One to make you wonder about the sanity of the Nation.

WTF?_2

Kenny4315 wrote: »

I know a few retailers/restaurants like yourself who are having a bit of a hard time. This is a shame really as most have good business models, but even those with good models are finding it tough when income dries up, while costs go up. In my view if MR Clown had not been intent on 'stopping the boom & bust' cycle we'd have been in a mild recession a few years back and would be now in the clear. We are going to pay now with something very very severe indeed, and something that is going to wipe out alot a boad businesses, but also some pretty sound ones aswell.

Yes - a big factor in the severity of the problem that we now face is the fact that recessions have been deferred so many times in the past by cranking the credit pump all the harder.

Now that we appear to have hit a wall, the crash is that much worse.

You can't keep spending on credit forever, it needs to be paid back. Basing an entire economy on never-ending borrowing and spending is stupid beyond belief.

chewmylegoff

Kenny4315 wrote: »

Thought most CC companies had cottoned on to this a while back and now the balance transfer fee, is like 3% or something like that which should have detered most folk.

in what way? balance transfer fee is 3%, but you don't have to pay it, it is just added to your new balance which is at 0% interest. that's just a way for the cc company to ensure it makes some money, although they were actually making the money out of the next cc company to whom you took up a 0% deal.

skap7309

Cannon_Fodder wrote: »

When every tom, !!!!!! and harriet is trying to jump onto a bandwagon, risking their financial security in the process, is it not the Govt's place to protect the population from itself?

Dont be silly. The more debt people are in the better for the 'economiee'. The government loves it and wants it.......no, really.
Why are they asking for lending to return to 2007 levels? Does not take a genius to work it out.

Kenny4315

chewmylegoff wrote: »

in what way? balance transfer fee is 3%, but you don't have to pay it, it is just added to your new balance which is at 0% interest. that's just a way for the cc company to ensure it makes some money, although they were actually making the money out of the next cc company to whom you took up a 0% deal.

You know, I never knew that, as I have never done a balance transfer, I just assumed that it would be an upfront fee, what a complete fiasco.

Pobby

I first experienced large credit limits in the mid 90`s. To ease our cash flow, short term bank borrowing and get extended credit from our suppliers this is what we did.
We took out a number of credit cards. An invoice of say £4k would arrive. As well established customers our suppliers would be happy to give us 60 days credit. On the 60 days we would pay by card. Then pay the whole amount of £4k off the card on the due date. Our monthly inputs would be maybe up to £20k.

Over a period of time we established an amazingly large credit line.

Davesnave

Tax Credits are very odd. They once underpaid us £1k, so I wrote and asked for it.

'No,' they said, you're too late. Time limits.'
I replied, 'Not fair!'
They said, 'Tough! Anyway, we only pay out if we have misled you.'
So, I wrote claiming that we'd been misled.
Instant pay out....

We didn't receive anything like £20k pa though; more like £3.5k, but as they say, 'Every little bit helps.'

Very odd.

Austin_Allegro

!!!!!!? wrote: »

Yes - a big factor in the severity of the problem that we now face is the fact that recessions have been deferred so many times in the past by cranking the credit pump all the harder.

Now that we appear to have hit a wall, the crash is that much worse.

You can't keep spending on credit forever, it needs to be paid back. Basing an entire economy on never-ending borrowing and spending is stupid beyond belief.

I do wonder though if it can be kept going indefinitely, it's just a case of coming up with a new version of the debt bubble once people have forgotten the lessons of the last one.

I've been watching Prof. Ferguson's series 'The Ascent of Money' and its amazing how many booms and busts there have been since the creation of modern stocks and banking in the seventeenth century.

Once in a while we get a really big bust - Jayne Mansfie...er, I mean, South Sea Bubble, 1929 etc but even those eventually are overcome.

WTF?_2

Austin_Allegro wrote: »

I do wonder though if it can be kept going indefinitely, it's just a case of coming up with a new version of the debt bubble once people have forgotten the lessons of the last one.

I've been watching Prof. Ferguson's series 'The Ascent of Money' and its amazing how many booms and busts there have been since the creation of modern stocks and banking in the seventeenth century.

Once in a while we get a really big bust - Jayne Mansfie...er, I mean, South Sea Bubble, 1929 etc but even those eventually are overcome.

Yeah - boom and bust is part of the cycle but this mess is so bad in large part because of the attempt to defer previous near-recessions.

Now they seem intent on trying to short-circuit the mother of all busts by just flooding the markets with money. I think they'll eventually succeed, after a fashion, by invoking a savage inflationary backlash but there's no way to predict the exact timing of it now.

StevieJ

!!!!!!? wrote: »

Yes - a big factor in the severity of the problem that we now face is the fact that recessions have been deferred so many times in the past by cranking the credit pump all the harder.

Now that we appear to have hit a wall, the crash is that much worse.

You can't keep spending on credit forever, it needs to be paid back. Basing an entire economy on never-ending borrowing and spending is stupid beyond belief.

!!!!!!, I have told you a million times not to eggagerate

WTF?_2

StevieJ wrote: »

!!!!!!, I have told you a million times not to eggagerate

So we aren't in fact looking at the worst economic crisis since the 1930s then?

Uh-huh.