Are you optimistic about the UK's future?

[Ponty]

We have a Tory government that has absolutely ruined the UK and have destroyed millions of people’s lives. There is nothing ‘left wing’ about that. This is Tory ideology. Siphon money from the working poor, dismantle the state, give to the rich. £millions for Hancock and Mone, wealthy folk like you don’t pay the taxes you should, people die of poverty out of your field of view in Burnley, Oldham, Hull etc. It is exactly what you voted for.

I take exception to being accused of not paying taxes due. IIRC many of these areas voted in tory MP’s?

 

[droodzilla]

We have a Tory government that has absolutely ruined the UK and have destroyed millions of people’s lives. There is nothing ‘left wing’ about that. This is Tory ideology. Siphon money from the working poor, dismantle the state, give to the rich. £millions for Hancock and Mone, wealthy folk like you don’t pay the taxes you should, people die of poverty out of your field of view in Burnley, Oldham, Hull etc. It is exactly what you voted for.

They’re not real people to people like Ponty.

 

[Ponty]

Simply not true.

Very pretty. Ultra cheap money has brought us to where we are today. As I said, we’re just seeing a reversion to mean. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, we were calling inflation on here 3 years ago when the govt started printing.

 

[ks.234]

Very pretty. Ultra cheap money has brought us to where we are today. As I said, we’re just seeing a reversion to mean. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, we were calling inflation on here 3 years ago when the govt started printing.

Nonsense. As has been demonstrated countless times. Interesting that you credit yourself with foreseeing Putins invasion of Ukraine.

QE was not “printing” anything and did not lead to sustained inflation, again, as has been shown many times. Since 2008, Inflation has been below target as often as it has been above

 

[gintonic]

From what I’ve seen this year, restaurants in London and elsewhere along with hotels, are packed with tourists because the pound is so low against the $ and €. Britain is a cheap destination but very expensive for the inhabitants.

we are in London every few weeks or so, and invariably book a restaurant and hotel. Our experience is pretty much 50:50 with locals and overseas visitors.

 

[Tony L]

I take exception to being accused of not paying taxes due.

I said ‘should’, not ‘due’. You vote for a party that keeps wealthy tax avoidance and offshore money-laundering options open. You vote for corruption. I can’t prove you benefit from it directly, but IME Tories never pay their way.

IIRC many of these areas voted in tory MP’s?

Your party sold desperate people nationalism, racism and xenophobia. Sadly some of them fell for the bait.

 

[Ponty]

Nonsense. As has been demonstrated countless times. Interesting that you credit yourself with foreseeing Putins invasion of Ukraine.

QE was not “printing” anything and did not lead to inflation, again, as has been shown many times

Well, we disagree on that. Do you disagree with the concept of reversion to mean? That’s all we’re seeing with IR’s.

 

[ks.234]

Well, we disagree on that. Do you disagree with the concept of reversion to mean? That’s all we’re seeing with IR’s.

Your disagreement might count for something if it was based on evidence, but it isn’t. It is contrary to evidence.

 

[Ponty]

I said ‘should’, not ‘due’. You vote for a party that keeps wealthy tax avoidance and offshore money-laundering options open. You vote for corruption. I can’t prove you benefit from it directly, but IME Tories never pay their way.



Your party sold desperate people nationalism, racism and xenophobia. Sadly some of them fell for the bait.

A hell of a lot of them voted tory, presumably we’ll see these swing back to labour at the next GE.

 

[Ponty]

Your disagreement might count for something if it was based on evidence, but it isn’t. It is contrary to evidence.

It’s simply a monetarist view, which you disagree with.

 

[ks.234]

It’s simply a monetarist view, which you disagree with.

I disagree with it because it is contrary to evidence, it is simply a contrived mechanism to make the rich richer and to justify making the poor poorer. Monetarism has failed even on its own terms and objectives.

 

[Seeker_UK]

Your disagreement might count for something if it was based on evidence, but it isn’t. It is contrary to evidence.

