BBC Blog Network

User Profile

belgianfrank

Listed below are comments made by belgianfrank between Thursday, 30th October 2008 and Monday, 11th May 2009.

«Newer
Older»

Miss you 09:57am on 11 May 2009 What do I miss from home? The chavs. There's just nothing like them here. Closest is the Bogans in Oz, but that's too far to go.
Cerberus for EU financial hell? 10:49am on 26 Feb 2009 Let me see if I am getting this right. The bill so far to the taxpayer (like in all the best hotels, you can now check this on your screen!), has hit US$ 1.5 trillion in the UK alone. With 30 million taxpayers, that makes a personal debt of US$ 50 000 for each taxpayer in just one country. And the figure is still climbing. With that crippling level of government-generated personal debt, does the European Commission really think that anyone cares about three new committees and a "Systemic Council" who may, or may not, (no prizes for guessing the likely answer), be able to talk the situation into not happening again? Of course not. Is there any way that that the EU can be persuaded that its citizens, 500 million of us at last count, are already so seriously in debt that most of our working lives we will be paying increased taxes to our governments to clear it? Because that is the problem most of want the solution to.
Blubbing bankers 1:48pm on 29 Jan 2009 Robert

The debt figures being thrown around at the moment, whether they are mega-billions or megatrillions, have reached a scale where it is becoming difficult, if not impossible, to relate them to the real world, (which most human beings still live in).

When this sort of thing happens, we try to create comparisons which allow us to put things in context. However, I think most of the comparisons used so far, such as per capita taxpayer debt, do little to make things ant clearer.

I would like to suggest a new measure for the impact of all this debt on human beings, one which reflects the cost over time taht it all entails. In exactly the same way that we do when distances become too astronomical to appreciate, and we begin to measure those distances in time, ie light-years, why don't we start to measure the present unprecedented levels of debt in debt-years, ie the time it will take for the taxpayers of the world to pay it all off? That way we would have a more scientific measure by which all so-called solutions could be measured, ie do they increase or decrease the debt-year burden of the world's taxpayers?
Sarkozy's amour propre 10:09am on 15 Dec 2008 # 30

I hope she didn't mention the war ;o)
Banks: The new welfare dependents 2:39pm on 12 Nov 2008 There is nearly always a presumption in the replies to these blogs, that our great leaders, whether they be political, financial or whatever, are either stupid or criminal. This is not the case. At the moment they are simply living in desperate hope that things will get better, as the prisoner did in the famous anectode as follows ...
"A man had offended the king, and was sentenced to death.
"Oh your majesty!" he pleaded. "Allow me but one year, and I will teach your
horse to talk."
Astonished, the king agreed.
The man's friend took him aside and asked, "why did you make such a foolish
promise?"
The man shrugged. "In a year, the king may die. In a year, I may die. In a
year, the horse may talk."
How much should banks cut rates? 1:34pm on 07 Nov 2008 Tired of reading all these comments on the problem. Can everyone please read the following solution and just get on with implementing it.
First, convert all commercial debt in to long-term sovereign debt by obliging all banks within the reach of English and/or Scottish law to buy 10-year 10% government bonds for the full amount of all outstanding debt on their books. They can declare as much of it as bad debt as they like, but they still have to buy bonds for the full amount, except at 5% for the bad debt.
'At a stroke', the government will have recovered all the taxpayers money it has thrown down the drain, and a bit of spin will enable it to be sold as a political masterstroke, gaining public support, credibility and control. All banks instantly become 'Good' banks.
The economy must then be managed over the next ten years so that the 10% payout is effectively nullified by inflation. Classic zero-sum solution. Every one a winner. If it doesn't work, today's bunch of politicians will have gone anyway, so they have nothing to lose by trying it.
Why will it work? Because time is factored in to the solution. Now if we could factor in responsibility and integrity, we could also stop the problem ever reurring in the future. Utopia.
How will the Chancellor repay debt? 2:51pm on 30 Oct 2008 # 152

What a lot of old cobblers. Sounds like you've been at the sherry!
How will the Chancellor repay debt? 12:37pm on 30 Oct 2008 # 120

I truly sympathise with your prdicament, especially when you have family responsibilities. There are only two things you can rely on however. (1) The government will be no help to you whatsoever. (2) There will be no civil war. Wars of any kind are fought for strategic issues, like territory or wealth or even ideology. They are not fought over debt.
It's your family and friends who are the only ones you can rely on to support you while all this passes (as everything does). And of course the charities ...
Merkel: an unlikely success 11:34am on 30 Oct 2008 # 22

Sounds Roumanian to me ....
Merkel: an unlikely success 09:14am on 30 Oct 2008 There is no question about it, France is Europe's most powerful country. You only need to look at the dynamism of its President to see that. Open your eyes everyone and stop thinking that any part of the Anglo-Saxon world could be better than France in any way!

«Newer
Older»

^ Back to top

BBC MMVI

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

BBC.co.uk

BBC Blog Network

Find and talk to the BBC's bloggers.

User Profile

belgianfrank