Gordon Brown

[gillian17]

Gordon Brown has increased Government spending from £276 billion in 1996-7 to £577 billion in this year 2007-8.
Even allowing for inflation (CPI 2.1%, RPI 4.1% Bank of England M4 between 13-14%) that is £100,000 for every British taxpayer.
What would you spend Gordon's personal fortune of £3 trillion on?

[Boozeburglar]

Nearer £10,000, no?

[gillian17]

£3 trillion
£3,000,000,000,000
divided by 30,000,000 taxpayers
Its definitely £100,000 where he has got it from I do not know. The national debt at the moment is £541 billion so he has not borrowed it. Then again he is a past master of putting things off the balance sheet ie Network Rail, Northern Rock.

[richman]

pension 's ?

[gillian17]

His and Tony's and Lord ha ha Wolfenden, Cherie's teeth, Bernie Eccleston's.
Neil 'The Thief' Kinnock, his wife 'the picture stealer', Glynis.
Peter Mandelson 'If you want a mortgage...'
Not yours and mine.
Gordon Brown removed £5 billion a year from the mortgage market in 1999.
Strange that he exempted MPs from it.

[Boozeburglar]

Sorry I thought you were referring to the increase in spending...

Well, he spends the money we pay in tax.

How strange!

[richman]

fit are ye on gilli ??? can i have some ? :D

[gillian17]

What has improved since 1997?
I am not anti-Labour but anti-government.
Every Government since 1945 has said to the populace "You are idiots, we can spend your money better than you can, Oh by the way we will take thousands of pounds for ourselves and our cronies, but its in your best interests. What? You would like to know how we spend it? Ha ha you poor naive fool, I cannot tell you that. National Security and you may not vote for me agaimn
."

[badger]

I never did understand why so many said he was a good Chancellor when all he ever did was take us further and further into debt. Now apparently Darling is fed up because Brown keeps interfering.

[richman]

What has improved since 1997?
I am not anti-Labour but anti-government.
Every Government since 1945 has said to the populace "You are idiots, we can spend your money better than you can, Oh by the way we will take thousands of pounds for ourselves and our cronies, but its in your best interests. What? You would like to know how we spend it? Ha ha you poor naive fool, I cannot tell you that. National Security and you may not vote for me agaimn
."anrachy rules eh ?

[Snarfer]

£3 trillion
£3,000,000,000,000
divided by 30,000,000 taxpayers
Its definitely £100,000 where he has got it from I do not know. The national debt at the moment is £541 billion so he has not borrowed it. Then again he is a past master of putting things off the balance sheet ie Network Rail, Northern Rock.

The
British Government took this advice in 1974, when Prime Minister
Harold Wilson announced to the House of Commons that the meaning
of "billion" in papers concerning Government statistics would
thenceforth be 10^9, in conformity with U.S. usage.

That would make it £100

Check out http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxbill00.html (http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxbill00.html)

[richman]

i 'm gonna hev til kep ma mooth shut , she 's right . i canna coont , she can ,

[gillian17]

Forget the orthography lets call it 3^12 and lets forget about taxpayers.
3^12/6^7 ie tax increases/whole population = 5^4 or simply £50,000 per person or roughly £100 per person per week.
To which you may reasonably say that the chancellor has not taken £100 per week from me nor from my 5 year old child, for example, but he has not taken it directly from you. He made sure you never got it in the first place.
Anyone who promises to bomb Brussels, Quai d'Orsay and Kirkcauldy gets my vote.
oh sorry, I forgot. Anyone who opposes the EU cannot vote and will be incarcerated and fed lithium for the rest of their natural or unnatural life.

[orkneylass]

pension 's ?

Ha Ha Ha, that's so funny cos it is where he stole it from in the first place!

[gillian17]

Does anyone apart from me know what anarchy is?
Its a utopian version of society where there is no need for law. Not the present definition which says there are no laws and anything goes.

[Boozeburglar]

Does anyone apart from me know what anarchy is?
Its a utopian version of society where there is no need for law. Not the present definition which says there are no laws and anything goes.

Your definition indicates you do not have a firm grasp of the subject. Care to explain exactly what you mean by 'law', and why you say it is a 'version of society'?

[Rheghead]

Gordon Brown has increased Government spending from £276 billion in 1996-7 to £577 billion in this year 2007-8.
Even allowing for inflation (CPI 2.1%, RPI 4.1% Bank of England M4 between 13-14%) that is £100,000 for every British taxpayer.
What would you spend Gordon's personal fortune of £3 trillion on?

