Monday May 28, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

British economy grinds to virtual halt

World Oct. 06, 2011 - 06:17AM JST ( 12 )

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12 Comments

-1

FlocksamorasOct. 06, 2011 - 07:13AM JST

'That means households—all of us—paying off the credit card and store card bills'

If people had the money to do that they wouldn't have any debt in the first place everyone i know would love to pay off their debt but they have to use credit cards just to get by. Seriously i'm not quite sure what world this guy lives in but it's certainly not the same one as most of us.
-2

ironchefOct. 06, 2011 - 07:32AM JST

This is not news. British economy has been dead since the end of the Industrial Revolution.
1

RiffraffOct. 06, 2011 - 09:23AM JST

If people had the money to do that they wouldn't have any debt in the first place everyone i know would love to pay off their debt but they have to use credit cards just to get by.......

I'm not so sure, most people run up CC bills because they buy things that the marketing machine say they HAVE to have.. like 20 meter flat screen TVs and 50,000 yen cell phones. Look around your home and note how much "stuff" you have that is not really essential. Do you "need" that smart phone or do you justify having it because your "need" it for "work" and "everybody else has one"?
0

FlocksamorasOct. 06, 2011 - 09:54AM JST

I agree alot of us have things we don't need but while we may not need the lastest and most expensive versions alot of technology like mobile phones and computers are necessary parts of modern life. Also my parents never had any of these luxuries with the exception of a cheap T.V. and they still struggled just to pay their mortgage, gas, electric etc
0

nandakandamandaOct. 07, 2011 - 12:34AM JST

Last month I was chatting with a friend in the UK and mentioned that my Japanese wife has an abject horror of getting into debt. She literally hates the thought of endlessly paying the banks, ie the banks earning money off our debt to them. We therefore never go below zero bank balance, and thus have no debt, I told him.

Boring, he replied.

Now with that kind of comment, how could present-day Britain ever get out of debt? Cameron's idea might be true, but if it's boring... then it will never happen.
0

kurisupisuOct. 07, 2011 - 01:00AM JST

The English get into debt and have nothing to sell......is it a wonder they are up s***t creek?

The BOE has just decided to print 75 billion and stick that in the economy.

I wonder if that will cause inflation?
0

kurisupisuOct. 07, 2011 - 01:01AM JST

or worse?
0

zichiOct. 07, 2011 - 01:12AM JST

Whatever happened to all the election promises by the tory-lib government pact?
0

kurisupisuOct. 07, 2011 - 01:31AM JST

@zichi-I am tempted to say hot air but I wonder if booms and busts are not engineered.

Looking at history it would seem to be the case.
0

SwissToniOct. 07, 2011 - 02:08AM JST

Kurispusu, if the Brits have nothing to sell, how is it their debt to GDP ratio is almost the lowest of the major developed economies. A budget deficit second only to Germany's is the reason they manage to maintain a AAA rating. The slow UK economy is a result of paying down debt, banks that are unwilling to fund businesses cash flow and the worsening global economy.
0

MadvertsOct. 07, 2011 - 04:00AM JST

Bah, until there is a general uprising against the banks in Europe, or indeed elsewhere - it will be business as usual for them. They've been spanking us for years and passing down the cost, poop rolls as you know - without feeling the heat for their mis-adventures. I don't blame them for thinking people are drones in light of the inaction of the masses to be fair. We get screwed over, they pass the cost on to us and rewind, fast-forward...

Us humans are a strangen oft myopic bunch. Until there is nothing left to risk, it would seem we're willing to follow the institutions who's un-checked gambling has led us to the brink, without even thinking or reasoning or without any real finger-pointing.

As a small-time capitalist I should be the last person asking for a Revolution. Revolicion, or even a Revoluzzione...(Well, if the Italians will get out of bed)

The BoE has just anounced an injection of billions into the economy. Who's billions I might ask?

Where did they come from?

Who will be footing the tab this time?

A failing business will fail no matter how long you prop it up. The banks have screwed us all for too long. Draw out your cash. Buy a safe.

What percenage of a collective pull-out would be enough to instill the fear of god into the foundations of the banking system that has milked us all for years?
0

FlocksamorasOct. 07, 2011 - 09:29AM JST

I do forsee 1 problem with this and that is that Britain ,like much of the first world, is a consumer society if people stop buying things they don't need in order to pay off their debt doesn't that just shift the problem rather than fixing it.