you say that 2.5% off the vat is meaningless.... but youd be the first to complain if there was a 2.5% RISE... <_<

 

Funny you should say that, turns out they WERE seriously considering putting up VAT to 18.5% after the 13 month period was up.... :lol: Of course they got found out when it wound up being posted on the Internet, but who's to say that the leak wasn't what inspired them to actually ditch the plans and go with the rise to NI...? And, also, who's to say that they or the Tories wont actually raise VAT anyway in a year or so....? You cannot trust Labour or Tory, I think this is a lesson we should all learn.... Labour will never, EVER get my vote again, and the Tories, well, they never had it to begin with.... :rolleyes:

 

The cost of re-pricing everything will probably cost small shops as much as the 2.5% of vat. It will not encourage the public to spend spend spend, Most shops are already giving discounts in their sales of between 10-50%, so what is another 2.5% going to achieve. Its a pure political gimmick.

 

Watch Vat go up not only to 17.5%, but possibly even higher to help fill in the black hole.

 

actually it is damaging shops who bought in goods at the old 17.5% and are being expected to sell them at the new 15% losing them 2.5%.

It's quite patronising really. "The country is in a state of economic crises, I know!; Lets cut VAT by 2.5%". :lol:

 

It's way beyond patronising if you ask me.... It's being an utter c/unt.... It's like "hey, we'll give you this tiny scrap off the table, and then next year take it back with the rise to National Insurance, well for those of you who are still actually IN a job next year, ha ha; and we'll probably put up VAT to higher levels next year anyway so we can grab the money off those on the dole...". Utter B/ASTARDS.... <_< How very fukkin' Tory of them... -_- Once this actually sinks in, everyone is gonna recall the old Johnny Rotten saying "Ever had the feeling you've been cheated....?" There's gonna be riots, serious discontent and maybe even blood on the streets (preferably Downing Street and the area around Parliament... :rolleyes: ) in 2009, mark my words... MPs and City types are gonna have to wear stab vests or Kevlar body armour to work.... :rolleyes:

 

I totally agree with Brian, it wont really plug the huge economic black hole, and just watch VAT go up next year....

 

 

Cynics are saying it's just to win votes, but if Brown holds on until the end of this 13months and punts VAT back up before the next election along with NI Labour are gonna loose a lot of seats.

 

They have totally shot themselves in the foot tbh

Is it me or does it seem like they're trying to damage the next general electrion victor's term, which will most likely be the Tories by ruining the economy for them? Its not as if it won't do anything, but it'll mean in a few years we'll have to pay :( . Too bad thats when i have to start paying taxes.

Scorched earth policy? You could be right. :lol:

Is it me or does it seem like they're trying to damage the next general electrion victor's term, which will most likely be the Tories by ruining the economy for them? Its not as if it won't do anything, but it'll mean in a few years we'll have to pay :( . Too bad thats when i have to start paying taxes.

 

to be fair... thats nonsense. that would be tantamount to treason!

Is it me or does it seem like they're trying to damage the next general electrion victor's term, which will most likely be the Tories by ruining the economy for them?

 

Whether intentional or not, it is actually the likely outcome of Alistair "dont call me" Darling's budget - oops - sorry, it aint a budget is it..? I mean, if it WAS a budget, we'd actually have a proper Parliamentary debate going on about it.... :rolleyes:

 

Another example of this Govt's "respect" for the democratic processes of Parliament.... -_-

 

that would be tantamount to treason!

 

As far as I'm concerned, this so-called "Labour" Govt are traitors to their Working Class brothers and sisters, the people who voted for them in '97; traitors to the founding fathers of the Labour Movement, as well as to the general citizenry when they lied about Iraq....

 

They should suffer as all traitors suffer..... -_-

 

interest rates have been cut to a 50 year low.... interesting, itll be interesting to see if this helps much.

interest rates have been cut to a 50 year low.... interesting, itll be interesting to see if this helps much.

 

Wont really mean a hell of a lot if 3 million people DO lose their jobs mate.... How's a fall in interest rates gonna help people keep up mortgage payments if they dont have a job next year....? It wont... I can see a hell of a lot of repossessions on the cards for '09/10 tbh....

 

Wont really mean a hell of a lot if 3 million people DO lose their jobs mate.... How's a fall in interest rates gonna help people keep up mortgage payments if they dont have a job next year....? It wont... I can see a hell of a lot of repossessions on the cards for '09/10 tbh....

 

yeah but what do you expect? unchecked growth forever? .... harsh maybe but economic downturns are inevitable, they are part of life.

harsh maybe but economic downturns are inevitable, they are part of life.

 

I dont believe that unfettered, unchecked and utterly irresponsible free market capitalism should be "part of life"... In the end, it fukks up the ordinary man or woman on the street, while only actually benefitting a minority of greedy b/astards..... Benefits should be there for ALL; tbh, I think the "economy" is just an illusion, these days it just seems like a set of numbers that appear on a computer screen that dont really reflect the realities of the actual lives of the vast majority.... REAL money never seems to exchange hands at all, I think it's the unreality of it all, the fact that it seems almost like a computer game, that makes it a bit too easy for some in the City and in Wall St to play fast and loose with people's real lives.... It has to stop... The extremes of Western Capitalism are totally amoral and evil as far as I'm concerned....

