Europe --- In or Out

[Happy Face 29]

So much for more iraqis dying from our invasion than allied forces died at the Somme, there was a story about a new restaurant opening in my news feed yesterday.

 

:s

[Dr Gloom 21801]

So much for post Brexit Armageddon, all the news cycles are full of Chris Evans.

On the money as always

 

From the Brexit leader in today's FT:

Ten days on from Britains vote to leave the EU, there is little to inspire confidence in the near-term prospects for the UK economy. Sterling remains close to 30-year lows. Negative yields on gilts reflect investors expectations of a downturn. Deals and hiring are expected to slow and construction activity is contracting; rival financial centres are already seeking ways to steal a march on the City.

[Dr Gloom 21801]

Osborne's solution, to argue Britain should be turned into a low tax jurisdiction for companies has been scorned in the same FT editorial.

 

The immediate task is to find ways to stabilise the economy and counter the shock to demand. The Bank of England is on the front line, with governor Mark Carney already hinting that monetary easing is on the cards. Mr Osborne can reinforce this with fiscal policy. He has already sensibly conceded that there is nothing to be gained from an emergency dose of austerity and has scrapped his misconceived target of achieving a budget surplus by 2020. The commitment to regional investments is also welcome, as is the hint at a further funding for lending scheme to lessen the constraints on growth.

 

Mr Osborne could consider other tools to stimulate demand, such as cuts to national insurance to encourage hiring, or to value added tax to encourage consumer spending. A public programme of housebuilding, at a time when construction activity is slowing abruptly, would do more to boost the economy in the short term than complex infrastructure projects that take years of planning.

 

Yet none of these measures can address the overriding concern about Britains long-term place in the global economy. A pitch for Chinese investment which has already proved ill-targeted in projects such as the overpriced Hinkley Point nuclear plant cannot compensate for loss of access to the huge market on Britains doorstep.

 

Questions such as corporation tax may come into play later on, if Brexit negotiations leave Britain unable to serve as a base for trade into the EU. But at this stage, that is a situation that any UK chancellor should be fighting to avoid.

All still sounds like business as usual doesn't it, CT

[Christmas Tree 4679]

Osborne's solution, to argue Britain should be turned into a low tax jurisdiction for companies has been scorned in the same FT editorial.

 

 

All still sounds like business as usual doesn't it, CT

Of course it's not business as usual!!!!!

 

Chris Evans has left top gear.

[NJS 4365]

Did anyone see Carney's press conference the other day?

 

He asked the assembled journalist who included those from the Ft and the economist, reps of institutions and of course those from the Telegraph, mail, sun etc whether any of them would like to argue whether the warnings he'd given about the shit hitting the fan were in any way incorrect.

 

Total silence was the response.

[Dr Gloom 21801]

CT would have piped up if he'd been there

[ChezGiven 0]

CT would have piped up if he'd been there

 

[Rayvin 5164]

Sounds like the FT is countenancing anti-austerity policies there.

[Park Life 71]

Just read this morning that the bloke who ran the catastrophic Lib Dem election campaign in 2015 was the lead strategist for Remain.

[Renton 21231]

I was listening to a programme on the radio the other day which stated food prices are likely to increase 50%.

 

CT should be very worried.

[Park Life 71]

Sounds like the FT is countenancing anti-austerity policies there.

Yeah cause the taxpayer pays for growth and recessions.

[ChezGiven 0]

Sounds like the FT is countenancing anti-austerity policies there.

 

I think they always have, the FT is a centrist paper and is staffed by economists who have a firm grasp of the pro's and con's of market monetarism vs fiscal policy and the relevance of the very low interest rates to this debate.

 

Quantitative easing, the de facto policy of the world's central banks, is not a proven policy tool that was deployed based on sound theory and analysis. It is the only policy option open to central bankers who are solely charged (in the UK) with managing aggregate demand. The FT knows this is a political choice, not a conclusion based on sound economics.

[Rayvin 5164]

I was listening to a programme on the radio the other day which stated food prices are likely to increase 50%.

 

CT should be very worried.

 

50% is high...

[ChezGiven 0]

In 10 years time, we will be living in the Britain depicted in Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.

