The Budget

[Mungoscorner]

The problems started when Thacher got into bed with the bankers and run down manufacturing industry in this country. Since then all governments are being held to ransom by the city as we don't have a manufacturing industry to fall back on.

Every decision made by the last Labour and the current Coalition government is aimed at keeping the city happy as without their support the country would be in a worse state than Greece. The mess we are in now was caused by a global financial crisis caused by ours and other governments turning a blind eye to the doggy financial practices carried out by the bankers et al.

Unfortunately the coalition lead by the Tories have some mistaken belief that they can cut back public sector jobs and that the private sector will take up the slack and we won't end up with millions unemployed. The problem is the banks won't lend any money to the private sector, so no new jobs.

The budget is clearly aimed at appeasing the city and the credit ratings agencies with a small sop to business in the guise of a reduction in the 50p tax rate and a reduction in company tax. So who pays for all this, yep, you me and those pensioners who have enough forward planning to put some money aside.

So are we 'all in it together'?

Excellent post,and yet another present day problem with its roots in the Thatcher years.
Oh well,when i'm still working at 70 and have half the pension i was promised when i began life as a public sector worker,i will sleep safe in the knowledge that at least those poor souls at the top didn't have to pay 50p in the pound.

 

[Ethan]

The problems started when Thacher got into bed with the bankers and run down manufacturing industry in this country. Since then all governments are being held to ransom by the city as we don't have a manufacturing industry to fall back on.

Every decision made by the last Labour and the current Coalition government is aimed at keeping the city happy as without their support the country would be in a worse state than Greece. The mess we are in now was caused by a global financial crisis caused by ours and other governments turning a blind eye to the doggy financial practices carried out by the bankers et al.

Unfortunately the coalition lead by the Tories have some mistaken belief that they can cut back public sector jobs and that the private sector will take up the slack and we won't end up with millions unemployed. The problem is the banks won't lend any money to the private sector, so no new jobs.

The budget is clearly aimed at appeasing the city and the credit ratings agencies with a small sop to business in the guise of a reduction in the 50p tax rate and a reduction in company tax. So who pays for all this, yep, you me and those pensioners who have enough forward planning to put some money aside.

So are we 'all in it together'?

The deregulation of the financial industry, which was really at the heart of this economic collapse, was also started under Thatch, although accelerated under Nu Labour. As a result, some of these predatory banking practices were operated out of London rather than the US. No wonder the French and Germans want to put a Tobin tax on financial transactions - I can't really blame them.

Now the ConDems have drawn the battle lines for the next election. Faced with a totally feckless muppet in charge of Labour, they have decided to grab the 'hard working middle classes' as their core vote, even though most of their basic policies are counter to the long term interests of those people. But that is the same in the US, where dirt-kicking rednecks vote Republican. The Govt have realised that the Daily Wail and the Sun are happy to bash fat cats all day long, so they are the whipping boys now, including such evil groups as GPs, head teachers, small businessmen and the like.

The NHS Bill is a good example of what is wrong. This is crony capitalism at its finest. McKinsey are hired to do a lot of expensive work by people who worked for McKinsey in the past, or will work there in the future. Lots of big healthcare companies who have wined, dined and donated to the Cons, mostly, get to influence the Bill and are in prime position to pick up contracts when they start to appear. Naturally the rules are stacked int heir favour. The Bill was only ever intended to do two things - devolve responsibility for the health budget and prepare the NHS for private cherry picking. All the rest is smoke and mirrors. The idea that GPs will be in charge of important local decisions, or that patients will have more choice, are both laughable. It will be quite the opposite. As it happens, the NHS Bill also makes it very likely that Lansley, Clegg and others will get nice lucrative jobs in private health companies after they are turfed out. So they don't really care about the consequences for ordinary patients.

 

[MegaSteve]

The biggest problem I have is that there is no longer [if there ever has been] a party that represents my views on the world... Whats more, I feel this is now the case for the vast majority of 'ordinary' working folk... There are still a few 'honest' MP's but they are becoming rarer...

 

[Junior]

The fact that we are not self sustainable any more is the crux of the issue. We import everything and manufacture nothing. The things we do make are expensive our wage demands are so high and we rely too much on foreign markets.

Its easy to pick holes in all if this , id like to see more posts regarding solutions. How about increasing import tax to put more demand onto UK industry ???

 

[MegaSteve]

Solutions???

Goverment to support British manufacturing when placing orders for a start... 'We' are investing heavily in wind farms yet most [all] of the 'hardware' is being sourced overseas...