I dont believe that unfettered, unchecked and utterly irresponsible free market capitalism should be "part of life"... In the end, it fukks up the ordinary man or woman on the street, while only actually benefitting a minority of greedy b/astards..... Benefits should be there for ALL; tbh, I think the "economy" is just an illusion, these days it just seems like a set of numbers that appear on a computer screen that dont really reflect the realities of the actual lives of the vast majority.... REAL money never seems to exchange hands at all, I think it's the unreality of it all, the fact that it seems almost like a computer game, that makes it a bit too easy for some in the City and in Wall St to play fast and loose with people's real lives.... It has to stop... The extremes of Western Capitalism are totally amoral and evil as far as I'm concerned....

 

but even the ordinary man who suffers the most, bounces back and is still better off in the long run. ive been a homeowner for 25 years and my standard of living has certainly improved dispite times when i /we had to tighten our belts and take a step back..

but even the ordinary man who suffers the most, bounces back and is still better off in the long run. ive been a homeowner for 25 years and my standard of living has certainly improved dispite times when i /we had to tighten our belts and take a step back..

 

Dont believe that rubbish for a minute.... The actual fiscal gap between rich and poor has gotten a lot bigger in the past 25 years mate.... Mainly due to Thatcherism granted, but I really dont see Nu Labor actually reversing the tide a whole hell of a lot.....

 

Dont believe that rubbish for a minute.... The actual fiscal gap between rich and poor has gotten a lot bigger in the past 25 years mate.... Mainly due to Thatcherism granted, but I really dont see Nu Labor actually reversing the tide a whole hell of a lot.....

 

whats rubbish? the bit where im telling you that my personal standard of living has gradually improved over the last 25 year?... :lol: if it was rubbish then people would still be living at 1983 levels... we arnt. as for the gap between rich and poor, whats that got to do with it?... im not bothered what tarquin is earning, im only bothered about my lifestyle.

Wont really mean a hell of a lot if 3 million people DO lose their jobs mate.... How's a fall in interest rates gonna help people keep up mortgage payments if they dont have a job next year....? It wont... I can see a hell of a lot of repossessions on the cards for '09/10 tbh....

Good point. I reckon at 2% most employed people will cope, if not then it was a bad decision to buy the house in the first place -_-

 

Dont believe that rubbish for a minute.... The actual fiscal gap between rich and poor has gotten a lot bigger in the past 25 years mate.... Mainly due to Thatcherism granted, but I really dont see Nu Labor actually reversing the tide a whole hell of a lot.....

Like Rob said, what has that got to do with it? Standard of living has increased a lot, even if it is a lot more amongst the upper/middle class than the poor.

US employers axed 533,000 jobs in November, the biggest monthly cut since 1974. This is a massive increase in just one month.

 

This may be in the US but where they go, unfortunately we follow. Our economy is directly and indirectly related to the US, so the knock on effect could well be felt here as well.

 

Even if interest rates dropped to zero, looks like nothing can stop unemployment rising to possibly the highest levels for 30 years.

 

At the moment its nearly all private employers that are shedding jobs, the public sector so far seems immune. But how much longer will that be the case.

Like Rob said, what has that got to do with it? Standard of living has increased a lot, even if it is a lot more amongst the upper/middle class than the poor.

 

It's got bloody everything to do with it... It proves that the "redistribution of wealth" just is NOT occurring... The Super-rich are almost certainly getting richer, whereas the poorest working class families are actually seeing a fall in their disposable income due to all this bullsh!t in the financial sector, AND, of course the rises in utilities, prices, council tax, etc, which has pretty much wiped out any supposed "benefits" that have occured from a fall in interest rates or mortgage payments, these things do NOT affect the rich anything like the way they affect the poor....

 

As for the cut in VAT, well, that's absolutely insulting, because we all know next year it's gonna go back up again, perhaps to an even higher level than it was before, along with a rise in NI of 0.5%, again, this will not really affect Tarquin anything like the way it will affect Joe Bloggs.... The new tax rate of 55% for anyone earning £150k doesn't even come in until 2011... Plenty of time for a new Govt to come in and reverse it..... :rolleyes:

 

Trust me, the Tories get in, it aint gonna happen, they'll just hammer it all on VAT and other Stealth Taxes, which AGAIN will affect the poor far more than the rich....

 

This is all just fukkin' bullsh!t, headline-grabbing spin....

 

whats rubbish? the bit where im telling you that my personal standard of living has gradually improved over the last 25 year?... :

 

Really..? Has it...? I mean, with all the rises in Council Tax, VAT, utility costs, food prices, etc...? How much better off are you really...? A fall in interest rates really means bugger all when the system has a way of getting your money by other means....

 

I dont believe that the ordinary, working classes out there have gotten any better off to any real degree because I know plenty of people out there who tell me they are worse off now than 10 years ago.... So, unlike you, I am NOT prepared to believe Nu Labor's bullsh!t for a minute....