Remarkable words in a BBC piece

[otolith]

Perhaps that's unfair, but my perception is that Auntie seldom promulgates opinions such as these:

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18456131

[pwrc]

surely the key is in the word viewpoint

[otolith]

Oh, it's definitely an opinion piece, just not an opinion I am used to hearing through the beeb.

[Randy Winkman]

Why is Japan in such a bad way?

[ninja-lewis]

After 13 years of study, HM Treasury finally produced their first set of consolidated Whole of Government Accounts last year, inluding a balance sheet complete with future liabilities. Room for improvement and quicker turnaround but it's a start.

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_government_accou...

[AJS-]

Randy Winkman said:

Why is Japan in such a bad way?

I think it's because they've basically been in the same situation as us for 20 years, and have been similarly borrowing money for public spending to stimulate growth for all that time.

[Eric Mc]

The OP obviously never listens to the Radio 4 programme "A Point of View".

[HundredthIdiot]

The old are always at the mercy of the young. Numbers on a spreadsheet don't change this.

The current debt/deficit situation just reflects this - the people who have the most to lose from a "big reset" are those with private savings and pensions.

[otolith]

Eric Mc said:

The OP obviously never listens to the Radio 4 programme "A Point of View".

That's true. I don't listen to Radio 4 much these days, because I don't commute. I do listen to the radio 4 Friday evening comedy podcasts, which it would be fair to call institutionally leftist, and the any questions / any answers podcasts.

[Eric Mc]

Can Right Wingers be funny?

Is it the nature of comedy to adopt a left wing stance?

[rohrl]

John Holmes's five section on the Now Show last Friday was all about his involuntary right-wing sentiments in certain situations.

I await with interest to see how the choice by the BBC of Niall Ferguson as this year's Reith lecturer is characterised as being typical BBC liberal bias at work.

[Guybrush]

Wow, some sensible stuff there, it was more than just a viewpoint, there were some facts that all should read. Perhaps we should all save a copy in case the BBC decides to remove it. (It must have slipped through the BBC's net.)

[pingu393]

ninja-lewis said:

After 13 years of study, HM Treasury finally produced their first set of consolidated Whole of Government Accounts last year, inluding a balance sheet complete with future liabilities. Room for improvement and quicker turnaround but it's a start.

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_government_accou...

I don't know if it's included in here (and I have no intention of reading it to see), but is the British time bomb of PFI included?

If you think things are bad now, just wait until the contract periods end and we don't even own the buildings. I was involved in a PFI project (which will be one of the first to end (2022/23). I just hope my successors are planning for our futures.

[GlenMH]

AJS- said:

Randy Winkman said:

Why is Japan in such a bad way?

I think it's because they've basically been in the same situation as us for 20 years, and have been similarly borrowing money for public spending to stimulate growth for all that time.

Yup - and with near zero interest rates, deflation and a shrinking but ageing population to make things even more difficult. And the vast majority of the money that the Japanese Gov't has borrowed has been from the Japanese population, which is how they have been able to get their debt levels to 236% of GDP.