to think we should be angry about qe making the rich richer and poor poorer

[alittlethyme]

Why isn't there public uproar about qe? It has proved again and again to make the asset rich people richer while making everyone else poorer.

[sportinguista]

Because the rest of us are too busy keeping our heads above water? The rich are the ones in charge and they like to keep the rest of us busy surviving so we don't have the time or energy to get angry. I for one do get angry but it seems everyone else is just " mustn't grumble".

[toomuchtooold]

Sure, if QE had never been done, asset prices would have fallen, but that would have been likely to cause a recession and also possibly deflation (including in wages) which would have made life harder for asset poor people and people in debt.

QE kept the UK on an even keel and kept it competitive. I live in Switzerland where the national bank has just given up its own form of QE. The currency immediately appreciated to parity with the euro, workers here are now overpaid by about 50% compared to similar workers in other countries, and we're all in fear for our jobs.

[MissYamabuki]

Hasn't wage deflation already happened? I work for the public sector, haven't had a pay rise for 7 years. We have been "asked" to take unpaid leave which amounts to a salary cut of a few hundred pounds. And we are still in fear for our jobs.

BTW any pay rises before the recession were always below inflation or average pay rises for public or private sectors.

Oh and YANBU. Most of us don't really understand how QE will affect us and are too busy surviving to be angry or do anything constructive.

[Imperialleather2]

I think the reason being is that the Economics is soooo complicated. Furthermore it such huge figures involved that it just doesn't seem real.

I was listening to a European Finance consultant on the radio last night, who was explaining about qe being banned in the Eurozone and the way they get round it etc. my head was spinning by the end.

That's the thing we're not really taught anything about economics at school, or at least I wasn't. You have political parties point scoring over such matters, each usually contradicting the other, so that in the end you don't know what to believe.

So that's why, most people don't know that qe makes the rich richer and the poor poorer- I certainly didn't and I'm sure someone will be on soon to say it 'oh no it doesn't'
It's like a pantomime

[AuntieStella]

Because people are very concerned about their own standard of living, and do not realise that by global standards everyone in EU is very rich. This is designed to prop up Europe, and keep it rich, regardless of the rest of the world.

Though I suspect that's not what you meant, as you only mentioned the asset rich in the opening post, and (unless of course you're not in Europe) you might not have counted yourself as a rich beneficiary of this, even though (if you are in Europe) you actually are.

[williaminajetfighter]

Well I for one am totally outraged about it. Govt fiddling with our economy and playing with money makes me so cross; I hate our current govt and slippery leaders. I do feel there needs to be more outrage about this as well as the level of debt. Our welfare bill is greater that the govt generates in income tax. Totally unsustainable. But let's just keep handing cash out to people and instead cut jobs and services - yes that sounds sensible!

The problem is that when you mention things like economics people's eyes glaze over. And when you talk about sensible rational ideas like cutting a bonkers £200 billion bill in handouts you get absolutely sneered at, seen as conservative and outrageous by the majority on Mumsnet who somehow believe stopping these payments would be an affront to human liberty. Our 'entitled to.com' ideology will break us and merely shows that the general public doesn't seem to care that much about economics. You'll get 10 people posting on this thread but 50 responses to a thread called 'do you prefer the name Beatrice or Is Ramona prettier'? Depressing.

[meglet]

yanbu.

[williaminajetfighter]

Sorry to hijack. Appreciate post was about qe not the welfare bill but my comments related to the publics general interest in economics at govt level.

[williaminajetfighter]

Agree with voyage. We need to call it what it is. But I'm still not sure if it's properly explained what the impact it has on the economy. If you told someon the govt was printing money they would shrug and say 'of course, how else do we get bank notes but through printing'

[AuntieStella]

Expanation of CE here

And of course, it's hard for people in UK or USA (both countries who have kept their populations rich by using QE) to criticise ECB for doing the same.

[30somethingm]

Maybe the printed money should have been handed to every citizen in a rolled out manner? Trickle down never works!

If you give a rich person X it will probably be surplus to requirements so will be saved. If you give 10 poor people 0.1X they will go get that new kitchen they badly need, replace the petrol guzzler with a new car, get the local builders in etc. All this would have boosted the local and national economy.

If we're not careful we will end up with US style inequality where it is the norm to take on two full time, crapply paid jobs just to put food on the table. Already people in my area are having to do extra night shifts elsewhere to survive.

[30somethingm]

PS I wasn't seriously suggesting that tactic for QE, although some economists have, I was just making a point.

[Seff]

The government keep us arguing about things like immigration, benefit fraud, public v private sector. We're never united in something, we're too busy fighting each other.

Oh, and the reason people get so worked up over welfare is because so many of the poorer people in society rely on them and take offence to being called scroungers when they're working all hours just to try and make ends meet. Which is exactly about making the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Not surprised at how long it took for someone to bring welfare into a discussion that's not about welfare.

[meglet]

30 trickle down economics aka the sound of the super rich pissing on everyone else.

[30somethingm]

Indeed meglet. If we have a Tory/UKIP coalition we will be in even greater trouble on that front. I will vote for anyone who is likely to beat UKIP / Tory in my area.

I didn't used to care about politics, neither did anyone in my family, but with two doctors in the family and a nurse constantly lambasting this government's, pointless, costly, ideological reforms our family Christmases have taken a political turn!

[AlanBstardMP]

Im angry about it too. Sadly when I talk to people who are 'comfortably off', they couldn't give a toss because it doesn't directly affect them. In fact, most of them are so busy chasing the capitalist dream of 'must be as rich as possible' that I honestly think they believe they could be that well off themselves some day.

But people on benefits are different you see, being poor will never happen to 'them' so people who are on benefits are worthy of ridicule.

[Electriclaundryland]

Yanbu, I am very angry about it. Not many people seem to understand.

[WooWooOwl]

Too many people don't understand the effects of it, me included. I can't get worked up about something or oppose it if I don't fully understand it.

[alittlethyme]

Most people leave school without a basic understanding of maths so I'm not surprised hardly anyone understands printing money.

The mainstream media tells everyone its good. But who did it help in the UK?

Not me, I felt like my savings were being stolen away from me.

[addictedtosugar]

You need to read the blurb carefully.
If every family lost 1000 (which isn't what happened), they would say the poorest have been hardest hit, as it is as a percentage of their income.
iirc from the radio this morning, the poorest are 400/year worse off, middle income 1500, and richest 2000. Puts a compleatly different spin on things. Basically using the stats to make a headline that suits their needs.

[ChocLover2015]

Fucking trickle down! We'll have a feast and there might be some crumbs under the table for you, maybe.
The richest super ricjh are richer than they have ever been in history.The poor/middle income have become poorer and the rich richer as usual under the Tories.What morons vote for them? It can't be just the tiny minority who are better off?
attkinmum please tell me how I can becoime super rich? I'd love to have my own private jet.And do you think the country could support 70 million of us?
Printing money.The country is still worth the same -it's just that wealth is now represented by £x bn more banknotes and so each one is worth less.

[alittlethyme]

Trickle down doesn't work. They would of been better off giving everyone in the UK 30k.

[AuntieStella]

QE was introduced in UK by the Labour government.