old English gents are you worried

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Why 7 years ago, tell us what it was 10 years ago. July 2007 it was 69.3 THB to the pound.

You picked a point just after the global financial crisis ignoring the recovery that was taking place until brexit kicked in.

In Jan 2009 the dollar was 1.433 and by Jan 2014 around 1.70, what is it today, 1.265.

 I was replying to a poster who stated the Pound has plummeted in the last seven years and I was just stating that the Pound is pretty much the same as it was seven years ago

    The Pound did recover and it stayed stable after the Brexit vote , but all the dithering around and uncertainty caused jitters in the market , markets hate uncertainty and the Pound dropped . Not due to the Brexit vote , but due to the  UK Govs dither about and the uncertainty that that caused

[ResandePohm]

Teresa May is now finished as a Prime Minister. Just mistake after mistake 
First she accepted the office of PM to lead Britain out of the EU when she herself had voted for the opposite 
Second she calls a quick election which was totally unnecessary. Resulting in that she no longer has a majority for government and worse for her majority of MPs in Parliament are anti Brexit. It will be hard if not impossible to get any Brexit deal approved in Parliament. 
Thirdly she Is negotiating with the DUP to gain a majority to enable her to govern. The DUP is not exactly a party to have in the Government with their history and background during the NI troubles.

It will be interesting to follow if she can get a Brexit deal at all or is Brexit dead in the water now?

She really is in a fine pickle. Her exit from Parliament is already counting down. I just hope she does not ruin Britain before she leaves.

[Kwasaki]

19 minutes ago, ResandePohm said:

Teresa May is now finished as a Prime Minister.

l knew you were gonna say that.    Well she was in the news today with cabinet colleagues with one telling reporters TM is a strong PM and will be remaining.

 

24 minutes ago, ResandePohm said:

I just hope she does not ruin Britain before she leaves.

How would she be able to do that. ?

[billd766]

On 10/06/2017 at 11:52 PM, chickenslegs said:

News sources like to get your 'clicks'.

 

"Crashed" is when you have to take a wheelbarrow of bank notes to the shops to buy a bottle of milk and a loaf of bread.

 

A drop from 44THB to 43THB is not "crashed".

 

 

Crashed means the above but by the time you get to the shops your 250 million dollar note isn't enough as the currency has dropped another 25% in the time it takes you to walk to the shops.

 

This was a failed currency and a failed state and the UK at the moment is nothing like it.

 

The Weimar Republic of Germany after WW1 suffered from hyperinflation of its currency.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic#Hyperinflation

 

In the early post-war years, inflation was growing at an alarming rate, but the government simply printed more currency to pay debts. By 1923, the Republic claimed it could no longer afford the reparations payments required by the Versailles Treaty, and the government defaulted on some payments. In response, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr region, Germany's most productive industrial region at the time, taking control of most mining and manufacturing companies in January 1923. Strikes were called, and passive resistance was encouraged. These strikes lasted eight months, further damaging the economy and the social life.[citation needed]

The strike prevented some goods from being produced, but one industrialist, Hugo Stinnes, was able to create a vast empire out of bankrupt companies. Because the production costs in Germany were falling almost hourly, the prices for German products were unbeatable. Stinnes made sure that he was paid in dollars, which meant that by mid-1923, his industrial empire was worth more than the entire German economy. By the end of the year, over two hundred factories were working full-time to produce paper for the spiralling bank note production. Stinnes' empire collapsed when the government-sponsored inflation was stopped in November 1923.[citation needed]

In 1919, one loaf of bread cost 1 mark; by 1923, the same loaf of bread cost 100 billion marks.

 

The value of the Papiermark had declined from 4.2 Marks per U.S. dollar in 1914 to one million per dollar by August 1923. This led to further criticism of the Republic. On 15 November 1923, a new currency, the Rentenmark, was introduced at the rate of one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) Papiermark for one Rentenmark, an action known as redenomination. At that time, one U.S. dollar was equal to 4.2 Rentenmark. Reparation payments were resumed, and the Ruhr was returned to Germany under the Locarno Treaties, which defined the borders between Germany, France, and Belgium.

