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tony_was_here

Listed below are comments made by tony_was_here between Monday, 20th October 2008 and Wednesday, 9th September 2009.

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Why are companies not borrowing? 9:44pm on 09 Sep 2009 Post 31
"...
4. Redistribute wealth. Take a large chunk of wealth from the rich (net creditors) and give it to the poor (net debtors) so they can pay off their debts. Has a similar effect to options (2) and (3) but without most of the bad side-effects.
I'd go for option (4), but I can't see any UK government being brave enough..."

So, I who have never bought anything I could not save up and pay cash for and have worked like a dog to build my business up which employs 30 people at high salaries (paying lots of taxes) and generates 90% of our income from exports would suffer to bail out the feckless! That's a real encouragement to anyone who wants to make a go of it here NOT. It's not bravery but complete stupidity to penalise those who have been successful.
What RBS's results say about QE 1:47pm on 27 Aug 2009 We are living in the biggest financial bubble in history.

You might be interested in watching Paul Grignon's "Money as Debt II Promises Unleashed" This is available in eight parts on youtube (or to buy on DVD) and is a sequel to his animation exposing the fundamental truth and fraud about money and debt.

Australian economist Steve Keen is one of the very few who have called this economic crisis correctly. Keen is distinguished by his economic forecasts are based on levels of debt and changes in levels of debt as opposed to money supply, output capacity and other things that led most economists astray.
You can hear what he had to say at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbt3gnqpO-c

IMHO both are well worth watching.

Now we hear that RBS and Lloyds are are selling repossessed property assets to their own subsidiaries to avoid billions of pounds of losses that would be incurred by selling them in the open market! How is this legal??

What is required for the achievement of a sustainable society is the replacement of the present exponential growth system with an economic and political order based upon both ecological imperatives and the requirements for intergenerational well being. In short, and as stated by Aurelio Peccei and the Executive of the Club of Rome in 1972 (1), we are compelled to seek a “state of equilibrium” with Nature on our planet. This goal will require nothing less than the construction of an entirely new paradigm, effectively a steady state economic and political system, for the continuance of the human enterprise.
BT: A blacker pension hole 09:50am on 31 Jul 2009 It just shows how ridiculous it is to have final salary pensions. How on earth can any organisation or government guarantee a pension based on a final salary 40 years into the future??? These types of pensions have only come into effect during the last 60 or so years after the second world war when the world was in a fairly benign place. Now we are seeing the worst depression since the 1930s, approaching the end of the Oil Age, climate chaos, decimation of fish worldwide, garbage floating islands in the Pacific, baby boomers retiring, doubling of population and approaching limits, soil erosion...

All of these final salary schemes should be converted into money purchase schemes using the money already in the pot and not by topping it up.
Should the Bank of England buy shares? 9:18pm on 12 Mar 2009 Oops, forgot to add. the plan is to buy up to £150bn of UK government bonds and corporate debt. But in the present climate who will trade government bonds for cash to invest in who knows what when the bonds are likely to have a higher price in the future?

If the holders of the bonds thought there were bargains out there they would already be selling the bonds and buying shares etc.
Should the Bank of England buy shares? 9:10pm on 12 Mar 2009 It is good that there is discussion about what to do. There is no doubt we need to put business on a sounder footing but what exactly is meant by reflate the economy? We got into this mess by credit that was too cheap and easy, just like many of the other bubbles.

Some of the problems are caused by not correctly pricing the toxic rubbish. There is no such thing as an illiquid asset, merely one that has a difference between buyer and seller. Why is there such a difference, it is because the seller (bank) is hoping that a bigger sucker (govt) will come along and pay more.

To resolve the problems we have to allow the correct price to be found without govt interference otherwise the solution will be merely postponed.

It seems to me the main people problem is the rapidly rising unemployment, leading to lower taxes and higher govt expenditure. Thus we should be making it cheaper to take on new staff by e.g. cutting NI tax and stopping the nationalised banks such as RBS from offshoring any more jobs.

