To think Rishi is right - the government cannot be everything to everyone?

[Cuppasoupmonster]

Don’t get me wrong, the Tory government hasn’t tried to be anything let alone everything.

But I think he was right when he said there’s too much reliance on the state to provide for each and every issue the public face.

We could free up a lot of funds by taxing big corporations properly, cracking down on non doms etc. But even then, I’m not convinced the socialist utopia of generous benefits, a five star NHS, cheap and available high quality public housing, instant mental health support etc that is often discussed on here could ever be financially viable.

AIBU?

He is definitely incapable of understanding poverty and sympathizing with the plight of the poor. He can go through the motions on a superficial level (like the little boy delivering medicines on his bike) but he can only stomach it in small, doses. Ffs, his best man/friend is Allegra Stratton's husband (remember her extended string of in-jokes about parties during covid?)
Do you really believe that he was unfairly fined for turning up early on one occasion while a party happened to be scheduled?

If Labour start talking about reversing Brexit, there's a fairly good chance of them losing the election, or at least more of a chance of losing it than if they just shut up about it. Brexit happened, it's in the past, and it's upto the government to make it work. If they can't do this, what are they doing in government?

"In the short-term, a balance of payments deficit isn't necessarily bad or good. It does mean that, in real terms, there is more importation than exportation occurring until the value of money adjusts."

So. presuming with other factors etc, could our countries balance sheet be fortified ?

What?? When you are importing a large proportion of necessities such a food and fuel yes, it is FUCKING BAD to have a balance of payments deficit, especially of 8%!

Are you joking?

We are literally importing inflation for necessities.

And by the way, Brexit hasn't help exports much either. It it had, the balance of payments deficit wouldn't have quadrupled, would it? 🙄 Do you even understand what you are trying to post about?

Nobody can "make Brexit work". It was a shit idea and was always going to be a complete disaster.

Anybody credible who intended to govern in the interests of citizens would be proposing to as a minimum rejoin the single market to recover the £40bn of tax revenue that would give us back (net), so that the public have to endure £10bn of tax rises and tax cuts not £50bn. That means far fewer cold and hungry people. Far fewer job losses. Far fewer dying waiting for medical help or even an ambulance. Etc.

It's mind boggling that there are still people, adult people presumably, who've had over a decade of education, talking about "making Brexit work".

How?!?!

How can it ever "work"?

Please tell us what a Government should do, to make Brexit "work" instead of being an unmitigated disaster. What should they do to turn the £120bn loss per year from Brexit into a profit? Do share.

Honestly? I’m disillusioned with the lot of them, Tories AND Labour. No idea who to vote for anymore - no one inspires any confidence in me at all.

Labour isn’t talking about reversing Brexit. Although I fully anticipate a government getting elected in the early 2030s with that in its manifesto.

How are you supposed to make it work? Contra to conservative ideas, we have made our markers harder to access and have less power on the world stage. We have chaotic politicians.

If we are lucky, we may avoid becoming like Italy, low growth, extremist vs bureaucratic government. However that looks more likely than ever.

I think you'll find it way the middle - people on PAYE with not much spare money but some education - who largely voted against Brexit. It was the poor - who were duped - and the rich - who saw the £££ opportunities of a disaster - who voted for it. Plus a cohort of racists.

The people in the middle who didn't want it are the ones who've been paying for the mess ever since and frankly most of them seem to have had enough now. Listening to tales of woe from those who created the situation but have still showed no contrition for doing so is understandably not melting their hearts.

How much of this do I understand,

0.1%

how much am I willing to learn 100%

I've recently watched the 6hrish banking debate with the largest bank managers, then I'm reading about the 2008 financial crisis.
I'm slowly learning more about economics and finance, plus wall street in general.

Play the stock markets ?

Look over there, not here. No, over there. Listen while the government frames your thinking.

Don't ask why the UK is an outlier amongst comparable economies with low productivity, low skills, low growth in per capita GDP. Just have a frameing discussion about being unable to tax the hard pressed rich more. Schroedinger's magic money tree. Don't ask how 'higher tax economies' have higher productivity, higher growth and less inequality.

Patriotically rejoice in the UK's lack of growth and directing £2.5tn of wealth to the richest 1% while the majority have sucked up a 33% cut in real wages.

Just listen to the apparently reasonable answer to a question literally no one asked. Can the government do absolutely everything. Who asked this and when?

If you place your faith in the Daily Mail's economic judgment, what was their headline the day after Liz and Kwasi proposed borrowing to fund tax cuts for the richest? 'Bonanza'.

