The state benefits system mega-thread.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by jfman

Would we have weathered it though? Probably not. It's just twisting reality for a cheap, and easily rebutted, party political point.

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.

[jfman]

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

[nomadking]

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.

[ianch99]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

It was Labour induced because had Gordon Brown not sold off our gold reserves and squandered all our balances, we would have been better able to weather the storm.

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.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by ianch99

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.

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

[nomadking]

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"?

[jfman]

Originally Posted by ianch99

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.

Or the Conservatives who sold off every other state asset!

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by jfman

Or the Conservatives who sold off every other state asset!

That were costing us money.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by nomadking

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"?

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

[jfman]

Originally Posted by nomadking

That were costing us money.

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

[denphone]

Originally Posted by nomadking

That were costing us money.

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

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by jfman

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

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 ----------

Originally Posted by ianch99

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.

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 ----------

Originally Posted by jfman

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

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

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by denphone

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

Link

Households are forking out inflation-busting sums for their energy compared to two decades ago, new data suggests.
In 1999 - two years into the Labour era under Tony Blair - the typical energy bill was just £666, according to data from Compare the Market.
Using the This is Money inflation calculator, that is the equivalent of £1,153 - some £101 cheaper than the current average energy bill in Britain.
But despite this, we're still better off than the early 1990s. The average bill was £847 in 1991, just after Conservative MP John Major came to power - which translates to £1,893 in today's prices.

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

Originally Posted by denphone

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

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.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by nomadking

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.

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...

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by denphone

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...

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.