Surely if he has spent it, then he hasn't amassed a fortune with it, no?:confused

[gillian17]

We, the tax paying public should have a right to know where OUR money has gone.
Whenever a noboby comes on TV or in the press and says, "We are committing xxx amount of Government finance in support of xxxxx", they are lying.
The government has no, that is NO money whatsoever. They never had had and should never have any.
They actually owe £541 billions. Who will pay that mortgage off, Alistair Darling, Gordon Brown?
You and I know who will pay it off.
Oh by the way, we now own a bank. Adam Applegarth has not laughed so much since he found out what he was called.
Northern Rock now offer the best returns on invested money and the cheapest mortgages.
How can they do this?
Because whatever happens Alistair Darling will pay.
Its not nationalisation, that I could stomach, its like saying to Caithness Glass, "We don't care whether you make a profit, we don't actually care if you do anything. Just go through the motions and we (the taxpayer) will pick up the tab."
That bank should have gone to the wall and all depositors and investors should have lost their money.
Anyone chasing the highest returns should accept the highest risk.
At the moment anyone with money in any bank other than Northern Rock is stupid so let us have a run on those. Make it interesting for the ex-chancellor.

[golach]

Away and no haver Gillian17, I think Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, will do a great job it they get half a chance, as good a job as Alex Salmond is doing here.[disgust]

[scorrie]

Does anyone apart from me know what anarchy is?


I would doubt it.

[gillian17]

I agree with you £430 millions for a building that would have failed every Health and Safety Law ever passed.
A man who wishes Peter Mandelson or Anthony Blair to be the next President of Scotland.
A man (forgive the pun) who is a little fish in a little pond and would like to be shaking hands with the big boys in Brussels and Washington.
Politician was originally a term of disdain, then it became respectable, now it has gone full circle.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalyse, Plague, Famine, something else I cannot remember, and Beasts of the Field which is variously translated as politicians.

[Yoda the flump]

Who do you suggests rules our country as you seem to have a loathing of politicians? Shall we have an absolute monarchy?

[gillian17]

I would not have a problem with an absolute monarchy.
For the same reason I disagree with the dilution of the House of Lords.
I would never be allowed under my thinking to be in the House of Lords but I trust people who are entitled ie Lords temporal and the Lords spiritual to exercise a restraining influence on the bear pit commomly known as House of Parliament.
Got to go to the shop now, back in 30 minutes.

[gillian17]

Read this topic again everyone and tell me I was wrong. Even Karl Marx never envisaged nationalising the banks. This country (and I mean Great Britain) is bankrupt (both financially and morally), the whole world is bankrupt. We have to stop borrowing money. We have to reduce taxation and hence government and start spending our own money rather than me giving Gordon £200 per week and then him spending £300 per week plus £88 per week on civil servants. Would you run your finances that way?
I have the radio on at the moment and some idiot has just said "You cannot let viable companies go to the wall."
Would someone please explain that to me?

[teenybash]

Everything I wanted to say but, never knew how....great stuff Gillian17

[Reev]

Read this topic again everyone and tell me I was wrong. Even Karl Marx never envisaged nationalising the banks. This country (and I mean Great Britain) is bankrupt (both financially and morally), the whole world is bankrupt. We have to stop borrowing money. We have to reduce taxation and hence government and start spending our own money rather than me giving Gordon £200 per week and then him spending £300 per week plus £88 per week on civil servants. Would you run your finances that way?
I have the radio on at the moment and some idiot has just said "You cannot let viable companies go to the wall."
Would someone please explain that to me?

Epicly Said

DOWN WITH BROWN!!!!

:confused

[gillian17]

Cheers mate.
At the present moment monetary deposits in British banks are guaranteed up to £30,000. Twelve months ago if you googled "high interest" a list of Icelandic banks came up. Everyone knows that the interest rate is proportional to the risk. So what happened, thousands of people invested in Landisbanque (I know I have spelt that wrong) and Gordon Brown guaranteed every penny of it.
I get about 4 percent for investing my money in a bank which is two hundred yards down the road I can see it It actually exists but its only guaranteed up to £30,000.
I will tell you what I will put the lot on on the last favourite at Newmarket and if I lose I will sue the Government and therefore you and I who pay taxes.

[Oddquine]

Thought it was £50000 guarantee now?

