Budget Day

[Manoverboard]

Hi Ol, tis good to see you posting again

You are right it is not an easy problem to understand and anybody who doesn't appreciate the finer points is probably running scared about what the future may bring ... in which case they will cling onto a body ( Political variety ) or an opinion that will give them hope or indeed comfort of the outcome.

How the Hell we got into this almighty mess is anybody's guess but greed will have been the driving factor throughout and not just the Traders within the Banks.

[Onelife]

Thank you Mob

You are of course right about greed and it’s probably something we’ve all indulged ourselves in at sometime in our lives....I know I’ve put on weight this past few years

[Serendipity]

To be honest other than the headlines I dont take much notice of the budget or anything else in politics for that matter.
If I stress out about it things will still happen, wouldnt do for everyone to be like me but I have far more things to fuss about.

[Kendhni]

In all honesty plebs like me don’t really understand the complexities of what is required to balance the Uk economy/recovery but what I do know is that this task would be made a whole lot easier if they didn’t keep making catastrophic, ill though out policies which when scrutinised are found to be unworkable.

One of the big problems is that we are in a set of circumstances that we have never experienced before and NOBODY seems to know how to answer it. In most previous recessions there has always been part of the world that has been less affected and so it helps drive the recovery .. or, after wars, massive amounts of redevelopment and fixing needs to be done. This recession is global and has been caused by greed (governmental, corporate and individual) and poor management ... they have spent the last 5 years tinkering at the edges but so far there has been little political will to actually get to the bottom of the problems and root them out ... because that will be massively painful for all.

That is why many of the policies, WITH HINDSIGHT or GUESS WORK, have been deemed to be ill thought out ... the policy itself may have been justifiable and workable but when those affected get up in arms the political will (from all parties) has not been there .. personally i would have preferred a single sharp action leaving us all licking our wounds, but then recovery could start and would be rapid ... but that would require a global agreement to do the same. The one thing that has been highlighted in this recession, and is one of the abhorrent results of the noughties, is the 'as long as it does not affect me' attitude.

PS: I agree with MOB that is great to see you posting again.

[Kendhni]

Ken
that is the point everyone seems to deliberately miss
poverty , real honest ,dirt poor poverty does not exist in the UK and people spending beyond thier ability to earn and relying on the state to finanace their lifestyle is morally wrong and the real root of the issue we have in the UK

That is why I would like to see some of the moaners who lie in bed complaining about their 'lot' should be sent to carry out projects abroad in areas of real poverty ... then they would realise just how well off they are in the UK. At the minute the amount of ill informed whinging is pathetic, the standard of liviing for the vast majority of people in the UK has dropped .. but not to the middle ages ... it has dropped back to the level we had in in the early noughties (2003/2004) ... remember those times of desperate poverty.

The ones worst affected are those that have been put out of work due to this recession and I think much more should be done for the first 6 months ... the Labour governments response was to cap the amount of redundancy ... they should have doubled the amount or provided automatic training or double JSA for a period for those made redundant .. preferable self financed by taking from elsewhere in the welfare budget.

Sadly another thing we learned from the noughties was that it is OK to hold your hand out and expect others to line it with silver. That does not happen in many other countries and it is time that we used the available work force in much more efficient manner in a way that benefits everybody in society. Alll these bleeding heart do-gooders are doing is destroy the wider society and for some reason seem to be intent on keeping the poorer in society down, rather than encouraging them they patronise them and tell them that is the best they can hope for .. personally i htink much of that is pure self interest.

I think the idea of an 'aspiration nation' is a good idea and everything should be done to help people with ambitiion and drive to aspire to those things they want.

[Boris+]

Hi Ken,

I really do like your last sentence; and yes, it is great to see OL at it again.

Em

[Quizzical Bob]

But Ken, if you increase redundancy payments you discourage companies from employing new staff. It was bad enough reducing the qualifying period from two years to one.

[Kendhni]

Good point QB, but increased redundancy could have been subsidised by the government based on contributions made to the system over the years. Secondly if people are being made redundant then it is unlikely the company (or that department) would be recruiting at that point ... not without offering those leaving an opportunity at any alternative positions.

[Onelife]

Hi Ken/Em thanks for your kind words.

Ken your opening post this morning sums up nicely the situation we now find ourselves in.

I find your second paragraph interesting insomuch as you have highlighted “all parties” being responsible for a slower than anticipated recovery.... watered down polices, weak leadership and the union of two opposing parties was always going to be recipe for disaster imo.

I have in the past advocated the idea of a full coalition government being a better way forward but having seen how these two have performed I’m now thinking this wouldn’t be a good idea. I think our present political system needs a complete shake up because tinkering around the edges for fear of offending those of influence isn’t the way to run a country.

Dare I say that this country would benefit from a publicly elected dictator (could there ever be such a thing?) to lead us out of this mess, and one which is prepared stand up to those who stash most of this countries money in offshore accounts?

Regards

Keith