Government to offer loans to buy cars

Any

Generali wrote: »

I think SirHumphrey would rather direct production than have production directed by those that have to buy it.

Oh dear, what a rubbish you just said...
You didn't yet get that people want to buy but won't because they are scared?
And I am not talking about those people who want to buy it on credit card. I am talking about those people who are currently hiding every penny they earn under their matrace, because they are scared they will loose their jobs.. And of course they will - if there is no money in the economy, companies cannot pay wages...

I am not saying that everything this government is doing is right, but certainly it's not going to help itself...

SingleSue

Sir_Humphrey wrote: »

No, with higher petrol taxes the poor have the choice between a bus and a tram. In some poorer parts of the UK this choice exists (Nottingham, Croydon, Manchester). All your 40p Australian petrol is doing is making sure that Australia will become uninhabitable in 100 years. What sort of legacy is that for your grandchildren!

We have the choice between a bus...er a bus....and an errr bus.

Which comes every 2 hours and requires 2 changes to get into town and is more expensive than driving a car!

Did try doing a school run once using public transport, only needed to do the one school drop off instead of the usual two and what a nightmare that was. Had to walk to our bus stop (good 10 min walk - not easy with disabled children), bus was late, then bus didn't stop at the stop we needed despite the button being pressed (this stop still required a walk to the school of between 5 and 10 minutes), so we had to get off at the stop further up and had a 15 min fast walk back to the school....son was late for school despite starting out at just before 8am in the morning!

I got a taxi for the journey home and it was cheaper, less stressful and took us door to door.

Madness!

Generali

Sir_Humphrey wrote: »

No, with higher petrol taxes the poor have the choice between a bus and a tram. In some poorer parts of the UK this choice exists (Nottingham, Croydon, Manchester).

What about poor people who live in Buckinghamshire or the smarter bits of Surrey for example? Presumably they have the choice to move to somewhere that allows them to be moved by diktat or to do what? Take a cab?

Lotus-eater

I had this idea that the majority of new cars were bought by businesses? If this is the case then no business is going to borrow money that they don't think they need, or can afford. So isn't the whole thing an exercise in PR?

ruggedtoast

Generali wrote: »

Perhaps anti-Capitalists/Socialists could try to find a better model to revert to than that which has failed so many times and so disastrously that tens of millions have paid with their lives (eg Nazism, Pol Pot, Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism etc).

Best regards,

Generali.

You've said this before but I think its a bit disingenuous to pre-suppose that capitalism, or neo-liberal capitalism to be more exact, hasnt caused any deaths.

The unnecessary deaths caused by inequality and poverty in the developing world must run into millions, not to mention dictatorial brutal regimes that have been set up to support American led corporate interests.

Globalised capitalism led by a neo-liberal imperative is a system that manages to provide, mostly inadequately, for about 3% of the worlds population, and in 50 years has managed to pretty much exhaust the planets natural resources producing tat no one has ever needed while a lot of the people who make it starve to death, or die through lack of adequate medical care.

Not a great record imo.

I would like a new car thoughh, so going back to the OP this is great news for me.

:money:

purch

So isn't the whole thing an exercise in PR?

Mandelson's involved so the chances are pretty high !!!

Sir_Humphrey

Generali wrote: »

What about poor people who live in Buckinghamshire or the smarter bits of Surrey for example? Presumably they have the choice to move to somewhere that allows them to be moved by diktat or to do what? Take a cab?

This is exactly why more money needs to be spent on public transport. I am a bit confused by your attitude though. You want to remove support from the car industry, that woujld reduce the supply of cars so their price goes up. Shurely shome mishtake.

Sir_Humphrey

SingleSue wrote: »

We have the choice between a bus...er a bus....and an errr bus.

Which comes every 2 hours and requires 2 changes to get into town and is more expensive than driving a car!

Did try doing a school run once using public transport, only needed to do the one school drop off instead of the usual two and what a nightmare that was. Had to walk to our bus stop (good 10 min walk - not easy with disabled children), bus was late, then bus didn't stop at the stop we needed despite the button being pressed (this stop still required a walk to the school of between 5 and 10 minutes), so we had to get off at the stop further up and had a 15 min fast walk back to the school....son was late for school despite starting out at just before 8am in the morning!

I got a taxi for the journey home and it was cheaper, less stressful and took us door to door.

Madness!

Bus travel outside London is extortionate. Re-regulation and renationalisation of the bus franchises would be a good start IMO. Then cross-subsidisation and proper intergrated ticketing could be introduced as exists in London with the Oyster card. The continental Europeans seem to manage this.

Generali

Sir_Humphrey wrote: »

This is exactly why more money needs to be spent on public transport. I am a bit confused by your attitude though. You want to remove support from the car industry, that woujld reduce the supply of cars so their price goes up. Shurely shome mishtake.

No mistake.

Rubbish car makers go bust. Good one can charge a little more so they continue and get stronger.

Other people who think they can make better cars start new companies and then some of the old companies that were good are no longer the best. Then they go bust and so the cycle continues.

If you prop up existing companies then you don't have the space for new competitors to come in and we all end up driving the SUV Shire Horse.

Look at the License Raj for an example.

Rochdale_Pioneers

So to read the free-market crazies right, the arguments are:
1. Only make things people want to buy
2. "Want to buy" actually excludes most people who want to buy a car on credit as has been the norm these last 40 years
3. Only sell cars to people who can pay cash.

Hmmmm, better close all the car factories then. And start making bicycles for all us peons.