When is democracy not democratic?

[NickyBoy]

Meh.

Austerity and anti-austerity both mean the same thing.

"Gutting the country while my mates profit off it"

Austerity guts it today. Anti-austerity guts it 5 years from now.

[darmstadt]

That's what I thought

In other words it is a "leftyism"

Both camps actually but you're like a stuck record, do you have 2 right feet?

The term "Age of austerity" was popularized by British Conservative leader David Cameron in his keynote speech to the Conservative party forum in Cheltenham on 26 April 2009, in which he committed to end years of what he called excessive government spending.

[DodgyAgent]

What rot. There are obviously (even to you) different rates at which you can aim to repay a debt, and different places you can make cuts. "Austerity" means trying to pay things off as fast as possible in a way which makes this fact visible and engages the public so they feel the pinch but believe it's for common good. Anti-austerity says there has to be a way which will let you sort things out in a less severe manner.

Of course some people are out of touch in both camps. But in general austerity is like "lets put everything into overpaying the mortgage" and anti-austerity is "just pay the mortgage" rather than "stop paying it and refuse to answer the door when the bailiffs come".

So anti austerity is simply adding more borrowing which is what got us into the mess in the first place. It is what is meant by that old left wing financial management technique of "there has to be a way which will let you sort things out in a less severe manner". It is exactly this attitude that has led to the country being bankrupted by the last two labour governments.

[DodgyAgent]

Both camps actually but you're like a stuck record, do you have 2 right feet?

We have had two "age of austerities" brought about by the last two labour governments. When lefties cry "anti austerity" they are basically shoving the problem of their overspending onto someone else as if money grows on trees.

[d000hg]

So anti austerity is simply adding more borrowing which is what got us into the mess in the first place.

How on earth did you get that from what I wrote?

And "a less severe way" is not bad financial management. Debt counselling services and money advice groups - who can prove their methods work - do not say "well you'll have to live off bread and water, turn off the hot water and cancel your TV license until you pay it all back". They say "let's work out a reasonable budget and that will tell us how much you can afford to pay back each month" and then negotiate with the lenders "they can pay this much and you'll get it back eventually, or they can go bankrupt and you'll never get your money at all".

[DodgyAgent]

How on earth did you get that from what I wrote?

And "a less severe way" is not bad financial management. Debt counselling services and money advice groups - who can prove their methods work - do not say "well you'll have to live off bread and water, turn off the hot water and cancel your TV license until you pay it all back". They say "let's work out a reasonable budget and that will tell us how much you can afford to pay back each month" and then negotiate with the lenders "they can pay this much and you'll get it back eventually, or they can go bankrupt and you'll never get your money at all".

The meaning of Austerity is therefore entirely subjective which underpins my point that "anti austerity" like "climate change" is used by the left to manipulate the minds of people.
So on that note why is the UK deemed to be going through austerity measures when in my opinion all it is doing is cutting back on welfare (which is having the effect of getting the unemployed into work) and making savings that are highly desirable anyway. I suspect the left use it because they do not like the way that government is no longer squandering taxpayers money on public sector pay.

[d000hg]

The meaning of Austerity is therefore entirely subjective

So is the meaning of "austerity"

[original PM]

The meaning of Austerity is therefore entirely subjective which underpins my point that "anti austerity" like "climate change" is used by the left to manipulate the minds of people.
So on that note why is the UK deemed to be going through austerity measures when in my opinion all it is doing is cutting back on welfare (which is having the effect of getting the unemployed into work) and making savings that are highly desirable anyway. I suspect the left use it because they do not like the way that government is no longer squandering taxpayers money on public sector pay.

Yes but the average labour voter struggles to tie their own shoelaces so all they will see is that things might get tougher and they may need to get a job rather than being allowed to sit around breeding and letting the state pay for it.

So all Milliband is doing is making out it is all the tories fault that the lazy and feckless do not have it easy - and he is correct unfortunately the lazy and feckless outnumber the rest by 2-1.

The only reason Labour do not get in every time is cos half their supporters voters cannot spell X

[NickyBoy]

The average lefty wants a balanced budget with generally higher taxes and generally higher public spending.

The average righty wants a balanced budget with generally lower taxes and generally lower public spending.

The average politician wants a nice big deficit with which to (purchase support/engage in corruption/treat as a boogeyman) that won't hurt the country until they have moved on to their (cushy private job/MEP/peerage).


Lefties/Righties have a lot more in common with each other than any of you have with the people that actually created and now maintain the deficit. Try to remember that.

If any of you think the conservatives are in a hurry to wipe out the deficit that functions as an amazing excuse to shove through all their policies, then I have a bridge in Nigeria to sell you.

If any of you think Labour wont go back to the same mildly corrupt incompetence that caused the giant deficit in the first place, then you are even dumber than the posters here that are busy sucking off David Cameron.

[darmstadt]

Yes but the average labour voter struggles to tie their own shoelaces so all they will see is that things might get tougher and they may need to get a job rather than being allowed to sit around breeding and letting the state pay for it.

So all Milliband is doing is making out it is all the tories fault that the lazy and feckless do not have it easy - and he is correct unfortunately the lazy and feckless outnumber the rest by 2-1.

The only reason Labour do not get in every time is cos half their supporters voters cannot spell X

So I take it that a non-average Labour supporter is a Tory