire slashed by someone who picked the wrong house? ;)

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maggy J (Post 35025699)

There's the odd oasis here and there like that. I'm fortunate that there's a number of open spaces here for our use, this is the closest one, this beauty is close and Kew Gardens is in close proximity also. :)

Re: [Update] The Liberal-Conservative Coalition

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart C (Post 35025715)

In my case, my house is worth considerably more than my cousin's (she lives on the border of North Wales), despite my cousin's being considerably larger.

It's the old "cost " versus "value" equation - it's not what it costs, it's what it costs to move up the ladder, and the value-add of the environment (leafy suburb, good transport links, only 20 minutes to work, etc etc).

I was only joking about the south vs north - I have lived and worked in both areas, and both have good and bad points (I loved living near Alton in Hampshire, and was looking to live near the New Forest if I had stayed down there).