The banks have not been nationalised in as much as there are still private shareholders in them. Bill Clinton made a profit when he sold the Government's stake in the US Banks when Reagan did the same thing there as Brown has done here. So eventually the taxpayer will be quids in.

The economy will eventually improve, you know.

[Oddquine]

I agree with you £430 millions for a building that would have failed every Health and Safety Law ever passed.
A man who wishes Peter Mandelson or Anthony Blair to be the next President of Scotland.


What/who are you talking about? :confused

[gillian17]

If I have your question right the SNP wish to be governed by Brussels. Peter Mandelson has now resigned but you (I am English) will be governed by some unelected non-entity be it Kinnock, a Polish plumber or whatever. It just seems perverse that the SNP want to abnegnate their sovereignty.

[gillian17]

And another thing that profit Bill Clinton made, is that the same $835 billion that Barack Obama has just made available to stop the whole lot going to hell in a banker's bonus.

[gillian17]

And another thing, I shall be up all night at this rate, there is nothing wrong with the economy. Okay as a whole its depressed by perhaps 2% but that only takes us back to 2006. 2006 was a pretty good year by my recollection. Its bad if you are one of the people who have lost their job but for the other 27 million in work nothing has changed. I need a drink xx

[teenybash]

And another thing, I shall be up all night at this rate, there is nothing wrong with the economy. Okay as a whole its depressed by perhaps 2% but that only takes us back to 2006. 2006 was a pretty good year by my recollection. Its bad if you are one of the people who have lost their job but for the other 27 million in work nothing has changed. I need a drink xx


Nip over to the jokes and humour forum and pop into the caithness.org pub.......there's a drink waiting for you and leave a message to let us know you got it.:Razz

[Fly]

I suggest we use "his money" on one way tickets to outer space for Gordon Brown himself, Alistair Darling, Peter Mandelson, The Blairs and not forgetting Alex Salmond.

[gillian17]

To twist that slightly, let us borrow "his/their" money and we can "I cannot say what I would like" and let us disappear somewhere and see if anyone can run a country composed entirely of politicians, lawyers and consultants. xx

[Oddquine]

If I have your question right the SNP wish to be governed by Brussels. Peter Mandelson has now resigned but you (I am English) will be governed by some unelected non-entity be it Kinnock, a Polish plumber or whatever. It just seems perverse that the SNP want to abnegnate their sovereignty.

Do you always talk such drivel?

And I'd guessed you were English.

[Oddquine]

And another thing that profit Bill Clinton made, is that the same $835 billion that Barack Obama has just made available to stop the whole lot going to hell in a banker's bonus.

Not likely...I'd guess it has already been spent by Clinton.

And eventually, this President or the next one too will make a profit from the sale of the Government's stake. :roll:

[gillian17]

I think Oddquine has answered her own question. Give politicians money and they will spend it. xx
How do I know she is a woman?
Read her posts.

[Oddquine]

And another thing, I shall be up all night at this rate, there is nothing wrong with the economy. Okay as a whole its depressed by perhaps 2% but that only takes us back to 2006. 2006 was a pretty good year by my recollection. Its bad if you are one of the people who have lost their job but for the other 27 million in work nothing has changed. I need a drink xx

You'd not be up all night if you learned to reply to whole posts in one go.

How do you mean that only takes us back to 2006? :confused

You can't measure the effects of a recession by assuming that -2.5 % growth would put us in the same position as we were in in 2006. That is a very simplistic and unrealistic view of the situation.

[gillian17]

Hang on if GDP contracts by, lets take a horrible scenario, by 25%, it will take us back to 1992 and no-one died then apart from drug addicts, people with an axe in their head and pensioners.

[Oddquine]

Hang on if GDP contracts by, lets take a horrible scenario, by 25%, it will take us back to 1992 and no-one died then apart from drug addicts, people with an axe in their head and pensioners.

You cannot say that contraction of an economy only takes us back to the last time an economy was at the same level.....after all, since 1992, for example, the population has grown by around three and a half million.........so the effects of a return to 1992 levels will be much worse unless we can at the same time, remove the extra population.

And that is without taking into consideration the fact that the current prices of goods and services will not reduce themselves to 1992 levels.

As I said, simplistic and unrealistic.

[Oddquine]

I think Oddquine has answered her own question. Give politicians money and they will spend it. xx
How do I know she is a woman?
Read her posts.

You don't need to read my posts.........just read my user name.

Of course politicians spend money.........what is a country's economy if it is not based on politicians collecting and spending money? :confused