In A sentence, what would you do to solve the downturn..

[KM-Tiger]

We need a politician who is brave enough to stand up and tell the truth.

More than that a politician who is brave enough to take on the vested interests of the political class.

Not sure what needs to be done, but being governed by Media Studies graduates who have never done a real job in their entire lives is not good for us.

 

We need a politician who is brave enough to stand up and tell the truth.

.

Contradiction in terms :|
Earl

 

[Pap_sak]

all move too sunny South Africa....and bring your cash and biz savvy with you

 

[OldWelshGuy]

all move too sunny South Africa....and bring your cash and biz savvy with you

NOW is the time to do it, or rather the end of may Rugby is everything!

 

[triplemaya]

eliminate working tax credits and instead raise PA to ~£10k,

What's PA?

 

[triplemaya]

eliminate working tax credits and instead raise PA to ~£10k,

What's PA?

 

[Subbynet]

What's PA?

Personal Allowance (The money you're allowed before they start taxing you.)

 

[PureIT]

Ask ourselves why so many people DON'T want a job?

 

[winjittechnologies]

Back to farming , growing because that is the only place where we grow money (Food) else everything else is trade

Ashwin

 

all move too sunny South Africa....and bring your cash and biz savvy with you

And don't forget your AK 47 and body armor .:|

Earl

 

[Barnie]

tough one and not everybody will agree with this

but introduce supermarket tax and legal time limits on credit terms ie 30days instead of the 90days big companies demand

 

[seasonsonline]

Sell things cheaper and make less profit, that's pretty much the answer!- People will appreciate this far more! There's far too many companys doing the opposite and trying to sell things at a higher price to fight back the money they've lost.

 

[graemepirie]

tough one and not everybody will agree with this

but introduce supermarket tax and legal time limits on credit terms ie 30days instead of the 90days big companies demand

I like the 90 day one. Not sure what you mean about supermarket tax?

Two things I would do with supermarkets is take away their alcohol licenses and also stop them from using captive audiences in supermarkets to promote the other areas they want to take over - so if Tesco want to go into mobile phones they can set up a mobile phone shop and pay for advertising like everyone else.

 

[hughlss]

Seasononline - you've hit the nail right on the head, IMO.

In fact I'd go further. Lots of businesses are closing down. As profit margins are squeezed overheads are still increasing, especially for anyone importing goods.

The answer is simple. All commercial rents should be reduced by 50%,
prices by 40% and wages by 30%. Business costs plummet - less closures, more employment, more affordable goods.
All commercial property loans to be extended to 25 years at preferential rates to compensate the landlords - and stop all government payments to banks and other bankrupt commercial concerns - esp. the motor industry.

Problem solved.
Oh! and maybe a swear box at Labour party HQ, that would help to pay off the enormous debt.

 

[maxine]

I don't agree with the "let's not talk about it" approach as we need to try to understand things to improve things. What I don't agree with is all the moaning and whinging with no action and wish there was more we could all do that would make a difference.

Things on my hit list would be
* Come down hard on tax avoidance especially all the offshore/loopholes that large companies enjoy
* Go through all the claimants of job seekers, housing benefit, tax credits, income support, disability allowance with a fine tooth comb. There are so many fraudulent claims that it must add up to a pretty penny. Raise the rewards for dobbing people in.
* Sort the CSA out so that we stop funding absent partners children and get this working properly
* Stop IVA's and just use Bankruptcy or the new Debt Relief Orders so that people have realistic plans and can get on with their lives and start spending again.
* Manage all the sub-prime lenders to stop them levying unreasonable interest rates and making a profit off other peoples struggles. Put a realistic cap on the APR to be charged for all sub prime lending
* Put the money for investment into training into actually creating jobs and helping employers to be able to afford to take on staff such as no employers NI - employers can train staff them as part of their job roles.

What I would really like to see is a nationwide crisis group of real business people helping to improve government decisions that affect business so that the government is more in touch with things than they appear to be.

 

[davidshaw89]

stop them from using captive audiences in supermarkets to promote the other areas they want to take over - so if Tesco want to go into mobile phones they can set up a mobile phone shop and pay for advertising like everyone else.

I take it you don't try to cross-sell then? And if not, why not?

 

[Bri]

we are obviously all politicians on this forum, not one person has followed the OP's question and that is to answer in one sentence only.

 

[TimmoB]

i like the supermarket tax, £1billion a week profit says to me that tescos are either ripping us all off or not paying their suppliers properly (squeezing down prices of milk etc).

A 2nd sentence (oops).

I really think the government is seriously spineless, basically they know they won't get back in so they are to busy feathering their nests to actually put any serious time in to sorting out this fllipping mess.

Timmo.

 

we are obviously all politicians on this forum, not one person has followed the OP's question and that is to answer in one sentence only.

Oh yes they did Mr Punch.

"Return the country to a manufacturing base that makes products the world wants."

Earl

 

[Lasting Designs]

Call an Election.

This government are the same that the habitual credit card collector, whose maxed out and stuffed the statements and the demands for payment in a drawer unopened, pretending the sitiuation will get better if they do nothing. This has been the case for years.

We need the bank manager who says;

"you've spent too much, you don't earn enough and you need to cut back on the things you need, cut out altogether the things you don't need and you need to learn why you're in this mess to begin with"

 

[KM-Tiger]

Yes, call an election, or we face a year of fiddling while Rome burns.

 

Yes, call an election, or we face a year of fiddling while Rome burns.

Frying pan into the fat.

About time we had people qualified for the job running the country instead of a bunch of Lawyers .

How come the most important jobs in the country allow unqualified people to apply.

Now you wouldn't let an untrained brain surgeon near your bounce.

Earl

 

[KM-Tiger]

Frying pan into the fat.

Depends who wins.

