Britain Going Bankrupt? News avoiding critical topics? Public getting screwed?

[chrisweb]

Britain going bankrupt is garnering wider and wider support although is rarely discussed on the major news broadcasters like the BBC.

This article addresses the dismal stats on the U.K economy, and analyzes why the public might be getting completely screwed over with Bank Bailouts, and ponders why the BBC avoids the topic of U.K bankruptcy and other critical economic topics.

http://www.webtvhub.com/bankrupt-britain/
Some shocking info in there to get you thinking.

What do you think?
Worried?
Think the BBC is overlooking critical topics and dumbing it down?

I'm not looking forward to the tax hikes in 2010.

 

[wordsinart]

Is your name Robert Preston?

 

[artona]

If Britain does go bankrupt then it won't be alone. If you watch Bloomberg, you'll see the UK is doing only marginally worse (or in many cases better) on percentage falls in GDP and has lower unemployment than many European countries.

Heard lots of rumours that the former Soviet bloc countries are likely to need IMF funding soon. I wonder if that's true?

 

[Gillie]

Is your name Robert Preston?

You of course mean Peston ...

 

[wordsinart]

No - I was talking about a mate of mine, Robert Preston (or Bobby as he likes to be known).

Bobby is the type of guy who would sell his soul to stay in the public spotlight, but he's such a doom and gloom merchant.

...come to think of it, maybe they are one and the same person

 

[chrisweb]

You of course mean Peston ...

No I'm not Robert Peston (the journalist) - I'm sure he'd be interested in the article though.

 

[chrisweb]

If Britain does go bankrupt then it won't be alone. If you watch Bloomberg, you'll see the UK is doing only marginally worse (or in many cases better) on percentage falls in GDP and has lower unemployment than many European countries.

Heard lots of rumours that the former Soviet bloc countries are likely to need IMF funding soon. I wonder if that's true?

GDP and unemployment are not so much the issue. The government can keep unemployment lower by employing more people in a public sector and GDP is not the most accurate measure of a countries wealth.

Debt, currency and countries income (trade deficit/surplus) are the two big factors in my opinion. Have a look at those factors.

 

[Gillie]

No I'm not Robert Peston (the journalist) - I'm sure he'd be interested in the article though.

Erm it aint me that thought you were anybody thanks! I was merely being a pedant!

 

[Dawg]

Erm it aint me that thought you were anybody thanks! I was merely being a pedant!

Robert Pedant?

 

[billie1]

This is a good point raised by the OP, people are too scared to believe it can happen or just don't want to admit. Coming back to 'Artona' comment about Britain won't be alone. What does other countries have to do with it. Never mind other countries, I think Britain is in deep waters, almost drowning.

 

[telemax]

This is a good point raised by the OP, people are too scared to believe it can happen or just don't want to admit. Coming back to 'Artona' comment about Britain won't be alone. What does other countries have to do with it. Never mind other countries, I think Britain is in deep waters, almost drowning.

Other countries have lots to do with it, If Britain goes, lots of other countries will go too. You find me one country that isn't in deep waters at the moment!!

 

[billie1]

The original question was about Britain, not other countries. A few Countries who are not in deep waters are: China, Japan, India. Their economies are growning rapidly.

 

[Dawg]

The original question was about Britain, not other countries. A few Countries who are not in deep waters are: China, Japan, India. Their economies are growning rapidly.

Billie, lets keep our eye on the ball shall we?
From the FT today:
Japan’s economy shrinks 3.3%
The Japanese government was facing growing pressure on Monday for a new stimulus package after plunging exports pushed the world’s second largest economy into its worst downturn in nearly 35 years.

China is also going through hard times as it is unable to sustain it's export led boom. I'd imagine India is much the same.

 

[chrisweb]

Japan has a trade surplus and so can theoretically afford to spend more. That said I know little about the Japenese economy so could be wrong.

China has masses and masses of savings and can afford to stimulate like crazy.

