25 Years since Maggie

[Gwylan]

India one of the FEW countries to have graeter inequality? How about all of Africa?

Sorry. I meant of the richer nations.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Oh ok. Didnt meant to jump down your throat.

 

[Dandyman]

Not everyone will play on the same field - some will always break the rules.

Perhaps we would have been better off fighting togethers as brothers in unions ?

I've just spend the Bank Holiday acting as Best Man at the wedding of a mate who used to work in Insurance and is now a financial journalists dealing with Futures. The wedding was attended by a number of people with similar backgrounds and I have no problem with the integrity or honesty of any of them.

As others have said, however, encouraging a climate of greed, narrow self-interest, and "no such thing as society" inevitably, IMHO, leads to moral and legal corruption.

As for the principles of solidarity, fraternity and egality then yes I do think society would be better off if they were more widely adopted values.

 

[looney]

I can't stand the number of people saying that Britain was a shambles in the 70s. It was the fourth richest country in the world and after 25years of Thatcher and Thatcher-like policies, we're....er, fourth.

According that were 8th. Under Labour we had inflation at 24%.

The chancellor(Dennis Healey) left on the airport tarmac by the IMF as they wouldn't lend any money, strikes galor, a national mood of defeatism.

 

[zefarelly]

Or just keep the retoric flowing, its comfort food to your fellow reds. [/B][/QUOTE]

I never said it wasnt on the slide before hand, but it certainly got worse . . . .the whole countries been on a slide since the 60's.

I'll never vote tory, but I'm certainly not a red in the way your 'rhetoric' suggests.

what I particularly despised about her and 80's politics was that opportunity was given and assisted to those who payed for it one way or another, those who really needed help didnt get anything, it was all short term boom which has left us decades behing western Europe in so many embarassing ways.

personally I left school in the late 80's and it couldnt have been better, loads of work around, and by '92, cheapish houses, so 'I'm all right Jack'

 

[looney]

The correct measure should be income per capita and not total wealth.

 

[looney]

[

what I particularly despised about her and 80's politics was that opportunity was given and assisted to those who payed for it one way or another, those who really needed help didnt get anything, it was all short term boom which has left us decades behing western Europe in so many embarassing ways.

personally I left school in the late 80's and it couldnt have been better, loads of work around, and by '92, cheapish houses, so 'I'm all right Jack' [/B]

In what ways were we decades behind Western Europe exactly?

Oh and if you check welfare spending it continued to rise through the 80's 90's etc, so someone got something.

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

The correct measure should be income per capita and not total wealth.

Which makes, er, Luxembourg the world's greatest nation. Lookie here.

 

[looney]

No it makes Luxembourg the worlds wealthiest per head nation.



http://www.clappingfetus.com/Flash/peanutbutterjelly.html

 

[zefarelly]

In what ways were we decades behind Western Europe exactly?

Oh and if you check welfare spending it continued to rise through the 80's 90's etc, so someone got something.

try public transport, roads, schools, hospitals, colleges, public services full stop

I agree public spending went up, it always does, but did it go up much more than inflation and if it did, most of it got wasted, and still does, because of the rediculous systems now in place which like most institutions, mean too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

 

[Dandyman]

The correct measure should be income per capita and not total wealth.

Explain - I'm sure what you're advocating there.

 

[looney]

try public transport, roads, schools, hospitals, colleges, public services full stop

I agree public spending went up, it always does, but did it go up much more than inflation and if it did, most of it got wasted, and still does, because of the rediculous systems now in place which like most institutions, mean too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

I think you will find that Western Euro's supplement spending with private money and investment which is..er...what Blair is now doing.


Colleges in Europe are not better either and they are mainly poorer paid academics thats why they are comming here.


On every other measure we are ahead of the Eurotrash, lower unemployment higher growth although we are tumbling down the competivness table.

Dandyman.

If you live in a nation that generates £100 a year it goes further with a population of 10 rather than a pop of 200.

 

[zefarelly]

I think you will find that Western Euro's supplement spending with private money and investment which is..er...what Blair is now doing. [/B]

he has no other choice as I see it . . .after Thatcher flogged off OUR companies to her mates and partners in crime its the only way forward, I think its been proven time and time again that private companies cannot be trusted and relied on to run utility companies in the states interest.

 

[Dandyman]

Dandyman.

If you live in a nation that generates £100 a year it goes further with a population of 10 rather than a pop of 200.

Fair enough but does it not also matter how the wealth is distributed. A country lead by an Idi Amin or Mobutu, for example, may have vast mineral and other wealth and a relatively small population but still have the majority of the population living in abject poverty.

 

[Gwylan]

I

According that were 8th. Under Labour we had inflation at 24%.

The chancellor(Dennis Healey) left on the airport tarmac by the IMF as they wouldn't lend any money, strikes galor, a national mood of defeatism.

I don't believe that 8th...what stats are you looking at? We were fourth in the world (according to OECD) when I was doing my Economics A Level in 1976.

And that 24% figure is not strictly true. Labour inherited a high inflation rate from the Tories in 1974 (mainly as a result of the fuel crisis and OPEC quadrupling the price of oil) so it did have an inflation rate of 22% (which I think was the highest but I could be wrong) in its early days but the rate came down thanks(?) to Healey's quasi-monetarist policies and the Callaghan incomes policy. Of course, these policies led to an increase in unemployment. I remember that 800,000 out of work was a national scandal.

We little knew how much worse it would get.

 

[BensGrandad]

Will probably go down in history as our greatest ever prime minister after Churchill.

It was funny to hear her take the p..s out of Neil Kinnock and if only she could attend PM question time now she would do the same with Tony Bliar who is only a failed Tory that trhey didnt want.

 

[graz126]

You could argue that she had the vision to see that cheaper Eastern Block coal would be imported therefore why wait for the inevitable.

(Serious flamming coming up )

i was growing up in a yorkshire pit village at the time. the devestation that was caused should not be joked about. just like the 3000 doncaster fans reminded mansfield at field mill with constant chanting of scab.
other than that and poll tax which was a good idea just wrongly introduced, then she was the best prime minister this country has ever had.

awaits slating.

 

[Beach Hut]

i was growing up in a yorkshire pit village at the time. the devestation that was caused should not be joked about. just like the 3000 doncaster fans reminded mansfield at field mill with constant chanting of scab.
other than that and poll tax which was a good idea just wrongly introduced, then she was the best prime minister this country has ever had.

awaits slating.

I wasn't joking stating a fact - if you put all your effort in one place that provides jobs to a community and it goes tits up then you suffer grave consequences.

 

[graz126]

I wasn't joking stating a fact - if you put all your effort in one place that provides jobs to a community and it goes tits up then you suffer grave consequences.

too true. let you off

 

[beorhthelm]

Dont know where the CIA get their data from: how can we be 8th richest in the world after France, when we're supposed to be 2nd richest in Europe while the French are in 4th behind Italy?

maybe from their Middle East department...