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Rebalancing the economy? Yeah right!
Topic Started: Feb 7 2015, 06:42 PM (513 Views)
Tigger
Senior Member
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This is why the Tories must go, sure the alternative is Labour but in fairness what have we got to lose? Given the fact that the balance of payments is the worst in several years, the march of the manufacturers has been struck down with arthritis and the nation is splashing the plastic once again and all this with stagnant wages and dire productivity.

I'm wearily coming to the conclusion that the Tories are even more economically illiterate that Labour.
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Tigger
Senior Member
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Steve K
Feb 8 2015, 11:58 PM
Financial Services is what has been keeping the trade balance tolerable for the last 50 years

At the risk of sounding like a broken record we do not know that for certain, and yes we know about the tax they pay and the people they employ but we do not have ANY figures about what FS takes out of the economy or the damage it has done and continues to do.
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RJD
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Prudence and Thrift
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Tigger
Feb 8 2015, 09:13 PM
RJD
Feb 8 2015, 04:42 PM
Tigger
Feb 7 2015, 06:42 PM
This is why the Tories must go, sure the alternative is Labour but in fairness what have we got to lose? Given the fact that the balance of payments is the worst in several years, the march of the manufacturers has been struck down with arthritis and the nation is splashing the plastic once again and all this with stagnant wages and dire productivity.

I'm wearily coming to the conclusion that the Tories are even more economically illiterate that Labour.
There is much in what you say, however, even you must have noted the amount of private de-leveraging in the UK since the heady days of 2007/08. Just take a look at private debt.
Considering the furore from the left at any and all cuts in public expenditure I wonder how it will be possible for a Gov. of the centre ground to be ever able to work on rebalancing the economy. It as absolutely clear that the left have zero interest or understanding of how wealth is created and why it is the basis of our State.
I certainly would like to see significant growth in private sector manufacturing in the UK, but do not see how that is likely to be possible without a significant reduction in taxation on jobs. Will Labour rebalance the economy away from debt fuelled consumption towards greater production, I think not as all their pronouncements are in the opposite direction. Remember it was under their watch that £44b of manufacturing AV was lost and they did not notice. Truth is Labour do not have an industrial strategy they are only interested in the Public Sector.
So whilst Osborne has done little, he has achieved significantly more than Balls would attempt and he is inching in the right direction. Yes Labour would make a parlous state even worse, particularly for future generations.
I don't have any answers to most of this as we currently have a government hell bent on repeating the mistakes of the previous lot by essentially bribing the public with it's own money and keeping it's fingers crossed that the eventual shitstorm falls on someone else's watch.

I'd have almost certainly have voted Tory at the next GE despite my social morals and severe reservations with modern conservatism, but they just could not resist yet another debt fuelled housing boom and consumer binge, they have to go because of this and just pray that whatever we get afterwards has the bottle to tell us this is not a viable strategy for the long term economic and indeed social health of our nation.
I think you have to manage with perspective. Governments are constrained in what they can do, all Economists said that we needed more infrastructure civil engineering projects and that we had to get Builders building again, so how. The Gov. chose to support a method that encourages 1st time buyers to buy. Personally I am not happy with the idea that individuals are encouraged to take on such debts which are life long commitment unless their finances are reasonably secure. You will recall that the last lot took the opposite point of view and the outcome was Northern Wreck. That said, in the last 4 years the amount of private debt has declined, unfortunately the public debt has not and Labour certainly will see to it that it will increase a lot more. So if you think that Labour will have the bottle to crush the habit I believe you are deluded as they have always been addicted to spending well beyond our means. Based on statements thus far Labour policies are unlikely to bring the national debt down to safe levels, considered to be ~40% of GDP before 2070, the Tories claim they intend to achieve this some 40 years earlier, mind you I do not believe they have much chance of achieving such an objective, but at least they recognise the problem.
If you want to see more manufacturing in the UK then first you need to improve labour productivity rates and to do this you will need to address education, skills and work-ethics. As the German lady said who spent a year working in a UK factory "how do they have so much time to chat, I chat during the lunch break and am paid to work".

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Affa
Senior Member
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RJD
Feb 10 2015, 05:44 PM

I think you have to manage with perspective. Governments are constrained in what they can do,

Looking at what Government can actually do, if there is the 'will' to do it ..... invade countries, prop up failed banks, give £bns away in foreign aid, then I simply ignore the rest since the premise it is founded on is another fabricated excuse. ...... your previous post is littered with such falsities, such mistaken assertions. The constraints i see are largely ideological wrong headedness

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