In a way it doesn't matter, as the fact that they have will do a lot to restore confidence. If they also promised political reform........

 

[TimmoB]

If we had an election now, i think people would feel a lot better, it's pointless to drag it out, another year of misery watching the bumbling fools dig us in deeper.

Timmo

 

[TheFortune8]

Return the country to a manufacturing base that makes products the world wants.

Playing around with finance don't create anything.

True. Simply adjusting taxes to incentivise different behaviours is no answer to the current problems.

My one sentence: We need to make the distinction between Casino Capitalism and Real Enterprise.

Explanation: Money made in the city on the movement of share prices is just gambling. There are winners and losers - there's no net gain to the economy. Most of the trade in shares and all the mysterious derivatives is not real investment in companies which supports real innovation, but "Ponzi" finance - "a gigantic pyramid debt selling scheme" (Will Hutton). The solution is not to borrow ever more and carry on gambling.

 

[Emcar Vending]

I'm in two minds about a change of Govenment. One mind says keep this lot in power so they can put right the total mess they have created. The other mind says that this lot couldn't do that so should be replaced. Either way, we are in for a rough ride because Prudence wasn't really prudent at all. To answer the OP in one sentence. Make credit much harder to obtain and make people live within their means.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I'm in two minds about a change of Govenment. One mind says keep this lot in power so they can put right the total mess they have created. The other mind says that this lot couldn't do that so should be replaced.

The government are making the first argument - the idea that, because they knacked the economy, they have the experience to fix it.

But, to me, it's like saying, if a kid breaks your window with a football, he should be the one that replaces it.

Me, I'd rather he paid for me to hire a professional glazier.

Either way, we are in for a rough ride because Prudence wasn't really prudent at all. To answer the OP in one sentence. Make credit much harder to obtain and make people live within their means.

I agree that has to be a fundamental part of the solution.

That's why I think the government's actions are all wrong: they're based on not having to pay off our debts... instead, they reckon "if we can just borrow more money..."

Steve

 

[StephenW]

In one sentence...

Thorough audit of all banks assets and liabilities, share this info between banks (so they can decide who to trust in order to start lending again), decide which banks should be allowed to fail (use Pareto principle maybe), cut total tax burden and regulations (start with PA and/or income tax to boost confidence), reduce size of government, increase freedom to choose.


This would need an election & new government to start with.

HTH

 

[KateCB]

Make unemployed work for their benefit - i.e employer needs someone to pack boxes/mow grass/tidy warehouse for one day only - 3 unemployed people are sent to do the work and the employer pays job centre £10.00 per job to help pay benefits.

Leave VAT at 15%, reduce business rates so that businesses pay for what they get rather than what they don't get, increase tax at £60k rather than 150k,(not to 50% but more than it is now) abolish tax on savings interest to give incentive to save.

Banks - if they fail, let them - they are a businesses - if I fail they won't bail me out!

Make it illegal for people to get pensions of 750k a year

 

[Richie N]

Call for an election and get rid of labour....

 

[dingbat]

Tell people to ignore media exaggerating BS just because of their dumb political affiliation or wish to sell sensationalism. And get out of group think and think for themselves.

This whole Brown-media thing is their little ding dong. They cry and cry till they get a resignation claiming it's on the behest of public opinion. I really couldn't give a crap. Presumably David Cameron's better conditoned hair is going to make all the difference or some other idiot in New Labour.

In the real world, life goes on, people haven't stopped living.

Regards the banks - they are built on confidence. Gordon Brown's policies have not changed that. There can be a run on the banks anytime, regardless of who is in power. You allow banks to collapse and the pound won't be worth squat.

Sorry...I know that's more than one sentence...

 

[Mattonella Tile Studio]

I once worked with somebody who said that anybody who wanted to be a politician should automatically be barred from doing so. I think I can see his point.

IMO Government positions should be filled by people with experience and qualifications in the area. Economists as Chancellor for example. Under the current system you could be in charge of the schools one minute, then a quick change and you've got the chancellors office.

 

[Poppy Design]

Public sector employment has to be reviewed - the amount of vacancies/pensions/pay rises etc
Government to stop giving out bonuses with our money ie they are talking about giving our money away to low income savers (yes it is good to save but why should we top up their savings accounts?!)
Cut MP's 2nd home allowance - can't they stay at a Travel Lodge when in London?
More availability for mortgage deals for first time buyers to get the housing marketing moving... yes and agree with the others ... get rid of Labour - though they have done their damage now for the next party.

 

[trevorwood]

I had an idea driving back from London today - combine the MOT and Road Tax - when a car is MOTed and passes, pay the road tax at that point and get a disk that indicates both have been done.

There's bound to be some teething problems, but less bureaucracy and perhaps less chance of people not paying

 

[adventurelife]

The situations is such that it cannot be fixed or sorted by anyone in one sentence!

Difficult situations always demand, leadership and the ability to take hard and tough calls on a balance of the information available in quick time.

Politicians by their very nature of personal and party survival above all else are unable to do the above.

Interesting times ahead


Peter

 

[Pap_sak]

I havent read the whole thread but kick starting small buz sector is a good start. In SA we have something that's just started called "turnover tax". No accountants needed, it just works (for certain companies, genrally no services), on your turnover. No books, just z-reading on your till or receipt books for companies turning over 100pounds or less. Easy to do and little tax.

 

[Lasting Designs]

I had an idea driving back from London today - combine the MOT and Road Tax - when a car is MOTed and passes, pay the road tax at that point and get a disk that indicates both have been done.

There's bound to be some teething problems, but less bureaucracy and perhaps less chance of people not paying

If you buy you car tax online, it tells you if you've insurance and an MOT, I don't get it why they don't have mot and insurance disc's and make it easy to identify those without, to get the bloody scum who run around without off the road.