[billd766]

On 12/06/2017 at 10:35 AM, Laza 45 said:

Borrowing for things that grow the GDP and create employment is good investment for future prosperity.. especially in the current low interest environment..  The UK's borrowings are quite large at the moment (1.7 Trillion..)  but don't put the country in the basket case group.. borrowing at the moment are about 80% of GDP which is reasonably low by world standard at the moment.. Australia has just had 26 years of continuous growth... much of it stimulated by government spending.. If the UK doesn't invest in its future the prospects look dismal, I think.  Austerity and trickle down economics only benefit the 1%   ..  have a look at these charts..  the chart for the last 100 years puts the present UK debt into perspective..  http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/uk_national_debt_chart.html

 

The biggest problem with borrowing money is that it has to be paid back with interest at x%. Of course you can always try to borrow more money but that of course comes at the rate of x% plus. Eventually when you go to borrow more money the rates is x% plus plus and the terms that will be allowed to borrow it will be horrendous.

 

Take a minute or so to think about Socialist governments such as Greece, Italy, Spain etc who borrowed money from the EU and the World Bank and the position that they are in now.

 

Do you want the UK to be in that position?

 

I don't.

[Kwasaki]

7 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Crashed means the above but by the time you get to the shops your 250 million dollar note isn't enough

Interesting post Bill reminds of my past as many posts do.

Many moons ago was in Venice Italy and bought some handmade glass items when the owner showed me the bill which was in the millions & thousands,  l was stunned & dropped jawed for a moment until the calculator came to the rescue. 

[Kwasaki]

4 minutes ago, billd766 said:

The biggest problem with borrowing money is that it has to be paid back with interest at x%. Of course you can always try to borrow more money but that of course comes at the rate of x% plus. Eventually when you go to borrow more money the rates is x% plus plus and the terms that will be allowed to borrow it will be horrendous.

I would say in my experience borrowing money in Thailand the % rates are calculated differently and extremely high maybe for a reason. 

My daughter in England has just borrowed money @ 3.3% well worth her while.

[billd766]

20 hours ago, whatawonderfulday said:

unbelievable that she is still stealing from the ordinary taxpayer even after she is dead ?

 

You really are a bitter person.

 

Yes Margaret Thatcher authorised council houses to be sold off.

 

However I don't remember ANY LABOUR government reversing the policy during the 13 YEARS that they were in power.

 

If the Labour was so much for the working people which meant not just for people who joined a union (in some cases no union card meant no job) but for ALL the working people who made up perhaps 80% or more of the population, why didn't they change the laws.

 

After all, I am sure if Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives could do it when they were in power, then I am sure that Tony Blair and Labour could have have changed the law back, don't you?

[billd766]

19 hours ago, Dene16 said:

millions of ordinary tax payers who were  council tenants might disagree with you on that one. 

Is there a particular reason you don't wish people to advance in life/status. 

Selling off council houses has always been a bone of contention in regards to housing no longer being affordable to some, i agree, but not everything can be perfect.

Getting your name on a council waiting list is a good example due to lack of housing but in general it is and was a very good act for millions

 

 

I agree with you up to a point but if the council houses were not sold off then there would still be people living in them and they still would not be available.

[Orac]

I would say in my experience borrowing money in Thailand the % rates are calculated differently and extremely high maybe for a reason. 
My daughter in England has just borrowed money @ 3.3% well worth her while.

The UK can issue bonds which currently have a very low rate of yield well below the inflation rate - 10 years are at 0.96 and 30 years at 1.67.

[Laza 45]

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

The biggest problem with borrowing money is that it has to be paid back with interest at x%. Of course you can always try to borrow more money but that of course comes at the rate of x% plus. Eventually when you go to borrow more money the rates is x% plus plus and the terms that will be allowed to borrow it will be horrendous.

 

Take a minute or so to think about Socialist governments such as Greece, Italy, Spain etc who borrowed money from the EU and the World Bank and the position that they are in now.

 

Do you want the UK to be in that position?