From small acorns...

 

[Mungoscorner]

The deregulation of the financial industry, which was really at the heart of this economic collapse, was also started under Thatch, although accelerated under Nu Labour. As a result, some of these predatory banking practices were operated out of London rather than the US. No wonder the French and Germans want to put a Tobin tax on financial transactions - I can't really blame them.

Now the ConDems have drawn the battle lines for the next election. Faced with a totally feckless muppet in charge of Labour, they have decided to grab the 'hard working middle classes' as their core vote, even though most of their basic policies are counter to the long term interests of those people. But that is the same in the US, where dirt-kicking rednecks vote Republican. The Govt have realised that the Daily Wail and the Sun are happy to bash fat cats all day long, so they are the whipping boys now, including such evil groups as GPs, head teachers, small businessmen and the like.

The NHS Bill is a good example of what is wrong. This is crony capitalism at its finest. McKinsey are hired to do a lot of expensive work by people who worked for McKinsey in the past, or will work there in the future. Lots of big healthcare companies who have wined, dined and donated to the Cons, mostly, get to influence the Bill and are in prime position to pick up contracts when they start to appear. Naturally the rules are stacked int heir favour. The Bill was only ever intended to do two things - devolve responsibility for the health budget and prepare the NHS for private cherry picking. All the rest is smoke and mirrors. The idea that GPs will be in charge of important local decisions, or that patients will have more choice, are both laughable. It will be quite the opposite. As it happens, the NHS Bill also makes it very likely that Lansley, Clegg and others will get nice lucrative jobs in private health companies after they are turfed out. So they don't really care about the consequences for ordinary patients.

Excellent post Ethan.

 

[timchump]

it must be tough being a politician....

personally i think it was a good budget, a huge uplift in the personal allowance will benefit most of us who can be bothered to work.

decreasing the higher rate tax band to 45p and corporation tax doesn't necessarily mean other people have to pay for it.

What happens when corporation tax and higher personal rate tax is too high....
wealthy individuals think about leaving the country and multinationals corporations don't invest here as much, overall there can be less tax to collect

the only thing i don't like is the pensioners getting a poor deal

 

[madandra]

I remember when I was just a boy I was having a chat with my Dad and asked him why we didn't own our house but rented it from the council. He said that to get a mortgage you needed to have a 20% deposit and even then you had to go and speak to the bank manager and almost prove to him you didn't need the money in order to get a mortgage. This eliminated the vast majority of working class people from getting up to their tits in debt for a very long time.

Mrs T comes along and wants to cut the housing stock and tells everyone "You can own your own home" even though many could barely afford to but she brought in tens of millions of £££££'s by selling people their council houses.

A few years later and council houses were like rocking horse s*** which inflated the prices of those ordinary homes and the stupid working class 'home owner' decided to sell the house he bought for £45,000 for £250,000 and trade up to something more expensive. The chap who bought his house probalbly was on £25-30k a year but another stoopid fooker decides to push though his mortgage application so he can get commission. A miriad of companies were offering people on low incomes 120% mortgages over 30 years. They even opproached people content in their humble abodes and lured them into buying bigger homes by pressing home the value in thier existing property.

I know some people who are paying £1500 a month in mortgage from £2000 am month income. Unsustainable !!!!

The young people can't get a nice house from the council coz all the nice ones are sold leaving the high rise flats and estates riddled with crime and drugs because these people have no hope of ever living somewhere nice. So with people trading up every 5 years the whole neighbourhood spirit that made Britain great was erroded to breaking point.

So may I lay the greed culture at Mrs T's door along with the demise in manufacturing in this country.

Oh, and if she wants a state funeral when the good lord comes calling, let it be privatised.

 

[Junior]

I remember when I started work 15 years ago. I visited manufacturing facilities all round the UK, Piston manufacturer in Bridgwater (Somerset), Shell Bearing manufacturer in Kilmarnock, Headgasket manufacturer in Slough and god knows how many machining shops in the midlands. Now, some of these facilities are no longer there, some still exist but are warehouses for all the product that is coming in from India and Eastern Europe.

Two of the fastest growing economies in the world (China and Brazil) have really high import duties that result in companies investing in territory to be able to support the local market. This encourages apprentiships, employment and stimulates growth in local area's.

Unfortunately politicians these days are out for themselves, their careers, and their own back pockets. We need some leaders of industry moving into politics , things need shaking up, and not by Cameron or Milliband.