Is The IMF taking Over perhaps just what the country needs

[WaitingInForMyFoodShopping]

Ok bear with me. This sounds like an idiotic thing to say because if the IMF are involved it means the country is officially in a mess and the IMF will slash spending and enforce their own budgets and rules. So anyone on benefits might lose them, NHS funding will likely go down, same for the police force etc

It just occurred to me today that the country is in a complete mess and there isn't really any end in sight.

Headlines today - I didn't read the detail but I am just getting more angry, helpless feeling and frustrated and want 'somebody' who has some balls to step in and say enough. Things change from today. Todays headlines are rising taxes, 1/10 high school kids on benefits, families of migrants can claim benefits from day 1 even if they don't speak english.

Now i will caveat this by saying the housing market does need sorted but lets be honest that's not what they are trying to do here - it's just about raising taxes. I also say there is another articles claiming ' a crackdown on bring families into Britain' - something that made me snort with derision giving the whole small boats/protests going on just now.

I mean lets just get to the point. Does ANYONE think RR/KS are able to fix this mess. I know they didn't cause it. I know they have been in office less than a year but if we give them another year are they able to fix it. I personally don't think so. It is going to need someone very tough to brave the mess and take it in hand (Maggie Thatcher where are you now).
So what are we left with - voting Reform - which I have joked about doing but i don't actually think that is the way to go. That's borne out of desperation. So who is going to fix it then.

AIBU to think a complete reset, painful as it will be by the IMF is just what the country needs?

House prices drop unexpectedly amid property tax fears - latest updates

The ‘ludicrous’ migrant family rule pushing councils to breaking point

One in 10 secondary schoolchildren on disability benefits

🤣

I think my point was that the service in the country has gone downhill in lots of areas. Many people can't get a GP appointment without considerable effort and many go to A&E in desperation. Surely just because you have been unaffected so far you are still aware of the wider problem.

The bigger issue is that our spending is too high and is exceeding our income each month. Thus our debt goes up and the next month is even worse.

To counter that, one thing among many that is happening are GP's are not being replaced when they retire and lots of new qualified GP's are leaving to work elsewhere as there is no job for them.

This is happening in lots of areas - police are very short staffed which is why the whole outrage about shoplifting is happening.

People are protesting about immigrants because they are outraged at the constant flow of people being taken in and put up in hotels when they (the british people) are struggling to get a house or a GP appointment or an ambulance or the police to attend. Many have started to recognise that if they are in rented accomodation when they retire they are in deep shit. Many are worried about the ever increasing pension age when they are already struggling to find work, or are exhausted from working and can't afford to retire.

Further, benefits are out of control. Growth has stalled. Inflation is going up. Wealthy are leaving the country taking their money with them.

As for me - I can't get a GP appointment 'ever'. Well I spent several days phoning at 8am and when I got through all the appointments were gone. So try again tomorrow. This went on for several days and realising I was going round in circles I located a private GP near me (£120 for 20 min appointment but could see me the next day). Would I have got one if I phoned everyday for a month. Perhaps, perhaps not. The NHS is being phased out silently.

I think you’ll find it’s not Labour voters who are waving flags. The difference is austerity from 2010 onwards was ideological and virtually every economist agrees that it damaged the UK economic recovery. There is no money now and either tax rises or cuts to services are unavoidable.

Has it? I think ever higher borrowing is now not an option.

We just need to raise income tax. It’s fair. It’s clear. It’s been far too low for far too long. I would like it restored to levels in Thatcher’s first government 1979-1984.

I wish I was. I mean if I was an idiot saying things that were just untrue then phew what a relief for everyone.

The facts of the UK finances are not my point of view or my opinion. The country is in a mess and it's been happening for a while. I think what has woken alot of people up is the huge increase in our debt in the last year alone.

Certainly the rest of the world is paying attention as they are making us pay more to lend us money.

My opinion is that if none of the parties can get us out of this increasing debt hole (and lets be honest, if people are now thinking of voting reform then we must be out of good options), then maybe we need a huge sharp kick up the butt in the form of radical change via the IMF. Painful in the short term for sure, but will put us back on the path to recovery. Else what is the other option?

regardless of what party is doing it, the point I'm trying to make is it isn't working.

Despite all the cuts, we are still getting into further debt each month.

