Thatcher dead

[StrutterBlue]

Shes been hell ten minutes and already closed 6 furnesess :P

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

We have a system that does not rely on what tie you wear, it is on how smart you are.

Just think how well you could have done then. ;-)

As you can see, our public debt actually went DOWN under Callaghan. Of course it went down too, under the latter years of Thatcher after remaining steady for a while but you should expect that for two reasons:

1. North Sea oil, brought in huge revenues Callaghan never had.

That statement is not true. Oil revenues came on stream in the mid-1970's. They were certainly a factor by 1979.

GDP is not a statement of assets, it's revenue - the total value of goods and services produced - so debt less than 100% of GDP does not necessarily equate to solvency and debt of greater than 100% of GDP does not automatically equate to bankruptcy. You need to know what you're spending your revenue on and whether the deficit is structural.

Also PSND went down under Callaghan as we had to arrange a £3.5bn loan from the IMF to prop up the pound & a condition of that was a huge reduction in spending, hence the dip. The left fought against it but eventually even they recognised that failing to support the pound would finish us. If we'd had that sort of money ourselves we'd not have needed the loan. We'd spent all our reserves previously trying to prop up the pound so, ergo, we were skint.

The interesting thing is that the government then essentially had to abandon the notion of using the currency/exchange rate as its main economic weapon and was forced to focus on controlling the money supply. So Callaghan was the first monetarist, not Thatcher. The major difference between them was that Thatcher found that the traditional method of measuring money supply didn't actually work so they had to move to a much narrower definition. I can't recall when that was exactly but it might not have been until Lawson was Chancellor, which was in her second term I think.

However, the point you should have made and failed to do was that the big economic mistake made by Thatcher was using the proceeds of the sale of public assets and North Sea oil revenues to mainly pay down debt and reduce spending rather than investing more of that in modernising industry and infrastructure. That was a missed opportunity.

It's the opposite to what Brown did, when he borrowed to spend when he should have been reducing or at least maintaining PSND levels. Brown's initial "prudence" policy was pure Thatcherite "we can only spend what we earn" but he abandoned that with disastrous results when the 2008 liquidity crisis struck. Like Thatcher, he allowed an asset bubble to build up, where people had the illusion that they had more money than they actually did.

 

[Rascal]

I find it quite pathetic that all these students and old lefties are 'partying' on hearing of her death. Whilst many despised her, she also won 3 elections, which means some actually agreed with her policies.
So here's a question... Do all these half wits waving hammer and sickles at these parties not see the irony that some of the biggest bastards in history and the most oppressive regimes ever known have all done so under the communist banner?

Done under a Communist banner not Communism itself.

 

[BluePurgatory]

I deserted?
The country i was born in and grew up in , was a fucking wasteland for the likes of me.
Yes, i took the first chance i had to get out and make a life i could only dream of in the UK, and have never regretted it.
Just because you never had the balls (or thought you had the big guy upstairs on your side, so all would be good) do not blame me for having a great life.

Peace, you god bothering arsehole. ;)

Raw nerve been hit again has it? Its becoming very obvious that you have a serious inferiority complex and its fully justified.[/quote]

Coming from you that is very funny.

Well I am please that I could bring a smile to your face. I could say nice things about you, but I would rather tell the truth. Hugs and Kisses X

 

[pominoz]

I deserted?
The country i was born in and grew up in , was a fucking wasteland for the likes of me.
Yes, i took the first chance i had to get out and make a life i could only dream of in the UK, and have never regretted it.
Just because you never had the balls (or thought you had the big guy upstairs on your side, so all would be good) do not blame me for having a great life.

Peace, you god bothering arsehole. ;)

How old are you ;) ?

You could come back and be just as successful.

I don't blame you for staying because you can sit on the fence with the lions and ashes teams.

Who will you be supporting? My guess is the aussies.

Judging by the amount of time he spends on here and as BB asked if he sleeps, he prob still lives in the UK, emptying those pots and pans in cheetham hill, and this is the reason why he comes across as being so bitter!

I put my computer on in the morning and leave it on BM all day sorry,(not really).
May i also say, that life here is fucking brilliant, the prawns are huge and the sun shines everyday, suck it up Princess xxx

 

[Rascal]

However, the point you should have made and failed to do was that the big economic mistake made by Thatcher was using the proceeds of the sale of public assets and North Sea oil revenues to mainly pay down debt and reduce spending rather than investing more of that in modernising industry and infrastructure. That was a missed opportunity.
.

What you see as a missed opportunity was part of Labours longest suicide note in history manifesto

 

[BluePurgatory]

How old are you ;) ?

You could come back and be just as successful.

I don't blame you for staying because you can sit on the fence with the lions and ashes teams.

Who will you be supporting? My guess is the aussies.

Judging by the amount of time he spends on here and as BB asked if he sleeps, he prob still lives in the UK, emptying those pots and pans in cheetham hill, and this is the reason why he comes across as being so bitter!

I put my computer on in the morning and leave it on BM all day sorry,(not really).
May i also say, that life here is fucking brilliant, the prawns are huge and the sun shines everyday, suck it up Princess xxx

But if your life is so great, then why are you so miserable and bitter. Perhaps there is something missing :o)

 

[pominoz]

We have a system that does not rely on what tie you wear, it is on how smart you are.

Just think how well you could have done then. ;-)

I know, if only that Abraham Moss tie meant something here ;)
I'd be rich i tell ya.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

However, the point you should have made and failed to do was that the big economic mistake made by Thatcher was using the proceeds of the sale of public assets and North Sea oil revenues to mainly pay down debt and reduce spending rather than investing more of that in modernising industry and infrastructure. That was a missed opportunity.
.

What you see as a missed opportunity was part of Labours longest suicide note in history manifesto

Yes and no. Labour were talking about borrowing to finance much of their plans but I'd agree some of it made sense. If they'd stuck to that bit they might have stood more of a chance.

But the move to the left saw them include all conference resolutions, including unilateral nuclear disarmament (in a time of great international tension), withdrawal from the EEC (which the British people didn't support) and re-nationalisation of the recently privatised industries and greater intervention in private companies, which most people didn't want to go back to. Those were the bits that were suicidal.

 

[pominoz]

Judging by the amount of time he spends on here and as BB asked if he sleeps, he prob still lives in the UK, emptying those pots and pans in cheetham hill, and this is the reason why he comes across as being so bitter!

I put my computer on in the morning and leave it on BM all day sorry,(not really).
May i also say, that life here is fucking brilliant, the prawns are huge and the sun shines everyday, suck it up Princess xxx

But if your life is so great, then why are you so miserable and bitter. Perhaps there is something missing :o)

Maybe because fucknuckles piss me off, apart from that life is brill.
Heard from the "Big Guy" lately? Surely he would be in touch with one so worthy?