Current Affairs

[towny44]

Even politicians can claim damages for defamation!

You're such a spoilsport Merv.

[barney]

I'm not 100% sure that calling May useless and politicians serial liars is chargeable.
That is just stating the blooming obvious.

[anniec]

I can't see anything that hasn't already been published in the many books and newspaper articles on the subject. Perhaps something has been removed and I missed it?

[Mervyn and Trish]

Maybe newspapers can afford flash lawyers and David can't! As site owner he has a right and responsibility to guard against possible legal breaches. So the final decision is his to make and ours to respect.

[anniec]

Absolutely; I was simply curious. That's why I asked the question.

[towny44]

Just printed off my most recent credit card statement and was reading through it for a change, it was for just under £800 and the minimum payment required was only £24, no wonder some people run up such huge debts when the repayment is so small.
I think the minimum payment should be at least 25% of the outstanding balance, this should make people think more carefully before they spend.

[barney]

The leader in the Guardian today is about individual debt and the country hotspots.

Most of us are blessed to come from a generation where excessive borrowing was not the normal and many are now reaping the rewards of that.

I can remember my old Dad telling me that it's not what you've got coming in, it's what you've got going out.

[oldbluefox]

My dad always used to tell us, apart from a mortgage, if you can't pay for it you can't have it.

Personally I would still rather save up for something I want and pay for it rather than pay extra to have finance. They don't all live in Yorkshire tha knows!!! I don't think I could cope with a huge amount of debt on my shoulders. I would rather go without, but towny is right, £24 payment on an amount of £800 just makes it too easy to spend beyond your means.

[Stephen]

I'm affraid that's the way of the world today, buy now pay later..... If you can. And everyone wants everything new today, especially newly weds. Eeeee, in my day you couldn't affor everything new and were grateful for any hand me downs from family to start you off.

[oldbluefox]

I'm afraid the younger generation get little sympathy from me when they go on about debt and being hard done by. I could solve their problems very easily but they wouldn't like it.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We use our credit card for convenience only. It's paid off in full every month by direct debit. As you say it's too easy to let it build up and then it becomes a problem.

[Kendhni]

We have mega low interest rates (and have had so for almost 10 years) and a very generous benefits system. The majority of debt is self-inflicted, whether than be down to reckless borrowing or stupid spending

I am working on the basis that we have grown up and no longer live in Gordon Brown's era when everything was always somebody else's fault therefore the excuse of blaming the banks for reckless lending is, as it always has been, purely a pathetic excuse.

[towny44]

We have mega low interest rates (and have had so for almost 10 years) and a very generous benefits system. The majority of debt is self-inflicted, whether than be down to reckless borrowing or stupid spending

I am working on the basis that we have grown up and no longer live in Gordon Brown's era when everything was always somebody else's fault therefore the excuse of blaming the banks for reckless lending is, as it always has been, purely a pathetic excuse.

That's a bit harsh Ken, not everyone is intelligent enough to live within a budget, especially those on low incomes, so when you combine both then disaster is inevitable. But if the banks/credit card issuers had to request a higher percentage minimum repayment then this would act as a brake on a high proportion of over spenders.
I accept that this would hurt the banks bottom line but in a fair and caring society we should be offering a lot more protection to the most vulnerable.

[Jack Staff]

I would suggest the banning of gambling on credit cards.

[barney]

I'm affraid that's the way of the world today, buy now pay later..... If you can. And everyone wants everything new today, especially newly weds. Eeeee, in my day you couldn't affor everything new and were grateful for any hand me downs from family to start you off.

All joking aside Stephen, we were grateful.

We had nothing brand new, and I mean nothing.

Also, we can remember the 15% mortgage interest rate as well

Kids these days .............

[oldbluefox]

As I remember it, that was the purpose of wedding presents, because you literally had nothing and it was a case of make do and mend. Our first coffee table was a tea chest covered with a blanket and to do the washing we used to put it all in the bath, sit on the edge and tread it!!! Eventually somebody gave us a Hoovermatic which tied the sleeves of everything together but did have a spinner so we didn't end up with lines of washing everywhere.
It was hard, really hard but we look back on those days and realise how much we value what we have now.
15% mortgage? That virtually crippled us. No fancy holidays in those days. We went abroad to Wales for a week in a tent.

I remember my wife coming home one night and telling me her colleague's husband, who was a quantity surveyor, had TWO suits and they had been out for a meal and, wait for it, they had half a bottle of wine!!! We were really impressed.
The college car park had about a dozen cars on it. The last time I went back there were literally hundreds in a purpose built area. How times have changed but maybe that is one reason why they rack up such huge student debts.

[barney]

I'm surprised that this issue has not been covered by the main stream media in the UK and Europe in general.
It seems scandalous to me.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... rendum-row

So much for European free values

[Jack Staff]

I'm surprised that this issue has not been covered by the main stream media in the UK and Europe in general.
It seems scandalous to me.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... rendum-row

So much for European free values

It is about time people woke up to what is really going on here.

[barney]

Here ?

What on earth are you on about?

I'm sure if Civil Guards were systematically raiding premises and arresting folk, it would at least make page twelve of the Independent.

All that's going on here is a small minority of people who are under the illusion that they are influential, using the media to try and undermine a legitimate democratic decision.

Or ..... was it all based on lies

I note that the OECD are making a fuss about their forecast for UK growth next year being slower than Italy.
They haven't factored in the fact that Italy has had no growth at all for seven years.
Experts huh!
Mystic Meg more likes.

[qbman1]

Oooh, takes me back !

We once had a courier on a coach tour in Sorrento who sounded just like Mystic Meg. She was (unintentionally) so funny to a British audience that I think they had to change all the seat upholstery on the coach afterwards !!

[Jack Staff]

Here ?

What on earth are you on about?

Here, as in your post that I referenced.

If you prefer, there, as in the Catalan region.

[Stephen]

So we can't afford to pay nursing staff for instant a decent wage yet we can find hundreds of billions to lay to pacify the fat cats of the EU. And what exactly do we get for these billions of pounds.

Talk about a cave in by the PM.

[oldbluefox]

Judging by Macron's response it seems inevitable that we will left with a no deal situation.
"Before we move forward, we wish to clarify the issue of the regulation of European citizens, the financial terms of the exit and the question of Ireland," he said.
"If those three points are not clarified, then we cannot move forward on the rest."
How do you negotiate with those who stonewall and have no intention of negotiating? This situation satisfies neither the Brexiteers nor the Remainers.

[towny44]

So we can't afford to pay nursing staff for instant a decent wage yet we can find hundreds of billions to lay to pacify the fat cats of the EU. And what exactly do we get for these billions of pounds.

Talk about a cave in by the PM.

From our most recent nursing experience with a close relative we felt the standard of care was so poor that whatever the nurses were receiving was far too much; and it was certainly not due to a shortage, there seemed dozens always chatting around the nurses station but asking for assistance took them hours to respond.
Not an experience I would wish on anyone.

[Stephen]

I know exactly where you're coming from John from my own recent experience. As for the call bell, it might as well not be there for all the good it does.

The problem as I see it is the nhs is being run by foreigners because we won't pay a decent wage to retain our own British staff. Don't get me wrong, without them we would be in serious trouble, but it's time the government woke up and started looking after its own.