Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
Also because banking was still a viable industry despite the crash and, importantly, because the risk to the rest of the economy from the banking system going under would have dwarfed the effect the collapse of the steel industry will have.
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Too true.
If Brown had let the banking system collapse what would have kept UK PLC running in the aftermath? The effects would have been staggering!
Let's not forget that for every one easy target fat cat banker there are hundreds of ordinary bank workers who have lost their jobs too since the banking crisis. All the banks lost staff, thousands, anyone recall Bradford and Bingley, Northern Rock? No, of course not they were just greedy CITY bankers weren't they. 
The financial sector has shed vast numbers of jobs since 2008 and most of them are ordinary, hard working people who had as much to do with the failures of the banking system as Port Talbot steelworkers have to do with the global price of steel. Still I suppose anyone who wears a suit to work is fair game eh?...
Most people will have a lot of sympathy for those who'll lose their jobs and the effects that will have on those communities but surely nobody's going to try to pretend that the state effectively taking on up these uncompetitive industries is going to be cost or pain free, even if it's possible under EU laws. A nice simple quick fix which won't affect anything or anyone else? Yeah right.
People like Arthur want it both ways. In fact they want it any way which doesn't impinge negatively on their lives whilst providing an opportunity to blame someone called a Tory even when his beloved Labour were actually responsible as shown above. They whine about cuts to this, that and the other and demand higher benefits, more/better services, better wages yet at the same time moan when prices, rents and taxes go up as a consequence. Point out the entirely contradictory nature of their demands and gripes and they scuttle off only to reappear a few days later with the same tired old nonsense.
---------- Post added at 10:36 ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by heero_yuy
^^ This.
I remember when the as then British steel was a nationalised industry in the late 70's and it was costing the tax payer £3million a day! Together with British Leyland, shipbuilding and British coal, all nationalised, they were bleeding the country dry.
It wasn't viable then and it still isn't.
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Exactly... and how many of those mouthing off about saving jobs actually put their cash where their mouths were and bought BL cars as? We were subsidising, for the most part, dodgy British built cars when people wanted to buy better and/or cheaper imported offerings. Odd that eh?...
Someone please tell me who's going to want to buy expensive British made steel knowing they'll have to pass on the extra costs of that to the consumer and end user who in many cases will simply decide to shop elsewhere?