The biggest "bubble" ever?
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Discussion

WhoseGeneration

Original Poster:

4,090 posts

237 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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The "Welfare State", in most Western Nations.

Victor McDade

4,395 posts

212 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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Gold?

RemainAllHoof

80,143 posts

312 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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The Dotcom bubble. The fever was so rampant that you could buy the domain EpsomSoil.com with the idea of selling buckets of soil from Epsom over the net and you'd get loads of investors hoping to buy shares in the company. You then spend the entire investment on marketing and watch the share price rocket; sell your shares and retire a multi-millionaire.

I wouldn't call the welfare state a bubble as such - otherwise, we would have to assume that recipients of welfare offer some kind of value to the government ie they are providing a service but getting too much for the service.

davepoth

29,395 posts

229 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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It's gold. One day there are going to be two humans left, one will have some water, and one will have gold. And I know which one will be worth more.

RemainAllHoof

80,143 posts

312 months

Monday 25th July 2011
quotequote all
davepoth said:
It's gold. One day there are going to be two humans left, one will have some water, and one will have gold. And I know which one will be worth more.
The one with the gold club. biggrin

EDLT

15,421 posts

236 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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This one is pretty big, but its not bubble-shaped.


WhoseGeneration

Original Poster:

4,090 posts

237 months

Monday 25th July 2011
quotequote all
Victor McDade said:
Gold?
Now, a jesting reply, or, considered?
In that, could there be a relationship here, my suggested "bubble" and your "bubble"?

Puggit

49,822 posts

278 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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The answer to the 'welfare bubble' is simple - get those on long term benefits to work for the country. Cheap labour = low prices = competitive exports if in manufacturing. If they are doing jobs synonymous with those done by councils etc, then it keeps the wage bill down.

Even some people on disability benefit yearn to work.

powerstroke

10,283 posts

190 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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Puggit said:
The answer to the 'welfare bubble' is simple - get those on long term benefits to work for the country. Cheap labour = low prices = competitive exports if in manufacturing. If they are doing jobs synonymous with those done by councils etc, then it keeps the wage bill down.

Even some people on disability benefit yearn to work.
Sadly it will never happen as the only way would be to bring in hostels for single mums and the work house for the others..and non of the spinless mupets that selfserve there time in office have the guts or any reason to realy change anything.. a little fiddle round the edges is the best you will get ...

Edited by powerstroke on Monday 25th July 08:29

zcacogp

11,239 posts

274 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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powerstroke said:
Sadly it will never happen as the only way would be to bring in hostels for single mums and the work house for the others..and non of the spinless mupets that selfserve there time in office have the guts or any reason to realy change anything.. a little fiddle round the edges is the best you will get ...
Sadly, very true.

And I'm a BIG fan of the idea of workhouses and hostels for single mums. That way lies progress.


Oli.

RemainAllHoof

80,143 posts

312 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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zcacogp said:
And I'm a BIG fan of the idea of workhouses and hostels for single mums. Makes it easier for me to get a date.

Oli.
EFA? silly

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

276 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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davepoth said:
It's gold. One day there are going to be two humans left, one will have some water, and one will have gold. And I know which one will be worth more.
That is a fascinating aspect of the current economic situation, especially when you think that Gordon Brown sold half the UK's gold reserves - that's about 400 tons sold off - for around $275 an ounce.

Price today - $1,600 an ounce.

Arithmetic loss of $1,325 an ounce. 400 tons = 12,800,000 ounces.

Cash loss = 12.8m x 1,325 = $16,960,000,000

Nice work Gordon!


muffinmenace

1,100 posts

218 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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Social Media/Networking strikes me as a bit of a bubble, I do however get my economics theories from 'My first book of economics' by Ladybird publishing.

fido

18,921 posts

285 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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Ozzie Osmond said:
Cash loss = 12.8m x 1,325 = $16,960,000,000

Nice work Gordon!
That's still only a miniscule 1/10th of the annual Education Budget, another legacy ala Winky. So basically, if we extended the summer holidays for another 6 weeks or so, we could consign the Brown gold thing to history. I doubt it would affect the 'output quality' much either.

madala

5,063 posts

228 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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Ozzie Osmond said:
davepoth said:
It's gold. One day there are going to be two humans left, one will have some water, and one will have gold. And I know which one will be worth more.
That is a fascinating aspect of the current economic situation, especially when you think that Gordon Brown sold half the UK's gold reserves - that's about 400 tons sold off - for around $275 an ounce.

Price today - $1,600 an ounce.

Arithmetic loss of $1,325 an ounce. 400 tons = 12,800,000 ounces.

Cash loss = 12.8m x 1,325 = $16,960,000,000

Nice work Gordon!

I will never forgive or forget what that one eyed did.....he should be swinging from a lamp post.

Puggit

49,822 posts

278 months

Monday 25th July 2011
quotequote all
madala said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
davepoth said:
It's gold. One day there are going to be two humans left, one will have some water, and one will have gold. And I know which one will be worth more.
That is a fascinating aspect of the current economic situation, especially when you think that Gordon Brown sold half the UK's gold reserves - that's about 400 tons sold off - for around $275 an ounce.

Price today - $1,600 an ounce.

Arithmetic loss of $1,325 an ounce. 400 tons = 12,800,000 ounces.

Cash loss = 12.8m x 1,325 = $16,960,000,000

Nice work Gordon!

I will never forgive or forget what that one eyed did.....he should be swinging from a lamp post.
Apparently the Norwegian nutter agrees with you.

groak

3,254 posts

209 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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Capitalism ?

blindswelledrat

25,257 posts

262 months

Monday 25th July 2011
quotequote all
Ozzie Osmond said:
That is a fascinating aspect of the current economic situation, especially when you think that Gordon Brown sold half the UK's gold reserves - that's about 400 tons sold off - for around $275 an ounce.

Price today - $1,600 an ounce.

Arithmetic loss of $1,325 an ounce. 400 tons = 12,800,000 ounces.

Cash loss = 12.8m x 1,325 = $16,960,000,000

Nice work Gordon!

I didn't realise it was so little.
10 billion quid. Big st!
I can't believe we have been going on about it for all this time.
I have despised the bloke for years for that decision, and now that I realise that it is so irrelevant I am going to think about something more important!

Puggit

49,822 posts

278 months

Monday 25th July 2011
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blindswelledrat said:
I have despised the bloke for years for that decision, and now that I realise that it is so irrelevant I am going to think about something more important!
Ok, so the value isn't that much (and was even less when he made the decision) - but the fact stands that he told the markets he was going to sell all our gold before he sold it, therefore depressing the price.

For that alone, he should have been removed as chancellor.

blindswelledrat

25,257 posts

262 months

Monday 25th July 2011
quotequote all
Puggit said:
Ok, so the value isn't that much (and was even less when he made the decision) - but the fact stands that he told the markets he was going to sell all our gold before he sold it, therefore depressing the price.

For that alone, he should have been removed as chancellor.
Puggit said:
Ok, so the value isn't that much (and was even less when he made the decision) - but the fact stands that he told the markets he was going to sell all our gold before he sold it, therefore depressing the price.

For that alone, he should have been removed as chancellor.
Maybe, I don't know the ins and outs, but the only thing I know as fact is that hte amounts in question are so tiny that it is so irrelevant and not even worth discussing and certainly not, as PH seem to think, part responsible for the recession.
From my fag-packet maths I would estimate that he 'lost' the UK approximately £1 billion or so in that deal. It is such a tiny tiny tiny amount as to be embarrassing to discuss!
Im ashamed of my own ignorance for hating him so much for such a nothing decision