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Hard Times for Haulage
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Reminds me of a remote town which had two plasterboard factories. One was very efficient, and the other one was quite the reverse. Care to speculate which one prospered in the long run?
(Answer will be available in a while, but please feel free to speculate. Gold star to whoever gets closest to the right answer.)
Well, the inefficient factory quickly went to the wall and got bought out of receivership by a large conglomerate. The new owners then dropped prices until the efficient factory went into receivership. Nobody wanted to compete against the conglomerate, so the efficient factory was the one that got torn down. There's market forces for you.
or should it be :eek: ? No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0 -
Well, the inefficient factory quickly went to the wall and got bought out of receivership by a large conglomerate. The new owners then dropped prices until the efficient factory went into receivership. Nobody wanted to compete against the conglomerate, so the efficient factory was the one that got torn down. There's market forces for you. or should it be :eek: ?
Perhaps the lesson that we learn is that you don't just compete with the bloke next door, you also compete with the chap in China or wherever.
I remember in the early 90s talking to a painter and decorator who lived in my street in Surrey. He'd always done well for himself as he did a good job: cleaned up after himself each day and all that stuff so he got tons of word of mouth jobs. Then the economy got tough and he found himself up against people coming down from Liverpool or up from Pompey who would work for £35-45/day and he just wasn't prepared to compete.
A lot of people who work with a phone and a PC who haven't thought of themselves as competing with the Indians and people in Liverpool are in for a rude awakening.0 -
A lot of people who work with a phone and a PC who haven't thought of themselves as competing with the Indians and people in Liverpool are in for a rude awakening.
I've thought for a long time that GATT was a disaster for the Western economies in the long run. We've grown quite complacent, worrying about the quality of our food, rather than just about having some. The world's population is (roughly) 3 times what it was when I was a child. We are already seeing that the less educated or less enterprising people in this country cannot compete, and we will gradually see more and more people moving into that category.
This country is not paying its way in the World, and it's just a matter of time before living standards even up around the globe. When I say 'even up', I may really mean 'even down'. We've been living on borrowed time for the last 10-15 years with all the credit, and I just wonder whether this is when we'll see the crunch where it all falls apart?
(I know that I am sounding hopelessly arrogant, but really I'm just depressed about the prospects for this country. I checked out the immigration criteria for Oz, and they wouldn't even consider me as I'm over 45.:mad: )No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0 -
PasturesNew wrote: »I am starting no rumours ....
:rotfl:
Might brighten up an otherwise boring Sunday evening....We made it! All three boys have graduated, it's been hard work but it shows there is a possibility of a chance of normal (ish) life after a diagnosis (or two) of ASD. It's not been the easiest route but I am so glad I ignored everything and everyone and did my own therapies with them.
Eldests' EDS diagnosis 4.5.10, mine 13.1.11 eekk - now having fun and games as a wheelchair user.0 -
I've thought for a long time that GATT was a disaster for the Western economies in the long run. We've grown quite complacent, worrying about the quality of our food, rather than just about having some. The world's population is (roughly) 3 times what it was when I was a child. We are already seeing that the less educated or less enterprising people in this country cannot compete, and we will gradually see more and more people moving into that category.
This country is not paying its way in the World, and it's just a matter of time before living standards even up around the globe. When I say 'even up', I may really mean 'even down'. We've been living on borrowed time for the last 10-15 years with all the credit, and I just wonder whether this is when we'll see the crunch where it all falls apart?
(I know that I am sounding hopelessly arrogant, but really I'm just depressed about the prospects for this country. I checked out the immigration criteria for Oz, and they wouldn't even consider me as I'm over 45.:mad: )
My feeling is that countries like China and India have fcked themselves up really over the past 60 years. I mean have you read a potted history of China for example? What a mess. And Indians keep on voting for Marxists which ruins their economy.
Now they've got their poo together we have to compete with them, GATT or no. Hey, at least we've had 10 years of cheap T-shirts although we've had to put up with incomprehensible call centre wallahs like Prakash that I had the inestimable please of chatting to today to shut down my Barclaycard account today.
45-60 is something of a dead zone for Aussie migrants. You could take your chances with the salties but I wouldn't if I were you....0 -
Over 55, is retirement visas, but they are for 4 years at a time, and you have to go through the whole rigmarole to reapply every 4 years. Eventually, you are bound to fail the medical.
What's a salty?No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0 -
Over 55, is retirement visas, but they are for 4 years at a time, and you have to go through the whole rigmarole to reapply every 4 years. Eventually, you are bound to fail the medical.
What's a salty?
This is a salty. They grow to about 20ft in length and are harder than the lovechild of Wade Dooley and Reggie Kray:
AKA the salt water crocodile. Possibly the only thing more dangerous than a socialist.0 -
This is a fear that I share. It's not made any better by expansion in the state either.This country is not paying its way in the World, and it's just a matter of time before living standards even up around the globe. When I say 'even up', I may really mean 'even down'. We've been living on borrowed time for the last 10-15 years with all the credit, and I just wonder whether this is when we'll see the crunch where it all falls apart?
Forum visits are always interesting:The problem is no-one is buying cars at the moment with the credit crunch raging. Just look out on the roads and see how many '58' plate cars are around. There's a lot of transporters sat around at what is supposed to be the busiest time of year and I can't see it being long before we see some of the firms start to get into trouble....Happy chappy0
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