If the Tories couldn't fix it and labour it seems are making a balls of it then what next. Reform surely are not a serious option and yet they are racing ahead in the polls.

So what do we do next?

How has the thread 'failed'

The point of the thread was to discuss if an IMF bailout might be best for us in the longer term as it would force us back onto the road of recovery.

Lots of people have made sensible comments. Lots of people have agreed with my posts. Some people have honed in on a small detail which is neither here nor there in the grand scheme of things.

The thread has shown that people are frightened, confused, angry, unsure, frustrated and lots want the problem to just go away (understandable).

I'd say the thread has gone exactly as I wanted it to. People have responded with opinions and thoughts. Some I agree with. Some I don't.

Doesn't matter what I think. I'm not running the country and I don't have to get us out of this mess.

A good point re the north sea oil. I forgot Maggie had that to help her. And yes of course everyone forgets that BT, British Gas, The railways, Royal Mail etc all used to be state owned and are now privately owned.

We also don't have our gold reserves anymore since I think it was Gordon Brown who sold them (correct me if I am wrong) at bargain basement prices.

I reckon next on the list of things to privatise is the NHS (I mean it's already happening).

Agree it hasn’t ‘failed’ at all some posts on debt are interesting. I’m not sure why there’s the anger.

I reckon next on the list of things to privatise is the NHS (I mean it's already happening).

It isn’t. It’s entirely publicly funded with some parts of it contracted to private providers.

Where are all these people going? IME of wealthy people, they are not going anywhere as family and life here but they may well do if Reform get in as they don't exactly appeal to those who are financially savvy. The people I know are under 50 though so maybe that is the difference.

I reckon next on the list of things to privatise is the NHS (I mean it's already happening).

It will be more of a case of you have to go private because the waiting list is years long.

Debt on it's own is not a problem.

In fact debt can be a good thing especially if rates are low and depending on what the money is being spent on.

Debt that cannot be repaid or the interest payments made without further borrowing is a sign of trouble.

The point of the thread was to discuss if an IMF bailout might be best for us in the longer term as it would force us back onto the road of recovery.

I don't think we will require a bailout but I do think if there was a bailout the triple lock might be paused for a few years (which makes complete sense). No gov will touch it though.

Economic growth is traditionally what bails out governments when they find themselves in a hole. Unfortunately since the crash of 2008 the UK economy has pretty much flatlined, and leaving the EU has made things much worse by erecting trade barriers with our closest and largest overseas market.

Correct, we never recovered from 08

We also don't have our gold reserves anymore since I think it was Gordon Brown who sold them (correct me if I am wrong) at bargain basement prices.

Bit more complex & nuanced than that. You can't really the predict the market.

Maybe ask Liz Truss. She at least had an idea.

People don't understand the real consequences of Truss. It wasn't the spike in interest rates that was caused, because they were going up anyway.

It was the fact that everyone that has followed has been scared shitless of trying anything that might be in the slightest bit radical in order to try to grow the economy out of fear they may end up going the same way as her.

And now apparently we can't borrow, we can't grow, we can't tax and we can't cut spending.

So pretty much going nowhere until some external event comes along that forces the issue.

yes I use lots of these services you mention but I also pay council tax which covers many of them.

You are right - those of us lucky enough to retire in our fifties are contributing to the problem. So are the wealthy leaving the country, so are the benefit claimants, so are part-time workers, so are the SAHM's, so are the immigrants, so is the govt with it's weak policies that it can't stick to.

So now that we have shared the blame around.....I go back to my original question.

How are we getting out of the black hole? Given the goverment can't or won't stop the above what is the best solution for the country. Or should we all just keep passing the blame parcel till the IMF steps in.

Isn't that a kind of really good reason to hold it then ?

I mean the loss was probably small beer in the grand scheme of things, but I didn't see anyone else was exactly rushing to do the same.

Omg Liz Truss @GasPanic an Idea 💡

I feel sorry for the light bulb emoji. What utter nonsense you spout.

You have to pay council tax, it's a legal requirement.

Selling gold reserves & balancing holdings, reducing risk wasn't an unusual thing to do. The issue was he sold it before gold went into a long bear market. Hindsight is a wonderful thing because people can't time the market....

There's no black hole. @WaitingInForMyFoodShopping

Why so hostile? It is an impasse, that is not unknown.