Look for example at Germany

Here?

July 5 2022
Germany’s much-vaunted trade surplus disappears [in May] as import prices surge.

This marks a significant moment for the German economy, which had reported trade surpluses for several decades.

Bloomberg reported that 1991 was the last time the country reported a monthly trade deficit.

www.cnbc.com/2022/07/05/germanys-much-vaunted-trade-surplus-disappears-as-import-prices-surge.html

4 Nov 2022
(Bloomberg) -- German factory orders continued to decline in September, adding to concerns that Europe’s largest economy is slipping into recession as it struggles with surging energy costs.
The worse-than-expected decline was driven by foreign orders, which slumped by 7%, the Federal Statistics Office said in a statement on Friday. Demand from the euro area was 8% lower, compared with a 6.3% decrease from other countries.

www.bnnbloomberg.ca/german-factory-orders-accelerate-drop-as-winter-gas-crunch-looms-1.1841731

Anybody credible who intended to govern in the interests of citizens would be proposing to as a minimum rejoin the single market to recover the £40bn of tax revenue that would give us back (net)

So, why are Germany borrowing €200 billion - can't they use the extra tax revenue they get from being in the single market?

edition.cnn.com/2022/09/29/energy/germany-200-billion-debt-energy-cap/index.html

I see we are making some headway on joining the CPTPP free trade pact, although perhaps 'this year' is a little optimistic;

Oct 2022 -
SINGAPORE – Members of the revamped Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal could agree in principle to allow Britain to join as a new member this year, using the European country’s case as a model for future aspirants, Japan’s economic minister, Daishiro Yamagiwa, has said.

The one-day meeting discussed Britain’s entry into the CPTPP. Japan is chair of a working group on Britain’s envisaged membership.

www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/10/09/business/japan-britain-trans-pacific-free-trade-pact/

YANBU. It’s always ‘they’ should do this and ‘they’ should do that. Well, a lot of the things, people can easily do themselves. Eg. getting paracetamol on a free prescription when it’s about 25p in Aldi. Free bus passes should definitely be means tested and all this fuss over the over 75s losing their free TV license FFS. People on pension credit still get it (good) It was ridiculous when millionaires were getting it whilst people who were struggling on UC had to pay it. People need to take responsibility where they can and then there will be more money for the bigger things.

@Clavinova

The discussion is mostly about the decline of the UK over the last 30 years, and less about how all of the European countries, including Germany, have been hit by the increase in energy prices.

Even with this decline in trade, the German economy is in a far better state than the UK and there is no talk of cutting back on public services. There would be an outcry, just as there has been now that the €9 go-anywhere train ticket has been put up in price to €49 - which is still far less than British travellers pay to travel on clapped-out, unreliable British trains.

Accession to CPTPP is good, but don't think other countries will not bargain hard with the UK. And the benefits will take time to realise. It will be years before we see the benefits. Probably after the next election, I should think, even if we join in December

"Trans-Pacific Partnership" - the mooted agreement that includes Japan (by far the largest partner), Australia and New Zealand.

But didn't Truss claim credit for signing some great FTA deals with exactly these countries? The Japan deal that was the same as the EU-Japan deal (except for some cheese, that the Japanese don't import anyway)? The Australian and New Zealand deals that are so bad that they will actually damage the UK and bankrupt much of British agriculture for little or no gain in trade?

As for getting a free trade deal with countries like Vietnam (and for that matter India) - signing a FTA with a country that has a far lower cost base, far lower environmental standards and far lower employment standards than the UK will be a disaster for the UK manufacturing sector and for the people employed in it.

To be honest, while I disagree with lots of what the government has done, I hope they get trade right because we really do need the investment, the research and the business. So I hope for success, because we have great things here, which can be used globally.

If that's the case you could start a much better thread admitting that, asking for help and links. Then people could help you to learn. Posting comments on a thread like this defending indefensible and damaging policies and pretending you know things you don't is not ok, and risks spreads misinformation.

Exactly.

Oh God you again with your spam. Will you just bore off? Everyone's bored of it, and has been for years.

How can they "get trade right" when they've just left the most successful and largest trading block on Earth? In a time when everyone else is joining local trading blocks?

@BMW6 completely agree.

@AliensAteMyHomework - well, quite. But I am a big proponent of the UK, and proximity matters in trade. I hope we can do something better than the current situation. I don't want to feel too gloomy about the UK.

Trade deals are deals. You can change them. Brexit can look different if we want to it.