The pound in my pocket

missile

I can understand why the suits in the square mile don't want the euro but would it bad for the rest of us? I have seen the value of the £ in my pocket plummet against the € .... and not just since Brexit.

bigadaj

Depends on your perspective, as an average person then the euro has advantages in that you travel round Europe, are familiar with and carry the same money, doesn't cost you to exchange.

The falling value of the pound has hit the wealth of the country overall, my net position looks great since Brexit but that's primarily down to a chunk of my investments in dollars, euros and other currencies appreciating in sterling terms, which could largely drop back if and when the pound appreciates.

Of course the problem with the euro is that the eu isn't a dull federal state, like the us. Any halfway house creates problems and monetary union between independent countries creates many problems, with interest rates being too high for many, and too low for many others.

This was one of the problems with the Brexit debate, massively over simplistic on both sides, and the correct answer is that there are good and bad points to being in and outside of the eu, even when we are only sort of in and have no appetite for continuing towards a full European state.

Pincher

Brexit is supposed to a baptism of fire.

We plunge voluntarily into the volcano, when we emerge like a Phoenix reborn, we will be a leaner and meaner fighting machine.

The extreme poverty in the lean years to come will mean no more welfare state and NHS. The ones who survive the Mad Max years will have high immunity to diseases as the weak that succumb will have long since died.

Obese type II diabetes will be a thing of the past, as only the fit will survive. Cannibalism means the fat and slow will end up on the barbecue.

As for sterling, I expect it will not exist during the Second Dark Age.

coyrls

missile wrote: »

I can understand why the suits in the square mile don't want the euro but would it bad for the rest of us? I have seen the value of the £ in my pocket plummet against the € .... and not just since Brexit.

[FONT=&quot]Well it's not an option is it? EU membership would be a prerequisite.[/FONT]

missile

coyrls wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]Well it's not an option is it? EU membership would be a prerequisite.[/FONT]

Obviously it is not an option now. :rotfl:
The crooks in suits managed to scare us with their forecast of doom if we had joined the euro. If we had, I estimate the real value of my savings would be 30% more. Thanks a lot Gordon Brown.

Thrugelmir

Euro traded around this level between 2009-11. What's the fuss for?

LHW99

I don't think anyone was scared out of joining the euro.
We didn't join because the country was nearly bankrupted trying to maintain the exchange rate level that we had joined the "snake" at.
If we had joined the euro at that level, we could be another Greece now.

bigfreddiel

In 1967....

"It does not mean that the pound here in Britain, in your pocket or purse or in your bank, has been devalued."

Prime Minister Harold Wilson

He was right wasn't he? The pound in your pocket is still worth a pound.

It was true in 1967, so surely it's true now?

I remember the headlines well, and life just went on as usual. Harold must have believed it or else he wouldn't have said it.

True back in '67 and true now. All these fluctuations will be but a tiny little blip when you look back in years to come.


Cheers fj

greenglide

It was true in 1967, so surely it's true now?

I remember the headlines well, and life just went on as usual. Harold must have believed it or else he wouldn't have said it.

The 60s and seventies, a time of chaos and severe financial problems. Remember the IMF bailing us out etc?

Are you suggesting that we should voluntarily return to those days simply in the name of "getting our sovereignty back" or, even worse, "to have control of our borders" which is always a thinly veiled comment expression showing their xenophobic small mindedness.

It is about time you took your rose tinted glasses off and look to see what those days were really like. If it hadnt been for North Sea gas and oil that came along I wonder what would have become of us? I certainly wouldnt want to go back.

redmalc

I can remember in 2010 exchanging pounds in Tenerife at 1 for 1.

I am glad I purchased 10k worth at 1.40 earlier this year,it will last for a few holidays

Glen_Clark

missile wrote: »

I can understand why the suits in the square mile don't want the euro but would it bad for the rest of us? I have seen the value of the £ in my pocket plummet against the € .... and not just since Brexit.

The suits in the square mile are on a nice little earner taking commission for changing your pounds to euro backwards and forwards
(Apparently the Queen doesn't want the Euro either because she likes to keep her face on our money)
And of course, devaluation hits the poor the hardest because they have no assets which rise in price to counteract it.
An interesting view from one of the world's richest men... http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014?o=0