Our North Sea oil and gas are past peak and declining so we urgently need to move away from fossil fuel for the economy, let alone the problems of climate change see latest report out in Copenhagen today.

Heavily insulate all buildings, much more wind and probably nuclear. Significantly improve rail not airports because in ten years time cheap flights will be history.

Boost agriculture.
The Goodwin pension questions 6:38pm on 26 Feb 2009 Yet another case of these people being so out of touch with the real world, they think it is acceptable to plunder as much as possible. It is no wonder that some commentators are saying social unrest will occur. Is it reasonable that the huge majority have to work to 65 for a small fraction of what FG is now getting at 50?

From memory as of 6 April 2006 a single universal pension regime was supposed to exist. Part of this is a lifetime limit, currently £1.6 million (?) - any excess is supposed to be subject to a charge of 55%.

I think there was a method to preserve existing pensions that were above this limit but surely not allow new contributions??

Whatever it takes, these bank directors need to have their pensions taken away.
The questions for the former bank bosses 09:44am on 10 Feb 2009 Why is RBS acting against the interests of British taxpayers?

Cabinet minister Ed Balls, a former economic adviser to Gordon Brown, says the current global recession is "the most serious for over 100 years" and "more extreme and more serious than that of the 1930s", he said these were "seismic events that are going to change the political landscape".

Meanwhile, that well known taxpayer owned bank, RBS, is busy exporting jobs to Asia. These are not fat cat bankers but modestly paid backroom clerical jobs.

When unemployment is soaring it is crazy to throw British workers on to the dole to send the money to Asia!! Less money in our country = less tax revenues, even more unemployed and a worse balance of trade.

Is there any way at all this makes sense for Britain??
Obama biffs bonuses 6:02pm on 04 Feb 2009 About time these fat cats had some limits placed on them even small though they are. One hears the objections that they need high salaries to motivate them, well were else are they going to get $500k for playing pass the toxic parcel?

Let's have something similar here in the UK but with a somewhat lower amount, GBP 100k should do.

Payouts to failed execs like Fred the Shred should be canned and pension contributions also linked to multi year performance. Why should he have huge amounts put into his pension every year with no comeback?

The banking sector has become far too large, it needs to be cut back until just large enough to service the needs of real business. For starters, how about cancelling all the CDS where the gamblers do not own the things they are supposedly insuring? Also what sense does it make to insure the debt of say the US or UK governments? If they can't pay their debts how does anyone think a bank can cover this?
Bankers and responsibility 11:23am on 30 Jan 2009 Not only are taxpayers are even taking on the liability for banks' dodgy old loans and investments but are still being dumped on.

For example, RBS a British tax payer owned bank is busy trying to outsource British jobs to Asia. Outsourcing can make sense in boom times, but when unemployment is rising it is crazy to throw British workers on to the dole to send the money to Asia!! Less money in our country = less taxes, even more unemployed and a worse balance of trade.

Is there any way this can be said to benefit British taxpayers? I think not!!
Why power prices aren't falling 11:01am on 20 Oct 2008 For the last 200 years we, the world, have been living in a time of cheap abundant energy and hence have been burning it up with no regard to the future. Well as this week's New Scientist magazine has shockingly revealed we actually live on a finite planet!!! Supplies of oil have probably peaked, i.e. the production is on a bumpy plateau and at some time soon will inexorably turn down. Natural gas is forecast to have a worldwide peak some 5-10 years later. The corresponding best guess for coal is in 2030.

Our own North Sea supplies of oil and gas peaked in 1999 and it is appalling that almost nothing has been done over the last few years to remove our dependence. Gas storage is a few days compared to months in Germany. during winter the North Sea cannot supply enough gas, we must rely on storage or buy it back at higher prices from those who have bought it cheaply in the summer and stored it.

The current lower price of oil and gas is temporary.

Since much of our economic growth has been on the back of this abundant energy, we are in for a rude awakening.

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