The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )

[Bruce Wayne]

Indeed. Maybe the whole lending thing would 'work better' if the banks weren't forced by law, the government, to 'hold' some assets that can determine what they can lend. Banks without controls, maybe.

That's only required because the state has mandated that banks are 'too big to fail', thus removing a pretty substantial deterrent to behaving irresponsibly.

 

[Mrk]

But the Tories used spending cuts as their way of wiping the deficit by 2015..

Yep... and they failed. But I don't think that was his point...

 

[Kiwi]

Think if I was able to vote I would vote Labour(bearing in mind that I voted for the center right in NZ).
Can't see how the Tories would benefit the UK, especially those who suffer inequality.
Dismantling the NHS(which is the UK's biggest asset IMO) by selling it to private companies is to be frank utter lunacy.

 

[hullefc]

That's only required because the state has mandated that banks are 'too big to fail', thus removing a pretty substantial deterrent to behaving irresponsibly.

Ah I see, thanks for clearing that up. So it is not just the borrower (the individual) and the lender (the banks) that is involved in determining if an individual 'borrows more than they should have'. The government are involved. The banks behaved irresponsibly because they 'are too big to fail'. So if the government had let the banks fail, then that would have sent out the message to the banks to behave responsibly, and they wouldn't now, be encouraging people to borrow excessively to boost the economy.

 

[Mrk]

Ah I see, thanks for clearing that up. So it is not just the borrower (the individual) and the lender (the banks) that is involved in determining if an individual 'borrows more than they should have'. The government are involved. The banks behaved irresponsibly because they 'are too big to fail'. So if the government had let the banks fail, then that would have sent out the message to the banks to behave responsibly, and they wouldn't now, be encouraging people to borrow excessively to boost the economy.

I think the point is, they probably wouldn't have behaved irresponsibly (or as irresponsibly) if their future wasn't guaranteed by the government.

Government should never, ever, prop up a private organisation.

 

[Mrk]

Think if I was able to vote I would vote Labour(bearing in mind that I voted for the center right in NZ).
Can't see how the Tories would benefit the UK, especially those who suffer inequality.
Dismantling the NHS(which is the UK's biggest asset IMO) by selling it to private companies is to be frank utter lunacy.

Which is why no government has tried to do this or has any plans to do this.

The internal market was certainly expanded under New Labour, but that isn't the same as 'dismantling' it and 'selling it to private companies'.

 

[The Mighty Quint]

Yep... and they failed. But I don't think that was his point...

My point was I don't want the Tories telling me how great they are for the economy when they've not wiped out the deficit as they said they would after all these savage cuts and have doubled the national debt, they added more to the national debt in 5 years than Labour did in 13.

 

[hullefc]

I think the point is, they probably wouldn't have behaved irresponsibly (or as irresponsibly) if their future wasn't guaranteed by the government.

Government should never, ever, prop up a private organisation.

Thanks for clearing that up. The government should never, ever give any money to private organisations.

 

[hullefc]

Which is why no government has tried to do this or has any plans to do this.

The internal market was certainly expanded under New Labour, but that isn't the same as 'dismantling' it and 'selling it to private companies'.

When TTIP becomes law the NHS will be further privatised to the point were people will need health insurance. The Tories have opposed one section of the health service, the Ambulance service, from being included in the TTIP talks, but not the rest of the NHS.

 

[Mrk]

My point was I don't want the Tories telling me how great they are for the economy when they've not wiped out the deficit as they said they would after all these savage cuts and have doubled the national debt, they added more to the national debt in 5 years than Labour did in 13.

I agree - but as I said in my initial reply, if you criticise the government for not cutting the deficit fast enough and for doubling the debt, you are by default suggesting that they should have cut 'deeper and faster'.

 

[Mrk]

Thanks for clearing that up. The government should never, ever give any money to private organisations.

Labour seemed to think it was acceptable to do that...

Corporatism. Ugly stuff.

 

[Mrk]

When TTIP becomes law the NHS will be further privatised to the point were people will need health insurance. The Tories have opposed one section of the health service, the Ambulance service, from being included in the TTIP talks, but not the rest of the NHS.

I hear this argument a lot but I've never seen the evidence that suggests that this is the plan - care to share?

 

[Seanjd]

I agree - but as I said in my initial reply, if you criticise the government for not cutting the deficit fast enough and for doubling the debt, you are by default suggesting that they should have cut 'deeper and faster'.

As if cutting fast and deep is the way to reduce the deficit. You can criticise the government for setting out a plan to wipe the deficit by 2015 and failing to do that. That doesn't imply they should have cut faster and deeper. Their cuts have mainly been ideological.

 

[The Mighty Quint]

I agree - but as I said in my initial reply, if you criticise the government for not cutting the deficit fast enough and for doubling the debt, you are by default suggesting that they should have cut 'deeper and faster'.

I disagree, the Tories told us they had to do these savage cuts to get the deficit cancelled, so people bought into that, the reality is after the cuts and 5 years in power, they've made hardly any in roads of reducing the deficit and have doubled the national debt.

How they get away with spinning it that they are doing a good job is baffling, truly baffling.

 

[hullefc]

Labour seemed to think it was acceptable to do that...

Corporatism. Ugly stuff.

I know and giving private organisation public money to run parts of the NHS is an extremely ugly idea.