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4fooey

Listed below are comments made by 4fooey between Thursday, 24th April 2008 and Monday, 20th October 2008.

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After the death of high wages and high debt - what drives the US economy? 9:57pm on 20 Oct 2008 The high consumption, high debt society was heading towards the buffers before this crisis, just in terms of affordability, but also dues to its damage to the environment. Now the current crisis has begun to bite, this will force people to re-adjust to life with less; this means earning less, borrowing less, spending less, consuming less. The question now for western societies will be how do we rebuild the economy to create sustainable growth and prosperity, while creating a sustainable, resource & carbon neutral future?
Big picture: crisis, crash, depression? 2:55pm on 06 Oct 2008 Paul, you're one of the first commentators to mention (psssst) "the consumer", well indirectly: "what sustains a high-consumption society if not wages or debt?". Our wages seem to have been getting higher in past decades (although we're told they have not), and our levels of debt, as individuals, businesses and institutions, have certainly risen dramatically. Either way our expectations, for a higher and higher standard of living, has outstripped both wages and now debt.

The system is busted and we, and the planet, are suffering. I'd like to see more people concentrating on the role of the consumer in this whole picture. We are all, as consumers, a huge part of the problem, and whether we like it or not, will have to be a big part of the solution, in adjusting our lifestyles to a more sustainable model.
British banks bailed out 12:45pm on 03 Oct 2008 Point 1: "a big British bank was having difficulty renewing credit lines" - people assume this is HBOS and if it is, this is worrying for millions of people. Doesn't actually matter though since there are only 4-5 "big banks" and any one of them being "in trouble" is a big problem for us all.

Point 2: RP says "There'll be an auction of £40bn of three-month loans next Tuesday, and further weekly auctions - whose size is yet to be determined - till at least 18 November". As a complete layman/novice in these matters, where does this money, the £40bn, come from? From what RP says, there would be a potential £240bn over the next 6 weeks - I say again, where is this money coming from? What assets are the BoE taking in security against these loans? I thought the banks have nothing left... Please RP or someone explain...
Day Four. Policymakers stare into the abyss 2:12pm on 18 Sep 2008 Who do we blame for the financial crisis sweeping the globe? Bankers and regulators should certainly shoulder a lot of the blame: bankers for taking on too many risky and dodgy deals, and regulators for taking their collective eye off the ball and allowing this all to happen. But individuals should also take some of the blame.

Over consumption (or some would say greed) is the crunch issue, and people's willingness to borrow money to fund their consumption. Put another way people either wanted to or were persuaded to buy more and more things, such as new houses, cars, holidays, electrical goods (and the associated consumption of energy and resources this brings). So at the root of this crisis, it is the lifestyle most of us lead, as consumers, that has fuelled the financial meltdown and is now hurting us and the planet. Aside from all the adjustments that will be need to be made in the markets, changing our lifestyles will be the harder and more urgent task.
Lots of work for Kremlinologists 2:17pm on 15 Sep 2008 All this speculation about Brown is sickening - just look around you, what is happening in the world? World financial system in deep crisis, climate change threatening the lives of millions, instability in many regions (middle east, Aghan/Pakistan border, Caucasus), major diseases (Aids, malaria). Gordon Brown really is a person capable of contributing to finding a solution to these problems, at the international and national level - look at his track record over the past decade. The media has so convinced the public that Gordon Brown is the problem, that is all people can think about.

And in any case, imagine if GB was to step down now, who would want to take his place? Given the mood of the public, it's quite likely that Labour will lose the next election, who ever is leader. There's a slim chance that if someone (maybe Milliband, Straw, or some other cabinet minister) took charge now, they could turn the situation round enough to scrape home at the next election in 2010. Depends very much on the fortunes of the Tory party and whether they come up with any credible policies.
Robinson's curse 10:27pm on 12 Sep 2008 I think it is very poor when a party is prepared to undermine their leader, to the extent that the Labour party has undermined Gordon Brown. This latest intervention from a backbencher and last week by Charles Clarke completely undermines the PM, the government, the Labour Party and ultimately the country -- our politics and democracy suffer. The current 'story' is all about Brown and his leadership when we should be concentrating on the problems we face. And I happen to think Brown is just as capable as anyone to solve the current problems or get us through these tough economic times.

One current problem is that of climate change and energy supply. The energy saving measures GB announced yesterday were a creative solution to save energy, and to save people some money. Rather than giving money away to people (which they may end up spending on anything they liked, rather than their energy bills), encouraging them to save energy and save money is a great idea -- and it helps with climate change.

Many people suggested levying a windfall tax on the energy companies but in the long run this may be counter-productive since this may dissuade other companies to invest in the UK. Taxing companies (or people for that matter) retrospectively seems unfair. However it does seem unfair to consumers that prices have risen so much in the past few months and these companies have made large profits. So going forward the government should consider capping prices or making the energy companies pay for more energy saving measures, or make them invest in renewables or cleaner energy production.
The truce is over 10:37pm on 04 Sep 2008 With regard to SilentHunter2's comment (#26), the comparison of 2008 with the 1930/40s and the Nazis is completely erroneous and one I cannot identify at all. And for the record I am not a Labour "supporter" as such, but do recognise the good things this government has done (min wage, investment in nursery/primary schools, employment etc).

Related to Nick's original post I cannot see what objective Charles Clarke had in mind. On the one hand, he is just lending his voice to the whole chorus against the government and in particular the PM. In a more general way he is encouraging people (and the media) to undermine the whole system of trying to govern this country and debating the issues of the day in a sensible way. We face many challenges in the UK and internationally, so we need to pull together to solve them. In my original post (#9) I was meaning that this continual harping on and cynicism does no-one any favours.

(I hope you are still accepting comments for this article.)
The truce is over 5:46pm on 03 Sep 2008 This constant harping on about the PM is deeply damaging to the country and democracy itself -- why do people have to do anything and everyone down? The latest package of measures devised by the Chancellor and the PM (stamp duty, etc) are good ideas and will help ease the problems in the economy -- there are difficulties across the world. Please everyone, give these measures, and the PM, a chance.
Brown's frustration 02:24am on 24 Apr 2008 Mr Brown is right; look at the long term policy here. A simpler, fairer tax system for the greatest number of people - the vast majority of people are now taxed at 20p in the pound, great news! Those with children will get more help - this is good for our country. The current media frenzy and talk of u-turns is nonsense. To his credit, Brown has listened to many people and backbenchers and announced measures to compensate those who have lost out most with the loss of the 10p tax rate. People seem to want it both ways; they criticised the 10p tax rate going, seemed to ignore the cut from 22% to 20%, and now they criticise when the government swiftly announces compensation measures.

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