where do they think all the money is going to come from?

[learningtofly]

Either yesterday or this morning I heard on the BBC morning news programme(slightly sleep deprived brain so cant remember exactly) there was a comment from the business reporter about how do we encourage the Great British Public to spend their money more.

Now it was just a comment. And an offhand one at that. But over the last few weeks there have been reports of increasing energy prices, increasing requirements to pay into pension funds (centred on the public sector), childcare costs are high, we've been told to pay off our debt (DC), the cost of living is rising, unemployment is relatively high, housing prices are too high/steady/decreasing (delete as appropriate) and its no surprise that many people are facing an uncertain future.

AIBU to wonder if I am living in a different universe where everyone has lots of money squirreled away in some secret pot? Just where do they think we are all going to magically find this marvellous money from?

Please enlighten me

Credit cards, stupid!

We could riot again,nick a load of stuff,sell it on the black market...then spend the money in the shops.
Job done

The thing is, not everyone is skint despite the current climate.

Getting people who have money, but are being very cautious with it, to spend more would be a very good thing for the economy.

Everyone thinks they're skint, whether they actually are or not doesn't matter. The people with money to spend are also the ones who know best that we are in deep, deep trouble and it's time to hunker down.

But who in their right mind is going to start spending money when the economic outlook is as gloomy as it is?

We were borrowing cheap money, house prices were on the up and consumer confidence was good and unemployment levels low. How things have changed ...

Basically, the old govt always was able to kick start the economy by spending ... govt isn't spending as much any more (macro) and household (micro) aren't spending either - the govt is trying to flood the economy with money but there is just no appetite to spend or extend credit.

It's the same over here in Ireland, government encourage people to spend more a while back

I was a little confused, as you are, I have difficultly paying the bill some months and if anything 'large' breaks I break out in a cold sweat at how it's going to be finance

There are whoever plenty of people here that still have lots and lots and lots of money. So I concluded the government meant them, which is obviously why they bailed them out in the first place....

Especially when british usually means more expesive

I would love to buy mainly British but I have a family and I am not rich I would be a bad mother if I brought shopping at twice the price just so I could buy british

Don't know where it is!

I keep telling my husband that spending our money is my civic duty. I don't go shopping for FUN!

I'm probably sitting on one of those secret pots of money. I'm a saver, always have been, though I have much less stashed away now than I used to, as I've been overpaying my mortgage instead.

I reckon there are loads of people like me, who could go out and spend if they chose to do so. But I'm not about to go and blow my savings to help the economy, because if it doesn't work, I'll need those very savings to fall back on.

Selfish? Or merely prudent?

Going to get me those fit flop boots i've been hankering after now.

Well there are 23 millionaires in our government..

You really should bringmesunshine2009. I'm really not one to spend anywhere near £150 on shoes/an item of clothing but my fitflop boots are the most amazingly comfortable shoes I have ever owned, so much so that I really couldn't care less if they tone my legs or not.

23 millionaires?

Really?

How many are in government in Britain? Please don't say 23!

Well: we could always try pumping money into the economy to inflate the savings of the prudent away and at the same time paying crap interest on what they persist in saving . . . oh no, we've tried that one already. Sorry :o

chicken- in the cabinet, or in house of commons, or in HoC & HoL combined?