£1,300,000,000,000 in debt

[Euro-commuter]

You should take a look at this country (Norway) most expensive manufacturing I've seen for a while yet if anything output only increases. How is it they can do it we cannot? UK Manufacturing should not be allowed to die like the gover.. seem keen to allow.

How about, they exploited their own North Sea Oil instead of giving it to Americans to develop, then they invested in their economy instead of (yet again) using any available income to prop up imperial dreams and military adventures.

And didn't join the EU.

[zeitghost]

I want to be Chancellor when I grow up.

I want to be Reichs Chancellor....

Ooops.

Did I really say that aloud?

[zeitghost]

How about, they exploited their own North Sea Oil instead of giving it to Americans to develop, then they invested in their economy instead of (yet again) using any available income to prop up imperial dreams and military adventures.

And didn't join the EU.

Fondly known in the oil industry in the 70s as "blue eyed arabs"...

[Euro-commuter]

(Norwegians)

Fondly known in the oil industry in the 70s as "blue eyed arabs"...

Damn right!

Sticking for the moment purely to the solidly United Kingdom, it is shameful how the one-off wealth of the oil was squandered. Never mind British Leyland, it was the British government and economy that lived off subsidy. But now it's gone. What's to show for it? In Norway, a thriving economy and a huge national fund. In Britain, the memory of a few more years of not having to fix anything because free money was coming in.

[zeitghost]

Well most of it went into the pockets of Maggie's friends in the City...

[Euro-commuter]

Well most of it went into the pockets of Maggie's friends in the City...

Which was her purpose in government; while her method of staying there was to fight a war and win the patriotism dividend.

Dubya, some day you too will be revered!

[AtW]

There you go again (tm). In the world according to AtW, the solution is always a law to force people to do what AtW thinks they should do. Do you never grasp the fact that the whole point of the market is that individuals deciding on their own best interests will organise more effectively that any planning?

What I suggest is already done, but on a weak scale - right now if you sell your shares quickly you will be hit with higher rate of tax than otherwise, thus encouraging long term shareholding. Smart people already realised that such long term investments should be encouraged, but they don't have balls to make much stricter rules such as say 95% tax on short term shareholding. Sure all that speculative money will leave the market, good riddance I say!

[sasguru]

Smart people already realised that such long term investments should be encouraged, but they don't have balls to make much stricter rules such as say 95% tax on short term shareholding. !

Well smart people, of which merry group you're not a member, may also see that it's nothing to do with them when people want to sell their shares.
When are you going to abandon your soviet upbringing?

[sasguru]

There you go again (tm). In the world according to AtW, the solution is always a law to force people to do what AtW thinks they should do.

Do you never grasp the fact that the whole point of the market is that individuals deciding on their own best interests will organise more effectively that any planning?


Edit: Sorry sasguru, I echoed your thoughts.

Ah just saw this.
Atw is a little dim when it comes to understanding the market.
I would suggest you read "The Wealth of Nations" which hasn't been bettered in centuries.

[AtW]

Well smart people, of which merry group you're not a member, may also see that it's nothing to do with them when people want to sell their shares. When are you going to abandon your soviet upbringing?

When you sell shares you pay capital gains tax (if you sold for more than you bought). However if you keep shares for X years you will get tax relief of Y%. The intention is clear - encourage long term share holding: people who buy shares for short term are speculants that ruin it all for everyone including themselves, but they are too dumb and greedy to understand this.

So, there is already framework for what I suggest - what I am saying is that tax rate for capital gains on short term shareholding should be higher, say 90% rather than current 40%. Perhaps tax rate should be lower for those industries that actually invest into making something real rather than bullsh1t stuff that has no intrinsic value.