Comments on: The New York Times Wants Economy Both Ways

By: chenier

chenier — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:01:51 +0000

Yes, I agree entirely sam, and it is going to get worse before it gets better.

It’s not that we don’t have the ability to do these things; if Nissan can provide jobs in Sunderland turning out a decent product we should be able to manufacture other things.

But our governments have always been willing to put huge hidden subsidies into ‘financial products’ whilst throwing up their hands in horror at the idea of subsidising manufacturing industry, and we are right royally shafted as a result.

On which cheering note I must to bed; good night!

By: sam

sam — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:52:12 +0000

but, i pressed send to quick, we don’t often even make the goods, it’s more import the goods to sell.

By: sam

sam — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:50:26 +0000

chenier, i know we have no industry, anyone trying to find work here struggles, we have not only no industry we have no future for our children other than years of meaningless college to become salespersons of this or that. invest in the future seems to be send kids to college another few years for we have no work, no apprenticeships, no industry and no science. we have indeed become a nation of shopkeepers, those that shop and those that make the goods.

By: chenier

chenier — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:34:39 +0000

I agree that there is a vast difference in the way the US is behaving and the way the Japanese are behaving; we are somewhat closer to the Japanese. But our economy is far more vulnerable to the crashing of the financial markets since Mrs Thatcher helpfully disposed of most of our industries for us, and Tony Blair finished the job.

The Japanese are also pouring large amounts of money into the financial markets, and are trying to reduce the value of their currency, since that hits their export markets, but then they have goods to export. We mostly don’t since we make very few things nowadays, which takes us back to Maggie.

The idea that our time is of equal value was another of those things that got lost along the way…

By: sam

sam — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:21:33 +0000

i think if i were god i would make an hour of my time worth as much as an hour of your time cos time is the only thing we all have in common, the clock ticks for us all.

By: sam

sam — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:16:41 +0000

chenier, i think your posts are on a more global level than i can deal with or understand. what i see is differnt ways of dealing with the same problem, one way is to shore up the ‘mistakes’ through taxpayers monies where it looks like whatever happens the taxpayer pays and sees no direct return other than the system does not fail too much, compared to what the japanses are doing, giving everyone money. i think thus global economics must be beyond me.

By: chenier

chenier — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:14:37 +0000

I think you have to bear in mind that they really do believe that they are entitled to be very, very rich, and they regard the taxpayer as just another sucker to be fleeced.

All the stuff about free markets is just the cover story that enabled them to rip off as many people as possible, and the US Treasury Secretary used to be the CEO of Goldman Sachs, which is doing very nicely on the bail outs of AIG and themselves…

By: sam

sam — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:02:50 +0000

it is ridiculous that they have these bailouts and still crap on the people who make those possible by foreclosing their mortgagee and the like.

By: chenier

chenier — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:54:28 +0000

We, at least, have enforced a dividend clampdown on the banks we are bailing out, unlike the US Treasury.

Banks who’ve had $163 billions of bailout from the US Treasury Department propose to use more than half of it to pay dividends to shareholders, with government permission, over the next three years.

It was supposed to be used to make loans to defreeze the frozen financial markets, and keep the economy from tanking any more than it will do already; there is always a lag.

The US Treasury’s decision was monumentally stupid, but may be useful to us; we are far more likely to attract Japanese investment funds. The Japanese have vast reserves of cash, and see no reason why they should enable US bankers to live in the style to which they have accustomed themselves.

Nor do the Chinese and the Gulf States…

By: sam

sam — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:36:22 +0000

i was fascinated to read abouit this package the japanese are offering or giving to it’s population, 600 dollars for a family of four i read, plus tax reductions and various other benefits, staggering really, here it seems the japanese government is giving money and benefits directly to the people to boost it’s economy rahter than subsidising (as we are) banks and bankers mistakes through taxation ?

By: chenier

chenier — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:28:38 +0000

On the other hand, the New York Times subbies are always vigilant when it comes to sniggering, and so:

Japan Offers Stimulus Package

didn’t stand a hope in hell of making it as a headline. It had to be

Japan Offers Stimulus Package to Spur Its Economy

though I personally wonder about the combination of stimulus packages with spurs…