Normality again?

amcluesent

Massive inflation on the way though, it's policy too as HMG needs to inflate way all the public sector debt and the burden of those PFI schemes.

Anyone with cash saving after 2009 is going to be left with the buying power of a church mouse.

Swans1912

amcluesent wrote: »

Massive inflation on the way though, it's policy too as HMG needs to inflate way all the public sector debt and the burden of those PFI schemes.

Anyone with cash saving after 2009 is going to be left with the buying power of a church mouse.

Things will get interesting in 2009 - This time next year we 'should' have a better understand of how the next couple of years will play out.

tradetime

A lot may depend on how much of what is likely to come is covered under your view of normality. Never in my lifetime has just about every central bank in the world pumped anywhere near this much money into the system, and all at the same time. Anytime in history massive amounts of money have been added to the system it has always led to inflation, given where we are I can only guess somewhere down the road we are going to experience inflation like we never have before, (and we've seen it in the 20%'s)
not to mention the fact that we'll be paying for these bailouts in taxes for generations to come.
Nice kinda normal

skintchick

unionjack81 wrote: »

Just after listening to Martin on Radio 1, good show! Good to hear someone speaking sense in the media.

Sorry if this has been discussed somewhere else but can't find it.

I just wanted to know peoples opinion on my belief that this whole 'crisis' is just bringing us all down to earth, normalisation if you like. Everywhere we look we hear about jobs going, firms going under, people loosing their houses. Would those jobs have existed in the first place had the credit not been rammed down our throats, people not lived unrealistic lifestyles based on credit and bought houses at prices which were inflated because of this.

For example: Car dealerships are feeling the pinch big style..... didn't they get to the size they got to because we were all out spending big money on cars that we couldn't afford in the first place?

Personally, I think the this crisis will give everyone a realitiy check.... we can't all go on a holiday every year, drive a new car and live in a big house. Silver lining in the cloud?

Anyone agree?

I've never had any of those anyway. I went ten years without a holiday, had old bangers till I nought a new Skoda four years ago which I still have, and live in a small house before which I lived in tiny rented flats.

And I still don;t see anything good for me in this situation - I got made redundant, I am pregnant so unemployable, and our savings are earning zilch.

Well done for being so frugal all these years? Rubbish. This government doesn;t care about people like me, never has, never will do.

unionjack81

tradetime wrote: »

A lot may depend on how much of what is likely to come is covered under your view of normality. Never in my lifetime has just about every central bank in the world pumped anywhere near this much money into the system, and all at the same time. Anytime in history massive amounts of money have been added to the system it has always led to inflation, given where we are I can only guess somewhere down the road we are going to experience inflation like we never have before, (and we've seen it in the 20%'s)
not to mention the fact that we'll be paying for these bailouts in taxes for generations to come.
Nice kinda normal

Fair points. I don't profess to understand economics to any great degree and so won't argue. What I will say is that I'm holding on to the hope that a lot of the speculation of super inflation and financial strain ahead will not materialise with the severity predicted by media. Remember the Bird Flu that was going to wipe us all out....

drc

unionjack81 wrote: »

For example: Car dealerships are feeling the pinch big style..... didn't they get to the size they got to because we were all out spending big money on cars that we couldn't afford in the first place?

Speak for yourself We own an unfashionable Skoda Fabia which cost us a few grand and which was bought from our savings. I never buy things on credit, I don't like the idea of spending money that isn't mine.

Skintchick - Sorry to hear about your predicament. Congratulations on your pregnancy. .

michaels

tradetime wrote: »

A lot may depend on how much of what is likely to come is covered under your view of normality. Never in my lifetime has just about every central bank in the world pumped anywhere near this much money into the system, and all at the same time. Anytime in history massive amounts of money have been added to the system it has always led to inflation, given where we are I can only guess somewhere down the road we are going to experience inflation like we never have before, (and we've seen it in the 20%'s)
not to mention the fact that we'll be paying for these bailouts in taxes for generations to come.
Nice kinda normal

Hmm - best historical parallel I can see is the Japan bubble and bust which has not (yet) lead to anything but deflation - it is the old pushing on a piece of string thing - doesn't matter hopw much cheap money you make available if people don't want to spend it.

michaels

unionjack81 wrote: »

Would those jobs have existed in the first place had the credit not been rammed down our throats,

Rest I agree with but this 'we were forced against our better judgement to do it' doesn't wash with me - lots of people chose not to live outside their means and buy now pay later. There is too much of the 'I am a victim of some marketeer / corporation' culture in this country. Was anyone forced to borrow for a new car or told they had to take out a mortgage they couldn't afford?

unionjack81

michaels wrote: »

Rest I agree with but this 'we were forced against our better judgement to do it' doesn't wash with me - lots of people chose not to live outside their means and buy now pay later. There is too much of the 'I am a victim of some marketeer / corporation' culture in this country. Was anyone forced to borrow for a new car or told they had to take out a mortgage they couldn't afford?

I completely agree with you saying peoples arms were not twisted and they weren't forced to buy mortgages they could not afford. However, how many times a week was everyone getting loan advertisements put through their letterboxes. Open a magazine and another one drops out, emails..... everywhere. Years ago that sort of credit wasn't available to Joe Bloggs and it would appear there was good reason for it. All it takes is for someone to get offered a loan at a moment of 'weakness' and the loan company has you.

On top of that, I know so many people that are a generation older than me that have (had is probably more applicable now) got into the habit of spending more than they earn annually via credit cards and then sticking it on their mortgages.

It all just created a culture of live today pay tomorrow.

Primrose

"Normal" for me is where you live within your income, don't spend what you haven't got, and don't have aspirations for a mortgage you can't afford which is about 6 X your salary. And if you have a bad financial month where you have a heavy unexpected expenditure, you rein back in your finances until you've built up your reserves again for a rainy day.
So whilst I feel desperately sorry for those who have been made redundant (we know all about that in our household too),or are deeply in debt, if this nation had had a policy of government and individuals living within their means, this whole crisis might have been avoided.