 

I don't.

I think the most likely way for he UK to get into the position of Greece & the other failed economies is to do nothing and let the economy stagnate into depression..  The Uk's debt is about 1.7 trillion or aprox 80% of GDP... another 280 billion is relatively small increase.. if it is spent to create jobs and repair infrastructure it would increase GDP... do you paint your house and do necessary repairs or do you let your asset deteriorate and watch the value drop? 

[sandyf]

3 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Interesting post Bill reminds of my past as many posts do.

Many moons ago was in Venice Italy and bought some handmade glass items when the owner showed me the bill which was in the millions & thousands,  l was stunned & dropped jawed for a moment until the calculator came to the rescue. 

That must have been some piece of glass. I served in Italy in the early seventies and we were paid about 2500 lira to the pound.

[sandyf]

6 hours ago, sanemax said:

 I was replying to a poster who stated the Pound has plummeted in the last seven years and I was just stating that the Pound is pretty much the same as it was seven years ago

    The Pound did recover and it stayed stable after the Brexit vote , but all the dithering around and uncertainty caused jitters in the market , markets hate uncertainty and the Pound dropped . Not due to the Brexit vote , but due to the  UK Govs dither about and the uncertainty that that caused

The deterioration from 1.70 in 2014 to current levels is entirely due to the brexit referendum. The rot set in when the bill was passed.

[Dene16]

3 hours ago, billd766 said:

I agree with you up to a point but if the council houses were not sold off then there would still be people living in them and they still would not be available.

 

Yes,  you are correct nothing would change in that respect

The bone of contention that people often refer to to is that there would be more affordable (being the operative word) housing for the masses.

Most councils later went into partnership with housing associations to provide new housing but this has increased rents. Not to that great a deal, i may add,  but an increase all the same.

However this would not detract from the increase in population (thus longer waiting lists) and the lack of viable land for new build.

No idea about up north but in the south it is becoming impossible for councils to meet there so called quotas to meet demand. (especially 2 or 3 bedroom houses as apposed to one bedroom flats which were practically the only thing being built in my city over the last 10 years)

 

 

 

[Kwasaki]

2 hours ago, sandyf said:

That must have been some piece of glass. I served in Italy in the early seventies and we were paid about 2500 lira to the pound.

Yeah the glass is beautiful we went there some 38 years ago it was around 100 and some-think quid.

Respect to you, dunno about serving army UK  l was kicked out. 

[simon43]

When I first worked in Myanmar in 2012, I remember seeing people using wheelbarrows to take local money (kyat) to the bank.

 

Come to think of it, when I collect my monthly salary from the school office, I have to take a small backpack to hold it all!

[billd766]

7 hours ago, Laza 45 said:

I think the most likely way for he UK to get into the position of Greece & the other failed economies is to do nothing and let the economy stagnate into depression..  The Uk's debt is about 1.7 trillion or aprox 80% of GDP... another 280 billion is relatively small increase.. if it is spent to create jobs and repair infrastructure it would increase GDP... do you paint your house and do necessary repairs or do you let your asset deteriorate and watch the value drop? 

 

I despair of people like you who can quite glibly say "Another £280 billion is only a relatively small increase" as though it means nothing.

 

In reality, to me as a UK taxpayer, it is more than my state pension for a year as it would be to many pensioners.

 

With a current population of (2017 figures) 65,511,098 that comes to about £4,275 for every man, woman, child and baby in the UK. All of which will have to be borrowed from somewhere and interest paid on it and guess who will have to pay. The people who pay income tax which is anywhere between 26 and 32 million people who will have to find an extra £10,000 plus interest from their income.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?site=&source=hp&q=uk+population+2017&oq=Uk+population+2017&gs_l=hp.1.0.0l2.3304.15075.0.17541.19.18.0.0.0.0.176.2786.0j18.18.0....0...1.1.64.hp..1.18.2781.0..35i39k1j0i131k1j0i67k1.S3TMxtxFYx4

 

https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080410050121AAMgjSb

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number-of-individual-income-taxpayers-by-marginal-rate-gender-and-age

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

When I first worked in Myanmar in 2012, I remember seeing people using wheelbarrows to take local money (kyat) to the bank.