[Christmas Tree 4679]

I was listening to a programme on the radio the other day which stated food prices are likely to increase 50%.

 

CT should be very worried.

Absolute bollocks

[Renton 21231]

Absolute bollocks

Don't shoot the messenger tubs.

 

Have you seen the price of food in Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland?

[Andrew 4713]

Everythings FINE!

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2016/jul/05/mark-carney-to-outline-bank-of-englands-brexit-stability-moves-business-live

[The Fish 10685]

Everythings FINE!

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2016/jul/05/mark-carney-to-outline-bank-of-englands-brexit-stability-moves-business-live

[Rayvin 5164]

Brexiters initially concluded Mark Carney was taking a strong and determined stance, and that he was an example of how we should all be in the face of this - now he's 'one of the elites' and trying to scaremonger.

 

People in this country really hate intelligence.

[Meenzer 15371]

People in this country really hate intelligence.

 

This, more than anything, is what I'm taking away from the whole sorry affair. I'm starting to feel like I'm done with big movements and the greater good and understanding opposing views - right now I'd settle for being decent to friends and family, making things a bit nicer in my immediate neighbourhood and otherwise sitting in a comfy corner with a big pile of books for the rest of my days.

[Alex 34786]

 

This, more than anything, is what I'm taking away from the whole sorry affair. I'm starting to feel like I'm done with big movements and the greater good and understanding opposing views - right now I'd settle for being decent to friends and family, making things a bit nicer in my immediate neighbourhood and otherwise sitting in a comfy corner with a big pile of books for the rest of my days.

I sort of feel that way too and I noted Gemmill making a remark along the lines of when turkeys keep voting for Christmas there comes a time when you just have to say "enjoy your Christmas". The real sadness to that is that when people like yourselves start to feel that way I think it's a massive victory for the right, neo-liberalism, Thatcherism (or whatever else you want to call it). Perhaps their ultimate victory in England.

As an aside, what a cowardly chancer Farage is if he means it and he's walking away from politics.

[NJS 4365]

 

This, more than anything, is what I'm taking away from the whole sorry affair. I'm starting to feel like I'm done with big movements and the greater good and understanding opposing views - right now I'd settle for being decent to friends and family, making things a bit nicer in my immediate neighbourhood and otherwise sitting in a comfy corner with a big pile of books for the rest of my days.

My dad's advice to me was to look after yourself , your family and your friends in your day to day life then when it comes to the election you should vote to look after everyone else.

 

If there is nobody to do the latter and you start to feel that everyone else doesn't matter then the world has gone to shit.

Edited July 5, 2016 by NJS

[Renton 21231]

The two engineers of Brexit, after the greatest victory of their political lives, decide they want no further part in molding our country's future. They've just shat on the sofa and left it there. Farage is staying as an MEP though to further rub the shit in as much as he can. The fact that the brexiters are acting like this should be a massive concern for all of us. We have literally no plan going forward, what possible good can come of that?

[Christmas Tree 4679]

Don't shoot the messenger tubs.

 

Have you seen the price of food in Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland?

No, I only shop at Aldi

[Rayvin 5164]

I sort of feel that way too and I noted Gemmill making a remark along the lines of when turkeys keep voting for Christmas there comes a time when you just have to say "enjoy your Christmas". The real sadness to that is that when people like yourselves start to feel that way I think it's a massive victory for the right, neo-liberalism, Thatcherism (or whatever else you want to call it). Perhaps their ultimate victory in England.

As an aside, what a cowardly chancer Farage is if he means it and he's walking away from politics.

 

I really feel this way. I'm ultimately not in the group that will be most affected by this nonsense, and have generally tried to vote for the greater good at each available opportunity (as NJS suggests we should do). Which is why I voted Corbyn, knowing full well that his priority should he ever get elected would be people other than myself.

 

But it's clear that this is a pointless exercise. The EU vote has brought me to the brink of not giving a fuck about who governs the country any more beyond thinking that I should just vote in my immediate self interest. That's what everyone else is clearly doing. To be honest, I feel like a bit of an idiot for thinking that there were enough people in this country who believed in fairness and the common good.