To worry that Britain is screwed financially

[Edenspirits]

There is a dispatches on Channel 4 on Monday that I am keen to watch called ‘Britain’s 400 billion covid bill’.

But it’s got me thinking about it and wondering what it’s going to be like when it all has to be paid back. Tax rises? Austerity? Interest rate rises? So many industries will continue to need bailouts and then there is the Brexit shit show on top which is already looking like an absolute disaster.

Aibu to worry that it’s going to take years to sort this mess out? And that it’s our kids that will pay ultimately. I worry for my kids future.
I am trying to be positive but no government can borrow the amounts that we are talking & not see real trouble ahead.

I think a lot of countries are screwed financially, not just us. Hopefully with the vaccine we can get up and running again the quickest?

There's always something to be paid for - it wasn't so long ago we were still paying for WW2!

Like PP said, sooner we get up and running again the better. Bit pointless worrying about it.

The Covid response was not well thought out the needs of both young and old should have been balanced.

Can see tough times ahead for all, but especially the young, as the way your first job goes often has impact on you in decades to come.

It took literally decades for young people who struggled in the early 80s to recover/revert to what was their personal expected economic norm.

@Magnificentmug12

I think a lot of countries are screwed financially, not just us. Hopefully with the vaccine we can get up and running again the quickest?

Feels like the government doesn't want Covid to end. When Covid stops and we have a picture of what the bill is going to be, it will be horrendous. That is when people will start asking did we really need all those lockdowns.

There are tons of businesses going to the wall because of Brexit too- for so many, exporting to Europe is suddenly not viable so many are throwing in the towel. I am worried about what sort of future lies ahead after all of this for our young people

YANBU

Our kids are going to pay for it for a long fucking time

Yanbu every week there seems to be a new support scheme.

We have about the worst financial impact of the developed world thanks to our inept and corrupt government.
It hides Brexit effect for a bit though. The very rich will get richer just the same. The very poor will see the greatest impact, sadly.

The government has spent millions on the vaccine and is donating millions to poorer countries. Very good of them but why spend many millions more than we needed?

Lots more countries than just us are screwed

Meh, it's a global pandemic. Most countries are screwed. We're a rich country. We'll be fine I hope

@Bluejeantreefrog

The government has spent millions on the vaccine and is donating millions to poorer countries. Very good of them but why spend many millions more than we needed?

Eh? We spent millions forward buying doses from numerous companies on the basis that it was highly unlikely they would all get to distribution phase. Never in their wildest dreams did the scientific community think so many would be this successful. If that means some left over doses go to the developing world then what is the problem?

We paid back the loan that the government took out to compensate slave owners on abolition in 2015, we paid back the loans we took out to cover WW2 in 2007, government borrowing isn't like household debt, they can kick it down the road for centuries if needed. Government can print money, borrow whatever they need to, adjust interest rates. Honestly I wouldn't worry at all, much better to borrow whatever is needed to protect the economy than throw us into recession.

Interest rates are so incredibly low at the moment the cost of borrowing is minimal. There should be strong growth after the pandemic as pent up demand is released as well.

Some tax increases wouldn't be unreasonable but they won't be large. Certainly not with the current government.

You are not wrong OP, it's a concern.

To others who've said other countries are screwed as well, yes, but the UK is one of the hardest hit. Most countries in Asia have now come out of lockdown and retail/small business/in-country leisure etc are doing well. China has shown a positive GDP growth this year. In the US, Florida is up and running fully. California is screwed as well and will struggle economically for years, but most countries will do better than the UK.

Between Covid and Brexit, it’s hard to see how we’re not completely stuffed.

It won’t take years, it will take decades, but there has never been a better time to borrow, at negative real rates. It will make a difference to the UK and world economy for the next decade, but it won’t cripple us. Brexit OTOH...

@Bluejeantreefrog

The government has spent millions on the vaccine and is donating millions to poorer countries. Very good of them but why spend many millions more than we needed?

We're part of a global economy, supporting global recovery is absolutely in our interests.

Florida is not fully up and running, everything is at 50% capacity at most. Obviously they're in a better place than many, but they are still under restrictions.

I am displaying my ignorance here but ... the UK is borrowing all this money. Who from? Other (wealthy) countries have similar issues right now, economies in trouble due to the pandemic. So who are we borrowing from?

Many countries are not screwed as badly as we have been. Either economically or health wise. Our government has done a shockingly bad job. On every measure we rank close to bottom. I’m amazed people still fawn over Johnson.

Then again, corruption really does only benefit the few.

blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2020/12/04/a-pandemic-misery-index-ranking-countries-economic-and-health-performance-during-covid-19/

ourworldindata.org/covid-health-economy

www.politico.com/interactives/2020/ranking-countries-coronavirus-impact/

Labour were talking this week about launching Bonds that people could buy to help get the Country back on it's feet.
That is such a good idea - the people who have have been WFH saving money investing in the recovery of the Country.

This was always going to happen. It was all preserving life at all cost (financially and in every which way it could have negatively affected those that weren’t at risk) and close everything down.

They probably didn’t have time to think of the implications of 5 years down the line but it was inevitable that the young are going to be paying the price of this last year for years and years to come.

To add- people thought it was difficult to get on the property ladder previously? I can only feel pitty for those people moving forward. Owning a house for many youngsters these days will be nothing more than a pipe dream.

@Schoolchoicesucks

I am displaying my ignorance here but ... the UK is borrowing all this money. Who from? Other (wealthy) countries have similar issues right now, economies in trouble due to the pandemic. So who are we borrowing from?

It’s borrowed on the open market. A lot of it is just phantom money anyway created through quantitative easing sloshing around global economies. And not all economies are indebted. China has a huge surplus. Ultimately, borrowing is bad if it’s just servicing day to day spending as it is creating 0 value for the future. If the borrowing was paying for infrastructure, it would be different. If interest rates rise or UK’s credit rating is downgraded then it becomes problematic. Think Greece as an extreme example.