to boycott M&S, Next, Mothercare,Asda and all those other companies who think the cuts are a 'good' idea?

[mintyfresh]

So it is a good thing to make hundreds of thousands of redundancies, lose vital services and make the vulnerable in society pay for the mistakes of the bankers?

Who do these companies think spends money in their stores? Is it only private sector workers? Do they not understand that redundancies will affect their businesses?

Am so that it is more important for them to lick George Osbournes arse than think about the misery these cuts are causing for people who never made the mess in the first place.

I'm going to think very carefully about where I spend my money this Christmas....

I actually stopped my ironing, slack-jawed this morning when hearing this little gem on the radio news.

Presumably then, the CEOs of these companies won't mind that the cuts mean that we have less to spend on their wonderful products

Idiots.

Private sector workers are also facing unemployment. None of these companies are as good as they used to be. They have become arrogant and therefore complacent. If people don't have any money, then they won't be buyng expensive prams and party dresses in these shops. I don't think ASDA will suffer,because they are cheap, but I prefer Aldi over ASDA for quality

I had not seen the news so just went on here before commenting on your post.

I am with you , not that I spend much for Christmas anyway but I certainly will "cut" my expenses in these shops. Thank you OP.

shows where there bloody loyalties lie.

thanks for bringing it to my attention, i shall not be shopping in their shops now.

YADNBU.

Apparently they'll be creating enough new jobs to offer employment to all those public sector workers who get laid off. So that's OK then

M&S quality gone right down anyway. JL or Debs are the new M&S for me.

I hate all the "designer" shite at Debenhams, though. Anything that calls itself "designer" is quite evidently nothing of the kind.

We don't have a JL.

I love M&S. But this has seriously pissed me off - far more than the Hooters thing.

Well might it be something to do with the fact that they have actually LOWERED corporation tax so they are actually benefiting from this new government and paying less tax?

So much for "we're all in it together......"

Perhaps they're hoping all the public sector workers who get laid off will squander their redundancy payouts on Myleen Klass branded tat?

It depends if you believe that watered down cuts would mean higher interest rates. I'm not an economist, I have no idea. But high interest rates would stuff people with a mortgage, businesses, and may make the pound dearer so harm exports.
I can see how they companies signing the letter couild have just as easily sung from the Labour hymn sheet - fewer cuts delivered more slowly to protect jobs. But that would risk higher interest rates which also risks jobs. As I said, I'm not an economist.

Bottom line, if you disagree with the letter, you should boycott all the services and companies - Ocado (gasp), moneysupermarket, carphone warehouse and many many more, not just M&S Asda etc. Me, I'm afraid I'm carrying on as usual, shopping for whoever gives me the best service and value for money. At least that will help protect jobs in those sorts of companies.

The cuts ARE a good idea, YABU. It's horrible yes, but the alternatives are not viable in my view. The UK finances are in a poor state and we are backed into a corner.

JenaiMwahHaHaHaaaaah

emy72 - interesting, there had to be some reason for the back scratching

the companies; could just have easily

Im wondering how M&S are saying they are going to help create new jobs when they are closing our local store after Christmas?

SpookyLettuce - that same old line! Why is it not a viable alternative to tax the banks properly? The Robin Hood tax would mean nothing to them but save hundreds of thousands of jobs and services.

This government is too frightened of big businesses to make them pay - they are going for the little people instead

Well yes, this just makes the Government appear to be in the thrall of a bunch of jumped up, overpaid shopkeepers.

They are of course entitled to their opinion. But they should not be attempting to steer public spending policy.

Because they will move their headquarters out of the UK, so we will lose more tax revenue. Don't think I'm not sympathetic, I'd love to see bankers pay but I cannot see how it can be made to work.

I do think it's funny the disdain people have for private sector workers. It's as if there haven't been any pay cuts or redundancies in the private sector, and it's only now that the public sector is affected that there's this big outcry.

I was made redundant two years ago, DH hasn't had a pay rise in 3 years. We're both private sector workers. Public sector workers should try living in the real world for a bit, and see what it's like to not work for a bloated beaurecratic company that makes cuts when they're needed rather than leaving it until it's too late.

Do you honestly think that the money that would go to shareholders if bodies like the NHS were public actually gets ploughed back in to the organisation for its benefit? No, it gets wasted, frittered away and poorly used because there's no true accountability.

Public in the last paragraph should read private. Got a bit excited there.

Just makes me sick when public sector workers go on strike because they're getting a one year pay freeze or only a 1.6% pay rise.

naetha, i doubt anyone here has disdain for private sector employees-why do you say that? maybe for the management of these companies, but that's different. I don't think anyone is blaming people who work on the shop-floor for the statement these companies made. No need to have a go at public sector workers!

YABU just for trotting out the 'paying for the mistakes of the bankers' line again

The total budget deficit (aka the UK's credit card bill) is just shy of £900 billion.
The total amount spent bailing out the banks was £117 billion

Now, it doesn't take a genius to work out that if you put the costs of the banks to one side, we were spending FAR beyond our means. All those public services were being paid for by taking out loan after loan. Much like the bankers were doing. Plainly, we. couldn't. afford. to. pay. for. those. services.

And if we couldn't afford them in boom times when the government was raking in tax, we sure as hell can't afford them now.

So, if you are going to criticise the actions of bankers who got a bit trigger happy with someone elses money, you can't seriously want to go back to the days of the goverment acting in the exact same way

I was also made redundnat last here, along with 300 of my colleagues :(

Many of my private sector friends have, in the last 3 years, either been mande redundant or have voluntarily reduced their hours by 20% in order to keep their jobs.

People have forgotten what high interest rates were like. I can remember paying over £300 a month on a mortgage of £30,000. If interest rates were to go up (which, if we don't do something and the IMF had to come in to prop up the economy/prevent a collapse and then imposed high rates) then most people with mortgages would be absolutely crucified - far worse than the impact of the cuts that are being anticipated.

Imagine your mortgage doubling, tripling or even quadrupling.

Personally, we'd be OK 'cos we paid off most of our mortgage with dh's redundnacy package from 7 years ago annd we could easily pay off the rest with our savings.

No, YANBU. I wish I could boycott all these companies but it's hard to see how I'll avoid spending some money in some of them, at least while I still have any.

Naetha, I think it's time you stopped being so contemptuous of public sector employees - I've worked in the private sector as well. And given that public sector jobs play a key role in the economy, and lots of smaller businesses will be very badly affected if we all lose our jobs, why aren't we living in the real world? In many areas we're 20% or more of the workforce.

I seem to remember that interest rates were sky high after more than 10 years of Tory government, at the same time as very high unemployment and lots of public spending cuts. I have actually paid double my current mortgage interest for a lot of the last few years.