Gordon Brown Saves The World

[The Lone Gunman]

It might not be called IR35, but it would still exist.

IR35 is an HMRC idea and was presented to the Tories a number of times and was rejected every time as unworkable.

[BrilloPad]

I'd rather have him muck about for 11 years when times are good and get it right when the economy is teetering on the edge of collapse than the other way round...

Shame he caused all the problems in the first place.

He not only encouraged people to borrow more - he led the way with government borrowing.

[AlfredJPruffock]

A drum, a drum!
MacBroon doth come.

All Hail McBroon - Thane of International Banking

Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?

[d000hg]

Just look at the two US presidential candidates at the moment. They seem completely clueless when it comes to this crisis

I was thinking about that the other day. As I see it, leaders rely on specialist advisors... and right now I imagine the top people are too busy trying desperately to save things to mess about coaching the noobs...

[Churchill]

Yeah but I was in the UK for long enough when the Conservatives were in to know that they aren't any better than Labour when it comes to taxes etc. It might not be called IR35, but it would still exist.

Sorry about the tardy reply, i was just honouring the age-old contractor strategy of having an 'off-site' meeting that involves getting paid to be at the pub.

Which is nice.

You are Threaded and I claim my 5 Krugerrands!

[d000hg]

Shame he caused all the problems in the first place.

He not only encouraged people to borrow more - he led the way with government borrowing.

The entire world is reeling, this isn't a domestic issue... so blaming GB for everything doesn't make sense. And as for encouraging borrowing, isn't it the Tories who started the whole "everyone should own their own house ideal"?
Making flat "it's X's fault" statements is either naive or simple trolling.

[expat]

Do you think he will restore the pension of mine that he has shredded first of all via his stealth tax of 1997 and over the past year by unnecessarily nationalising Northern Rock and offering me zero pence ?
Apparently most people in the private sector will have to work another 5 years to restore their pensions to what they were a month ago.

An annuity that would have given 15K now gives 13K. That's impressive in one month.

As usual, 1 rant = many points. I'll try some of them:

1. The tax changes to pension funds' dividends are really a drop in the bucket compared to e.g. the fund managers' fees, not to mention their ability to destroy wealth big time (a fund manager is someone who invests your money until it is all gone; a broker is someone who makes you broker). Arguably the relief was unfair, now it is not. But at any rate, though it may grab headlines (because of the single-figure total), it did not shred your pension (because the % is very low).

2. A month ago annuities were unrealistically inflated, now they are not. I'm sorry, I know that no-one likes bad news, but it is so.

3. It is unfortunate that people's pensions depend so much on the value of an annuity, and the variability of that depending on when it is taken. This is an old argument in the financial sector (see e.g. years and years of anti-annuity rants on the Motley Fool) and is hardly Gordon Brown's fault.

4. At the time I believed that you were right about NR. You might well be, but I am less sure now. Anyway, that's one unlucky investment, not your whole pension.

[ace00]

..............

* had anyone else noticed GB stands for Gordon Brown and Great Britain???

Sir Gordon Brown

Away the big man (is that Scottish?)

I'm no Labour fan but I think this is his moment. I imagine him standing in front of the mirror, 4am, "this is it Gordon, this is what you've been preparing for your whole life...I was born for this!"

[HairyArsedBloke]

Sir Gordon Brown

Away the big man (is that Scottish?)

I'm no Labour fan but I think this is his moment. I imagine him standing in front of the mirror, 4am, "this is it Gordon, this is what you've been preparing for your whole life...I was born for this!"

[sunnysan]

Gordon Brown

No fan of the man, but to be honest I see a lot of the same people pointing fingers at him now to fix the mess, and a lot of these are the same people that profited from the runaway conditions that have prevailed for the last ten years.

I am starting to settle for him because TBTH I dont see anybody better, in Europe or the US to pragamatically deal with this.


And if I had to chose between Bliar and Brown, I would take Brown.