Protect against UKGOV savings confiscation

Wilkins

kidmugsy wrote: »

But they didn't! The bloody fools discussed doing it, but backed off. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

Deposits under 100,000 Euros were spared (thought it was discussed) as per EU guarantees, but deposits over that amount were subject to a haircut.

bigadaj

Glen_Clark wrote: »

Really?
When its never happened before?
Why should 'Everyone' be 'fearful' of their money being worth more?

Ask the Japanese.

Glen_Clark

bigadaj wrote: »

Ask the Japanese.

Chalk and cheese. Japan has an economy based on manufacturing. Britain has an economy based on money printing, debt, shopping, and house price bubbles. Oh and a sweatshop for the Japanese car factories. But they don't like anyone over 30 years old on their production lines because they can't run fast enough. So they prefer to employ foreign immigrants.

innovate

Seems someone has listened to Farage and his cohorts too much.

Wilkins

Glen_Clark wrote: »

Really?
When its never happened before?
Why should 'Everyone' be 'fearful' of their money being worth more?

Deflation, though relatively rare, has happened several times before. Clearly, people with savings are going to benefit from deflation in the short term and people with debts are going to suffer. Longer term, deflation suggests a lack of demand, a contracting economy and rising unemployment which is not likely to benefit anyone except really big cash hoarders.


Inflation helps debtors and punishes savers, but experience shows that if the inflation rate is mostly held in the 1-3% region people don't complain enough to significantly affect election outcomes, which is why, IMO, it is the preferred monetary strategy for almost all governments.

bigadaj

Glen_Clark wrote: »

Chalk and cheese. Japan has an economy based on manufacturing. Britain has an economy based on money printing, debt, shopping, and house price bubbles. Oh and a sweatshop for the Japanese car factories. But they don't like anyone over 30 years old on their production lines because they can't run fast enough. So they prefer to employ foreign immigrants.

Very odd conflation of points there.

In my opinion there are very many similarities between japan and the uk, overpopulated small islands with development concentrated into small areas, ageing populations, and very high property prices, similar to your house price bubble quote.

There's no reason why deflation is a bad thing but current thinking has convinced people it is, driven by the Anglo Saxon model of capitalism. If everyone is convinced that things should slowly get more expensive the people are happy with this, changing this leads to people becoming unsettled and adverse effects.

It takes a long time to change people's opinions once they have been convinced of them, look at the millions of pensioners in cash currently who are getting derisory returns, they still think equities ae a form of gambling.

More interestingly look at Germany where the effects of hyperinflation three plus generations ago still haunts the population and certainly politicians and the economic response.

innovate

bigadaj wrote: »

More interestingly look at Germany where the effects of hyperinflation three plus generations ago still haunts the population and certainly politicians and the economic response.

I was with you until that last paragraph.

What is it that has been haunting Germany for the last 50 years, in which they grew to the economic powerhouse of Europe, with one of the lowest debt as % of GDP of any developed western nation ( and certainly less than the UK's, even though UK could print their own money and Germany couldn't ever since they became part of the Euro)?

Germany has no NHS but people don't suffer from bad medical support because they, in the main, all pay into insurances, sort of equivalent to NI contributions and/or private health insurance that provide at least the same sort of standard health care as the NHS does. Germany has a benefit system that leaves nobody starving or dying (though if I understand correctly, they won't pay benefits to anybody for more than 12 months). Germany state pensions are way more generous than UK ones. Germany has seemingly coped miles better with immigration than the UK. Just check out how many Syrians Germany (and other countries) took in recently, compared with the UK.

talexuser

I thought UK inflation was practically non-existent in the 1950s to mid 60s in a time of growing prosperity and house building when Harold McMillan told the nation "You've never had it so good".

innovate

talexuser wrote: »

I thought UK inflation was practically non-existent in the 1950s to mid 60s in a time of growing prosperity and house building when Harold McMillan told the nation "You've never had it so good".

Who told you there was no inflation?
http://www.whatsthecost.com/historic.cpi.aspx

bigadaj

innovate wrote: »

I was with you until that last paragraph.

What is it that has been haunting Germany for the last 50 years, in which they grew to the economic powerhouse of Europe, with one of the lowest debt as % of GDP of any developed western nation ( and certainly less than the UK's, even though UK could print their own money and Germany couldn't ever since they became part of the Euro)?

Germany has no NHS but people don't suffer from bad medical support because they, in the main, all pay into insurances, sort of equivalent to NI contributions and/or private health insurance that provide at least the same sort of standard health care as the NHS does. Germany has a benefit system that leaves nobody starving or dying (though if I understand correctly, they won't pay benefits to anybody for more than 12 months). Germany state pensions are way more generous than UK ones. Germany has seemingly coped miles better with immigration than the UK. Just check out how many Syrians Germany (and other countries) took in recently, compared with the UK.

Yes I think that was my point, it's very difficult to change people opinion or expectations. No German politician would get away with moving away from a low inflation target, and a relatively strong currency, historically the Deutschmark and more recently the euro. This has led to pain in the weaker euro areas but that's no concern of the Germans, and also maintains pressure in Germans to continually increase productivity and work harder to remain competitive, which we've failed to do in the uk.

I'm still unsure of their government pension liabilities though these must be huge and growing with an ageing population and whilst they are better placed than the uk in general terms this could be a real problem ina. Couple of decades.