Will Enforced Austerity Solve Anything?

[Johnny Storm]

New Labour also won three elections in a row, so I wouldn't claim this as a benchmark for success.

Thatcher's policies only worked while she was busy selling off national assets on the cheap, this was great for those that were able to cash in on the boon, but the shelf life of such a policy is limited as the family silver is a finite resource.

She basically bribed the nation into voting for her, and it worked a treat.

If running a successful nation is bribing someone to vote for you, then yes she is guilty.

Though if anyone actually bribed people to vote for them it was Labour, giving money away for nothing, creating pretend jobs.

Personally, I see me voting BNP in future. I am very disappointed with this new Government, and it is clear they are just as lieing, inept and pathetic as the previous one.

[aa3]

How do you balance your view for the requirement for infinite economic growth with the ability of us to find cheap resources to support that growth?

The 2000 post dot com bubble stimulus created global malinvestment on a grand scale can we really afford to take that to the next level required to meet a requirement for continued growth.

Take China as one example, how many more cities can they build and leave empty. This uses precious resources and now they are just lying empty. Can we encourage further "growth" in the face of growing resource scarcity? Those homes need to pass from the investors to the normal Chinese citizen and the only way this can be achieved is through a huge crash of the current Chinese miracle economy.

Sadly a global depression is needed to resolves the massive imbalances that are building. Continuing to hide from this fact will just make things worse. The rich will take a greater share of the wealth if they do try and stimulate us to new "growth" and since 09 we have seen the richest wealth explode, can society take this grotesque imbalance?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339536/Ghost-towns-China-Satellite-images-cities-lying-completely-deserted.html

I believe resources are essentially infinite. Just when it looks like one is running out, like big trees in Europe to make ships out of, an alternative is found. Big trees in North America and then eventually iron ships.

The world has now thought it was running out of oil 7 times. Each time a ton more oil has been found, but first it took prices going very high from shortages.

[mentholist]

I believe resources are essentially infinite..........

It amazes me the number of times I've heard this from seemingly intelligent people. It speaks of a mentality that doesn't understand risk or logic. The fact that scarcity of a localised resource was solved by exploiting a distant resource cannot necessarily be extended to any other other.

I wonder if some sage of the rapa nui urged similar profligacy? "don't worry chaps I know we've chopped down all the trees and destroyed our environment but something will come up ......"

[Bloo Loo]

I believe resources are essentially infinite. Just when it looks like one is running out, like big trees in Europe to make ships out of, an alternative is found. Big trees in North America and then eventually iron ships.

The world has now thought it was running out of oil 7 times. Each time a ton more oil has been found, but first it took prices going very high from shortages.

even if resources were essentially infinite, demand isnt...it cant be unless you force consumers to keep buying....you dont need a new car everyweek, a new computer every day, you cant even eat 24hours a day.

[Stars]

even if resources were essentially infinite, demand isnt...it cant be unless you force consumers to keep buying....you dont need a new car everyweek, a new computer every day, you cant even eat 24hours a day.

Demand is limited by production.

[Bloo Loo]

Demand is limited by production.

is that why we need a stimulus?

[silver panda]

That isn't moral hazard, that's a free market economy.

Call it what you want but it comes down to understanding that your actions have consequences and that you must face up to them.

[Bloo Loo]

Call it what you want but it comes down to understanding that your actions have consequences and that you must face up to them.

heres a short video with a point of view about consequences

watch 'Unintended Consequences' immediately on our video page at: http://inflation.us/videos.html

[Confounded]

I believe resources are essentially infinite. Just when it looks like one is running out, like big trees in Europe to make ships out of, an alternative is found. Big trees in North America and then eventually iron ships.

200 years of exponential growth and you are confidence this can be maintained indefinitely? I am assuming maths is not one of your core strengths

[easy2012]

Even if the government were running a budget as tight as a gnat's chuff we'd still have entered recession in 2007. Ireland were frequently running a budget suplus before the real estate market overwhelmed their banking system for example, but the levels of debt consumed everything.

The nation's finances are screwed because they're taxing incorrectly. Instead of taxing production they should be taxing the freaking housing market!!

So, what would have happened if Ireland had entered the crash with a sovereign debt to gdp of 100% ?

Even if one has a surplus household budget, one can still be bankrupted by an unexpected big medical bill (say something cannot be done intime/not provided by NHS)

for your family.

[tallguy]

If running a successful nation is bribing someone to vote for you, then yes she is guilty.

Though if anyone actually bribed people to vote for them it was Labour, giving money away for nothing, creating pretend jobs.

Personally, I see me voting BNP in future. I am very disappointed with this new Government, and it is clear they are just as lieing, inept and pathetic as the previous one.

Oh, come now Mr Storm. Don't be shy.

We all know you were a rabidly reactionary, right-wing loony long before this coalition ever came to power, don't we....

Edited December 20, 2010 by tallguy

[aa3]

It amazes me the number of times I've heard this from seemingly intelligent people. It speaks of a mentality that doesn't understand risk or logic. The fact that scarcity of a localised resource was solved by exploiting a distant resource cannot necessarily be extended to any other other.

I wonder if some sage of the rapa nui urged similar profligacy? "don't worry chaps I know we've chopped down all the trees and destroyed our environment but something will come up ......"

So far and for the forseeable future there is distant resources available. And also don't forget substition. When we really couldn't find anymore tall trees for ships, the iron ship came along.

To take housing a big consumer of resources, ultimately we can build them out of concrete, glass and steel. And there is not even the remotest shortage in those.