But whether country A is worse than UK or not doesn't really matter to me. Its not a competition about who's worse. I'm just concerned about where the U.K is heading.

Also this whole idea if UK goes bankrupt we'll see global financial meltdown. Economies go bankrupt quite regularly - we did back in the 1970s - it is not the end of the world. But its not good either.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Billie, lets keep our eye on the ball shall we?
From the FT today:
Japan’s economy shrinks 3.3%
The Japanese government was facing growing pressure on Monday for a new stimulus package after plunging exports pushed the world’s second largest economy into its worst downturn in nearly 35 years.

China is also going through hard times as it is unable to sustain it's export led boom. I'd imagine India is much the same.

I was reading an article the Obama stimulus package by Martin Weiss today and it mentioned Japan:

Obama Argument #1: Japan’s economy was also toppled by a real estate collapse in 1990. But, they say, the Japanese government didn’t do enough. The result, according to this theory, was Japan’s “lost decade” — and, today, 18 years after that bust began, the Japanese stock market and economy are sinking to new lows. To avoid a similar fate, goes the argument, we must act even more decisively.

My rebuttal: In its multi-year efforts to save its economy, the Japanese government built up a public debt of 180% of GDP. To duplicate Japan’s efforts today, we would have to TRIPLE our public debt.

Further, to stimulate its economy, Japan spent $6.3 trillion. Since the U.S. GDP today is 4.6 times larger than Japan’s in 1990, to match Japan’s spending, our government would have to fork up $29.1 trillion. That’s THIRTY-SEVEN times more than the just-passed Obama stimulus package.

And despite that massive outpouring of government money, Japan not only failed to stem its decline, it actually made it far worse, prolonging the agony for nearly two decades.

Obama Argument #2: They say our crisis today is somehow not as severe as Japan’s in the 1990s. So they hold out the hope that it will be easier to overcome.

My rebuttal: Evidence is now pouring in that the current crisis is far worse than Japan’s: Our economy is sinking more rapidly, with deeper deflation, bigger debt collapses and far larger financial losses.

Moreover, in the 1990s, the economic decline was limited mostly to Japan, while other advanced economies of the world were booming, giving Japan’s export economy a major, continuing boost.

Today, in contrast, the entire world is sinking, with unemployment spreading across the globe like wildfire. The lead story in yesterday’s New York Times drives that point home:

“From lawyers in Paris to factory workers in China and bodyguards in Colombia, the ranks of the jobless are swelling rapidly across the globe. Worldwide job losses from the recession that started in the United States in December 2007 could hit a staggering 50 million by the end of 2009, according to the International Labor Organization.”

This is precisely the opposite of the global environment Japan enjoyed even during the worst years of its lost decade.

For thosse interested (if you're not, don't shoot the messenger), here's the link to the whole thing:

http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/the-obama-stimulus-truth-and-consequences-2-29735

Steve

 

[Tej]

Thanks for the link Steve

 

[Dawg]

Steve,
I think you are becoming an Austrian. (Economic joke; funny huh?) But Weiss is right on two counts: we are merely postponing the day of reckoning for the "dead men walking" banks, and commerce will continue: we are not {scary reverb voice}doomed{/scary reverb voice}.

 

[wordsinart]

Exactly Dawg (I just watch 8 Mile last night - does your name imply an affinity with the boyz in da hood?)

Anyhoo, talking down, or talking up, an economy results in that economy going down or up.

Some people (like my mate Billy Preston) have loud voices, so their influence is bigger.

The country going 'bankrupt' will not happen. What could happen with some countries is a form of IVA - we fall at the mercy of people with money (who wont exist in this scenario anyway) and ask them to allow us to default on our loans (which would be worthless anyway) and then ask them to lend us a few billion to get us back on our feet (which they will as we're still a big mover and shaker in the world)

Meanwhile, most of us will still get up in the morning, work, rest and play much the same as we're used to.

Unfortunately, our pensions are busted, so we will need to work longer, admittedly