mightytharg

But doesn't the guy who gets fired have to buy all the drinks for the leaving do? Or are some workplaces a bit more milk-of-human-kindness than the investment banks?

Strange idea to want to force people (except dole scroungers obviously) out of a city that's already built. Why would you want to balance things?

You schizos aren't very nice. First you pretend to be our friends and shower us with free money, then you turn around and try to steal from us and threaten violence. What's a banker to think?

So just out of interest why should northerners pay less property tax than southerners? The system is already unfair because northerners have the advantage of cheaper housing and long-suffering southerners pay more income tax - wouldn't your plan make things even more unfair?

Indian givers!

I think they get sold to one of Obama's campaign donors for a song. What did you expect?

So? Did it move? Anyway, the idea that all teachers get the same pay regardless of ability is rubbish. Bad teachers get extra because their workplace becomes a "problem school" and gets extra funding (about £150,000 for a talentless head teacher).

If they're whining about that than they didn't read the job description very carefully before they signed up...

Good in theory, but some scrounging farmer getting a million in hand-outs is hardly going to care about the price of food! The only time he'll get out of bed is if a subsidy form is due that day.

The leaders of society are selected in a way that guarantees that they mostly have no morality or ethics. I would expect chavs to be more a cross-section of society and therefore behave more ethically. We the top 1% are giving 30-80% of our income to help chavs like these (you still don't seem grateful) so we're hardly "hogging the wealth". I think we're the greatest philanthropists the world has ever seen!

But it's the chav scum who elected the socialists who created the system. So it all comes back to the chavs - lets direct our anger at them,

Housing price indices should shoot up. They'll be selling expensive houses. Meanwhile tax receipts go down so less cheap housing association rubbish for the parasites.

Would you be similarly outraged if say a Carpenter noticed that tables were overpriced, and started creating more and selling them? I don't get it.

Sorry, did you say the assets go to the creditors? Or did you say the assets are stolen by all the Icelandic creditors (helping themselves to extra if there is any left over) leaving foreign creditors with nothing? I didn't quite hear you.

If they thought CDOs were overpriced, isn't it entirely consistent to sell the ones they owned and also short them in the market?

As I understand it, through a mixture of corruption and bad luck, some Icelandic banks went bust. They owed more to depositors than they could pay out, Say there was 5 billion in the kitty, and 10 billion owed to depositors (5 billion to Icelanders and 5 billion to the English and Dutch). A fair way would be to pay out everyone equally, a proportion of their deposits (with a bit extra for small depositors thanks to government guarantees). Instead the thieving Icelanders decided to keep all the money for themselves and give nothing to the foreign depositors. The strangest is that many of you idiots seem to support them. (Apologies if I haven't understood the situation, but this seems to be more or less what happened)

Only true if (as many on here) you assume that public sector workers are irredeemably useless wasters. I think at least a few of them could reform and become useful members of society with jobs or businesses paying taxes etc. Then a 3 billion cut could save 4 billion.

You can't insure someone else's house, but you can get a CDS on someone else's company.

Surely CDS are a valid defence against nasty communist unions who try to blackmail you? Union: "Give us free money by taking a haircut on your bond holdings. Otherwise we'll destroy the Company and you will get nothing" CDS Holder: "No. Work harder and pay back what you borrowed." vs. Union: "Give us free money by taking a haircut on your bond holdings. Otherwise we'll destroy the Company and you will get nothing" Unprotected Bondholder: "You win, here's 10 million dollars! Union: "ha ha ha. We'll keep half for ludicrous salaries and wasteful industrial practices. The other half we'll spend on helping elect a Socialist government opress you." I prefer option one.

I used to work in a fast food restaurant. Best job I ever had. Free food, sexy co-workers, plenty of people coming in to talk to. Don't see what the problem is. Wasn't in England so minimum wage paid rent and living expenses easily.

Doesn't this mean we are off the hook? We can cut spending in half with no noticeable effect on services. Pay off our borrowings, cut taxes and everything willl go back to normal. We've been worrying about nothing.

Release some new games consoles and pay back the money they owe?

So you seem to be blaming corrupt Icelanders for stealing from one another, but encouraging corrupt Icelanders to steal from the British and the Dutch. Why not just admit you are all a bunch of thieves and be done with it? I don't see why we should pay for your crimes, especially since the Icelandic banks have been handing out free money to Icelanders (forgiving loans) while simultaneously pretending to be unable to pay their debts. Looking forward to eating all that cod when you default and we have to seize your assets. Yum!

So why not just reduce everyone's housing allowance by £400 a month (to start with). I don't understand why scroungers are being put up in London anyway.

Why not locals? Aren't those people selling pasties for £3+ each Cornish?