 

Come to think of it, when I collect my monthly salary from the school office, I have to take a small backpack to hold it all!

Were you lower paid or couldn't afford a wheelbarrow. ? 

[PeCeDe]

6 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Were you lower paid or couldn't afford a wheelbarrow. ? 

Ha Ha!

 

Brings to mind a potential question and answer with UK School Principal 10 years from now.

 

Mr Principal, what will my annual salary be?

1. 12 Wheelbarrows for undergrad degree. 

2. Pickup truck full for Masters in Ed,

3) 7 ton truck full for Phd.

 

Sorry if that's a bit disrespectful :-)

[swissie]

On 12.6.2017 at 5:12 AM, Baerboxer said:

 

Indeed. And peel our fruit with our Swiss Army pocket knives. The only honest thing to come out of Switzerland.

Yes what a shame, the only thing the Swissies contributed to modern civilisation is the Swiss Army Knife.

Other achievments are hardly worth mentioning:

- Second oldest Democracy, going strong since 1291.
- A very stable economical/political system. (If the unemployment rate goes above 3%, it is being considerd "as a serious matter".)
- Healthy government/state finances.
- Low tax-rates, while still mainaining a very effective Social-Security-System.
- A low cost, but effective (defensive) militia army.
- One of highest living standarts on the globe.
- A hard currency, to a point, where the Swiss National Bank has to artificially weaken the Swiss-Franc by buying up Euros, Dollars, Pounds by the Billions.

And best of all: By referendum, the Swiss voter can nullify any government action/legislation. Unique on this globe. Democracy at it's finest.

So, instead of tinkering with old political concepts, (that have not worked in the past and will not work in the future), a glance at Switzerland (and how they run the "shop"), might actually turn the world into a better place. Seriously!

In the mean-time, the Swissies will calmly look at a world going crazier by the day, still making cheese and Swiss Army Knifes, as they have for the last 726 years, also maintaining a stiff upper lip (if necessary.)

Cheers.

[observer90210]

The smartest thing England has done in many many years, was to leave the EU!!...no kidding on this one!!...

[nontabury]

10 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

I despair of people like you who can quite glibly say "Another £280 billion is only a relatively small increase" as though it means nothing.

 

In reality, to me as a UK taxpayer, it is more than my state pension for a year as it would be to many pensioners.

 

With a current population of (2017 figures) 65,511,098 that comes to about £4,275 for every man, woman, child and baby in the UK. All of which will have to be borrowed from somewhere and interest paid on it and guess who will have to pay. The people who pay income tax which is anywhere between 26 and 32 million people who will have to find an extra £10,000 plus interest from their income.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?site=&source=hp&q=uk+population+2017&oq=Uk+population+2017&gs_l=hp.1.0.0l2.3304.15075.0.17541.19.18.0.0.0.0.176.2786.0j18.18.0....0...1.1.64.hp..1.18.2781.0..35i39k1j0i131k1j0i67k1.S3TMxtxFYx4

 

https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080410050121AAMgjSb

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number-of-individual-income-taxpayers-by-marginal-rate-gender-and-age

Agree with everything you say, except the population figure of 65 million. Some estimates put the figure at nearer 75million.

[sandyf]

12 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Yeah the glass is beautiful we went there some 38 years ago it was around 100 and some-think quid.

Respect to you, dunno about serving army UK  l was kicked out. 

I was RAF and did about 6 months on Sardinia at the Tri-national base. At that time you could buy 4 bottles of Lambrusco for a pound, before it became a household name. Slowly but surely all the low cost destinations are being eliminated.

[nontabury]

8 hours ago, swissie said:

Yes what a shame, the only thing the Swissies contributed to modern civilisation is the Swiss Army Knife.

