We now enter the 'grey dismal' years says Robert Peston

mewbie_2

posh*spice wrote: »

Don't think they can afford another war, can they

They may as well be dropping napalm on some villagers as raping Japanese schoolkids.

I realise this may be a little controversial...

epz_2

posh*spice wrote: »

Don't think they can afford another war, can they

i would wager that while bombs etc are typically millions they have been built and paid for long ago, most of the notional value will be for the R&D costs. i would be interested to know if it would be cheaper to drop a bomb on somone vs disposing of it properly.

putting it like that can the USA afford not to have a war :j

WTF?_2

posh*spice wrote: »

Don't think they can afford another war, can they

If you can somehow just write off all the hundreds of billions (at least) maybe trillions (more likely) of toxic debt from the US banking system then quite obviously you can afford anything, right?

Here's how you afford it - you inflate your currency like crazy and hope that its status as de-facto reserve currency (which means no country wants to see the dollar devalue too much) and petro-currency (which means dollars always have an inherent value) and Chinas self-interest in keeping their dollar T-bills worth something means that it doesn't get turned to toilet paper as any other currency would.

moanymoany

StevieJ wrote: »

'The night is darkest before the dawn', a wise old saying.

Yes, that is what they say - however, there is a lot of night to go from the grey of dusk to the short bit before the dawn!

amcluesent

Quite a few people also said "The war will be over by Christmas!"

StevieJ

amcluesent wrote: »

Quite a few people also said "The war will be over by Christmas!"

It was, just depends which Christmas.

moanymoany

amcluesent wrote: »

Quite a few people also said "The war will be over by Christmas!"

In both 1914 and 1939, though I don't think many in 1939 really thought it. They all got caught on 'Peace in Our Time', once that went pear shaped they knew they were in for the long haul!

BUT, they did what they had to do. My dear old mum was only 15 in 1939 and she was conscripted into a factory, as was her 16 year old sister. They both worked 15 hour shifts and then worked in the canteen on the station one night a week.

No car, no health service, no central heating, no credit, no young men, rationed food, clothes and everything else. The difference was that this was not a huge difference to the life they had before the war - except for the men!

People have used credit to live an artificial standard of living. For them having to live within their means is going to come as a terrible shock. Then they are expected to pay their debts - can't see it happening myself. :rolleyes:

Generali

posh*spice wrote: »

Don't think they can afford another war, can they

Not without asking their bond holders nicely first.

tomstickland

Talking of Grey, that's how John Major was portrayed on Spitting Image.

StevieJ

moanymoany wrote: »

In both 1914 and 1939, though I don't think many in 1939 really thought it. They all got caught on 'Peace in Our Time', once that went pear shaped they knew they were in for the long haul!

BUT, they did what they had to do. My dear old mum was only 15 in 1939 and she was conscripted into a factory, as was her 16 year old sister. They both worked 15 hour shifts and then worked in the canteen on the station one night a week.

No car, no health service, no central heating, no credit, no young men, rationed food, clothes and everything else. The difference was that this was not a huge difference to the life they had before the war - except for the men!

People have used credit to live an artificial standard of living. For them having to live within their means is going to come as a terrible shock. Then they are expected to pay their debts - can't see it happening myself. :rolleyes:

Most people pay their debts and act responsibly, why is using credit not living within your means?