Government to offer loans to buy cars

Rochdale_Pioneers

I blame the bankers for personal debt too. Yes, individuals who took on debts they couldn't afford were idiots. Yes we had too many people borrowing too much to buy tat that society demanded they have.

But could they have borrowed this cash had the bankers not been pushing it in the first place? Had we not had Ocean bloody Finance on TV every 5 seconds the people wouldn't have been able to rack up debts as the crdit facility wouldn't have been offered to them.

StevieJ

SamIAm wrote: »

You're right - the economy has always been cyclical; there's better times and worse times...

I think the media has had a large part in this and, having friends and family in media, I have always been a bit sceptical about what I read and hear in it. I like to think that the UK economy is not in such a bad state as they would have us believe.

All the "doom and gloom merchants", as you put it, may turn out to be right though - but I really hope not!

The bottom line is nobody knows for sure how this is all going to pan out.

Sir_Humphrey

Generali wrote: »

No siege mentality here Old Boy. Possibly a spot of jealousy in the number of your posts referring to the hell that awaits Australia?

I don't recall you having any interest in Australian economics until a couple of months ago.

I don't have a great deal of interest in Australian economics, true. I hope you have a good time down under and things work out for you, despite my earlier teasing. I never bore much jealously towards bankers even before the crunch, I would never have wanted their lifestyle and have never been too fussed about getting rich.

dopester

Rochdale_Pioneers wrote: »

I blame the bankers for personal debt too. Yes, individuals who took on debts they couldn't afford were idiots. Yes we had too many people borrowing too much to buy tat that society demanded they have.

But could they have borrowed this cash had the bankers not been pushing it in the first place? Had we not had Ocean bloody Finance on TV every 5 seconds the people wouldn't have been able to rack up debts as the crdit facility wouldn't have been offered to them.

Whenever I see your name I think of the pioneers who set up the first Co-op shop in Rochdale. Our school took us to the shop on a cobbled street in Rochdale (now a museum) when we were 8-year-olds. I vaguely remember them telling us how people from the area all chipped in to set it going, and a sense of poverty - but improvements after it opened. I remember feeling grateful for what we had (which wasn't a lot as we were pretty skint).

Some 20+ years later I didn't forget the lessons from that day. You seem to want to protect all the debtors from their own actions. A big part of the problem wouldn't exist if your debtor-chums made good on the loans they took out.

Generali

Sir_Humphrey wrote: »

I don't have a great deal of interest in Australian economics, true. I hope you have a good time down under and things work out for you, despite my earlier teasing. I never bore much jealously towards bankers even before the crunch, I would never have wanted their lifestyle and have never been too fussed about getting rich.

Writing as someone with an acute and immediate interest in Australian Economics I can correct a big error I feel you made over the past couple of days.

It is that Aussie banks were likely to require bailing out in future. It is pretty unlikely as reserves they were required to keep were higher and there was less choice about what could be kept as tier 1 reserves AIUI and reserves had to be kept higher.

That could (reasonably) be seen as a triumph for regulation.

There is a big controversy in Aus as to whether or not the Government should be running a deficit.

Come to Aus and I'll cook you lobster and roast chook washed down with a bottle of Cloudy Bay.

Sir_Humphrey

Generali wrote: »

It is that Aussie banks were likely to require bailing out in future. It is pretty unlikely as reserves they were required to keep were higher and there was less choice about what could be kept as tier 1 reserves AIUI and reserves had to be kept higher.

Thanks for the information, I am glad their regulators did a better job than the UK.

purch

I blame the bankers for personal debt too

I blame them for their own personal debts, but I wouldn't blame them for yours !!

Rochdale_Pioneers

dopester wrote: »

Whenever I see your name I think of the pioneers who set up the first Co-op shop in Rochdale. Our school took us to the shop on a cobbled street in Rochdale (now a museum) when we were 8-year-olds. I vaguely remember them telling us how people from the area all chipped in to set it going, and a sense of poverty - but improvements after it opened. I remember feeling grateful for what we had (which wasn't a lot as we were pretty skint).

Some 20+ years later I didn't forget the lessons from that day. You seem to want to protect all the debtors from their own actions. A big part of the problem wouldn't exist if your debtor-chums made good on the loans they took out.

Suits me - you sign your name to a credit agreement, you are responsible for the cash. Too many people seem to think that it doesn't matter about the repayments as they can always declare voluntary bankruptsy and walk away with it. Or "When I signed the agreement which demanded repayments higher than wot I earn i had no idea this would leave me with no money for food"

BUT - it takes two to tango. Every moron out there borrowing money they can't afford for cars and holidays has been offered it irresponsibly by a bank who was only interested in the profit it could make from the loan. had banks behaved themselves in the first place then Mrs Moron of Droitwich wouldn't be facing repayments she could never afford.