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£120,000,000 a day in interest alone!!!

245678

Comments

  • Kohoutek
    Kohoutek Posts: 2,861 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 8 February 2011 at 12:30PM
    Thrugelmir wrote: »
    Around 30% is owned by foreign investors (2nd largest holder). So thats £40 million a day of UK wealth leaving the country not even being reinvested back into the economy.

    How do you know its not being reinvested into the UK's economy? The foreign investors have don't have many options: either invest in more sterling denominated financial or real assets or swap the sterling for another currency.

    The most likely scenario is that the majority of interest going to foreign holders is simply being reinvested into buying more UK government debt.
    Niv wrote: »
    Surely it is better to have the debt paid off though and be in a position where the country can truly live within its means?

    I agree the borrowed money in the past was borrowed for a reason (improving hospitals/schools etc) but that does not mean that the debt should never be paid off, imo.

    We wouldn't have a financial system if there wasn't any public debt.

    "Paying the debt off" would involve a huge transfer of cash from the private sector to the government by much higher taxes, rather than the current situation which is the other way round. You would put hundreds of thousands of people out of work by doing that.
  • ILW
    ILW Posts: 18,333 Forumite
    nicko33 wrote: »
    Each household would have to pay...
    not "will pay"

    Please explain.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Kohoutek wrote: »
    How do you know its not being reinvested into the UK's economy? The foreign investors have don't have many options: either invest in more sterling denominated financial or real assets or swap the sterling for another currency.

    The most likely scenario is that the majority of interest going to foreign holders is simply being reinvested into buying more UK government debt.

    No different to owning shares through a collective fund. The income is paid to where the fund manager is based.
  • ILW
    ILW Posts: 18,333 Forumite
    Kohoutek wrote: »
    How do you know its not being reinvested into the UK's economy? The foreign investors have don't have many options: either invest in more sterling denominated financial or real assets or swap the sterling for another currency.

    The most likely scenario is that the majority of interest going to foreign holders is simply being reinvested into buying more UK government debt.



    We wouldn't have a financial system if there wasn't any public debt.

    "Paying the debt off" would involve a huge transfer of cash from the private sector to the government by much higher taxes, rather than the current situation which is the other way round. You would put hundreds of thousands of people out of work by doing that.

    Many countries have no public debt, (they have net reserves) but seem to manage to have a financial system. Cannot get youir point.
  • ILW wrote: »
    Many countries have no public debt, (they have net reserves) but seem to manage to have a financial system. Cannot get youir point.

    the uk doesn't export anything, we've run out of coal, oil, gas, food(or worse 'sold out') and now we are at the begging hand of our fellow countries..


    is anything in the UK of value, we are based purely on the service industry (financial, telecoms etc), we make very little and we have no reserves to speak off

    :T:T:T
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    the uk doesn't export anything, we've run out of coal, oil, gas, food(or worse 'sold out') and now we are at the begging hand of our fellow countries..


    is anything in the UK of value, we are based purely on the service industry (financial, telecoms etc), we make very little and we have no reserves to speak off

    :T:T:T


    The days of the wealth generated by the British Empire are well and truly over.
  • Kohoutek
    Kohoutek Posts: 2,861 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    ILW wrote: »
    Many countries have no public debt, (they have net reserves) but seem to manage to have a financial system. Cannot get youir point.

    There aren't any countries that literally have no government debt outstanding – I'm not sure what you mean by "net reserves".

    What I was referring to is the fact that government securities are used extensively as collateral in borrowing transactions between financial institutions because they are perceived to be virtually risk free.
  • Thrugelmir wrote: »
    The days of the wealth generated by the British Empire are well and truly over.

    We are now being taken over the the chinese in terms of wealth and ecomony.
  • ILW
    ILW Posts: 18,333 Forumite
    Kohoutek wrote: »
    There aren't any countries that literally have no government debt outstanding – I'm not sure what you mean by "net reserves".

    What I was referring to is the fact that government securities are used extensively as collateral in borrowing transactions between financial institutions because they are perceived to be virtually risk free.

    Reserves exceed debts.
  • Kohoutek
    Kohoutek Posts: 2,861 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    ILW wrote: »
    Reserves exceed debts.

    Reserves of what?
This discussion has been closed.
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