Other achievments are hardly worth mentioning:

- Second oldest Democracy, going strong since 1291.
- A very stable economical/political system. (If the unemployment rate goes above 3%, it is being considerd "as a serious matter".)
- Healthy government/state finances.
- Low tax-rates, while still mainaining a very effective Social-Security-System.
- A low cost, but effective (defensive) militia army.
- One of highest living standarts on the globe.
- A hard currency, to a point, where the Swiss National Bank has to artificially weaken the Swiss-Franc by buying up Euros, Dollars, Pounds by the Billions.

And best of all: By referendum, the Swiss voter can nullify any government action/legislation. Unique on this globe. Democracy at it's finest.

So, instead of tinkering with old political concepts, (that have not worked in the past and will not work in the future), a glance at Switzerland (and how they run the "shop"), might actually turn the world into a better place. Seriously!

In the mean-time, the Swissies will calmly look at a world going crazier by the day, still making cheese and Swiss Army Knifes, as they have for the last 726 years, also maintaining a stiff upper lip (if necessary.)

Cheers.

A low cost army,that has never been tested, relying instead on other countries taxpayers to guarantee their neutrality. Thus enabling them to become the bankers  to all the despots of the world. P.S. How much money and gold from the concentration camp victims is still in the Swiss vaults?

 Agree with you on the Swiss version of democracy. That by the referendum. We in the UK tried that in 2016, unfortunately some Remoaners are still refusing to accept the democratic will of the people.

[sandyf]

On 6/12/2017 at 6:20 PM, Kwasaki said:

The right to buy was a good thing for many people but it did get abused.  

The system allowed the abuse and that is what soured many to the concept.

My brother married a woman that lived in a council house and as soon as they were married they bought it. A couple of years later they sold it at a huge profit and have never looked back. Just took advantage of what was on offer.

There should have been a fairly lengthy fixed retention period and anyone that sold early, for whatever reason, should have had to repay on a sliding scale some of the discount from the profits. That reclaimed discount could have built more houses.

[billd766]

3 hours ago, nontabury said:

Agree with everything you say, except the population figure of 65 million. Some estimates put the figure at nearer 75million.

 

 Your (and Grouse's) favourite newspaper doesn't agree with you.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/03/uk-population-to-hit-70-million-ons-in-less-than-a-decade

[nontabury]

34 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

 Your (and Grouse's) favourite newspaper doesn't agree with you.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/03/uk-population-to-hit-70-million-ons-in-less-than-a-decade

The difference is between the official numbers, and the UNofficial estimates.

 

True the Guardian is my favorite newspapers. At least that's when I find it useful, when we run out of toilet paper.

[billd766]

1 hour ago, nontabury said:

The difference is between the official numbers, and the UNofficial estimates.

 

True the Guardian is my favorite newspapers. At least that's when I find it useful, when we run out of toilet paper.

 

When I was young we used the Bournemouth Evening Echo.

[Kwasaki]

4 hours ago, sandyf said:

There should have been a fairly lengthy fixed retention period and anyone that sold early, for whatever reason

I think there was a set period forget how long though.

My wife and l at the time were living in a housing association flat, l applied for right to buy, wait the restricted sell time, then sell it or rent it out but it got derailed in all sorts of ways.

So the only house l could afford at the time was a 2 bed ex-council house,  we moved on later into a private 3 bed house in a snobby area. 

[sandyf]

2 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

I think there was a set period forget how long though.

My wife and l at the time were living in a housing association flat, l applied for right to buy, wait the restricted sell time, then sell it or rent it out but it got derailed in all sorts of ways.

So the only house l could afford at the time was a 2 bed ex-council house,  we moved on later into a private 3 bed house in a snobby area. 

Councils could always sell properties and quite a lot were sold in the 70s but it mushroomed when the Thatcher government introduced the legal right to buy. There were some restrictions initially but the were never upheld. In 2005 the legislation had to be altered to prevent properties being immediately put on the open market and the previous owner was to have first right of refusal.

The other problem was that properties could be run down by the tenant to influence the market value. I believe that the discount was increased to 60 % a couple of years ago.

I also had an ex council 2 bed terrace on the outskirts of Sheffield, moved to a 2 bed bungalow on the outskirts of Chonburi.