National Debt

Generali

It looks likely that Government debt is going to top £1,000,000,000,000 within the next three years, if the Chancellor's predictions are correct.

It will cost between £50,000,000,000 and £100,000,000,000 per year just to pay interest on this amount. That works out at between £200 and £400 per month per household in tax just to service the debt (ie not paying any of it off).

What do you think of this?

islandannie

I don`t think it likely that each household can afford to pay such amounts,so the country will probably default.

WEEGIE

If the chancellor allows that to happen the country would be in a no return situation. Unemployment would reach six million. Banks and national instiitutions would collapse.

Rochdale_Pioneers

What do I think of it? Not a lot. Its a technical accounting measure - take all of the loan books of every nationalised bank and assume them to be worthless. Take every asset owned by every nationalised bank and assume them to be worthless. Take every asset bought by the government and assume them to be worthless.

As and when the capitalist system collapses completely then we're in trouble and down by the mythical Trillion. Until then I'm not losing any sleep.

Generali

Rochdale_Pioneers wrote: »

What do I think of it? Not a lot. Its a technical accounting measure - take all of the loan books of every nationalised bank and assume them to be worthless. Take every asset owned by every nationalised bank and assume them to be worthless. Take every asset bought by the government and assume them to be worthless.

As and when the capitalist system collapses completely then we're in trouble and down by the mythical Trillion. Until then I'm not losing any sleep.

That's why I used the figure of a trillion rather than 1.2 trillion.

Rochdale_Pioneers

The net assets of the banks and the money they will be repaid from their loan book is worth a fair bit more than £200bn surely?

lostinrates

very reluctantly i think spending should be cut to help this situation. ideally in life we'd have a enough money to do everything (like ninky's thread of how much money we need to be happy) but rarely does it happen. on all scales we make comprimises, big or small. when money is tight and won't spread far we have to look at what our utgoings are, and i believe this is as true on a national scale as a small domestic one. on a national one decisions about priority are hard. Its not a feeling i like, but I think its essential.

ninky_2

lostinrates wrote: »

very reluctantly i think spending should be cut to help this situation.

So if we're doing a DFW style SOA for Credit Crunch Britian, which areas of non essential spending would you cut back on?

War in Afghanistan?
Bankers bonuses?
Overseas aid?
Renewing trident?
Spending on prisoners?

Wookster

Rochdale_Pioneers wrote: »

As and when the capitalist system collapses completely then we're in trouble and down by the mythical Trillion. Until then I'm not losing any sleep.

Is your head buried in the sand on planet Rochdale again?

Do you realise that 14% of the UK's entire national debt has been incurred in the current tax year and that the full impact of lower tax receipts and increased welfare payments haven't begun to filter through properly yet.

Scary is the only word to describe this!

purch

Scary is the only word to describe this!

...the only word ???

Rochdale_Pioneers

Wookster wrote: »

Is your head buried in the sand on planet Rochdale again?

Do you realise that 14% of the UK's entire national debt has been incurred in the current tax year and that the full impact of lower tax receipts and increased welfare payments haven't begun to filter through properly yet.

Scary is the only word to describe this!

See my reply to you on the other thread. Nice to see you copying me ("Planet Rochdale"....!) if a little sad that you lack the imagination to come up with a repost thats actually new.

Your 14% includes "borrowing" to cover all the bank's liabilities should their entire loan books default and their entire asset books be worthless.

Since the government has not borrowed this cash, and such a scenario hasn't and won't happened, the fact that you are peddling a technical accounting tool as reality demonstrates your grasp on reality.