Looking at historical data for inflation rate since 1960 (https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/GBR/united-kingdom/inflation-rate-cpi) plus the ONI value of 10.5% for Dec 2022 (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/infl...etins/consumerpriceinflation/december2022/pdf) to extend the data set, the average inflation (CPI?) rate is 5.1% and median 3.4%. From 1975 (to compare to bank rate data) mean = 5.0%, median = 2.6%

Setting a target rate below them was, to be charitable, ambitious or, being less so, a hospital pass for the BoE.

To compare with the BoE's own data of Base Rates since 1975 (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/Bank-Rate.asp), the average bank rate is about 9.1% and a median of 9.8%

 

[Mike Hughes]

I gather @Ponty is spouting. It’s what the “ignore” button was invented for folks.

 

[Kirk]

It's not all bad according to the Resolution Foundation:

"Having surged from £3.60 an hour in 1999 to £10.42 today, our wage floor is now among the highest in the world. Rapid increases since the national living wage’s 2016 introduction have slashed the proportion of low-paid employees (earning below two-thirds of the typical hourly wage) to 9% (versus 21% in 2015), the lowest in more than 50 years."

 

[Mike Hughes]

Not quite the full picture they presented though is it.

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...-as-good-as-it-appears?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

 

[Ponty]

It's not all bad according to the Resolution Foundation:

"Having surged from £3.60 an hour in 1999 to £10.42 today, our wage floor is now among the highest in the world. Rapid increases since the national living wage’s 2016 introduction have slashed the proportion of low-paid employees (earning below two-thirds of the typical hourly wage) to 9% (versus 21% in 2015), the lowest in more than 50 years."

Indeed. Much of this has been absorbed into increasing housing costs though. Whatever people earn, those with the most will live in the best houses / areas, those with the least will live in the worst. If everyone’s salary doubled or trebled, the poorest would remain so, it’s all relative.

 

[ks.234]

Looking at historical data for inflation rate since 1960 (https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/GBR/united-kingdom/inflation-rate-cpi) plus the ONI value of 10.5% for Dec 2022 (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/infl...etins/consumerpriceinflation/december2022/pdf) to extend the data set, the average inflation (CPI?) rate is 5.1% and median 3.4%. From 1975 (to compare to bank rate data) mean = 5.0%, median = 2.6%

Setting a target rate below them was, to be charitable, ambitious or, being less so, a hospital pass for the BoE.

To compare with the BoE's own data of Base Rates since 1975 (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/Bank-Rate.asp), the average bank rate is about 9.1% and a median of 9.8%

I wasn’t commenting on mean base rates or inflation rates, only that ‘printing money’ in 2009 was inflationary. As already stated, inflation fell as of the as it rose and it has only risen exponentially recently, more that a decade after ‘printy, printy’

 

[Seeker_UK]

I wasn’t commenting on mean base rates or inflation rates, only that ‘printing money’ in 2009 was inflationary. As already stated, inflation fell as of the as it rose and it has only risen exponentially recently, more that a decade after ‘printy, printy’

OK.

Do you think a 2% inflation target is a realistic one?

 

[ks.234]

It's not all bad according to the Resolution Foundation:

"Having surged from £3.60 an hour in 1999 to £10.42 today, our wage floor is now among the highest in the world. Rapid increases since the national living wage’s 2016 introduction have slashed the proportion of low-paid employees (earning below two-thirds of the typical hourly wage) to 9% (versus 21% in 2015), the lowest in more than 50 years."

Selective quoting going on there.

The title to that piece is, The UK’s world beating minimum wage is not as good as it appears.

 

[ks.234]

Indeed. Much of this has been absorbed into increasing housing costs though. Whatever people earn, those with the most will live in the best houses / areas, those with the least will live in the worst. If everyone’s salary doubled or trebled, the poorest would remain so, it’s all relative.

No, it’s not relative, the rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer.