Coronavirus - has it shown the weaknesses in our economy?
Discussion
Is it me or was consumerism, consumption, services (and the wrong type of services might I add) never a good base for an economy.
Should we use this as an opportunity to rebuild our economy differently? IMO we should have a Major push into tech as it seems to be dominated by American companies, even Sweden has a couple, NZ has Xero, but I can't think of any recent success stories out of the UK that are under 15 years old.
I am not really for manufacturing as its a low value industry unless its for supplies of national interest (another thing we should focus on).
Should we use this as an opportunity to rebuild our economy differently? IMO we should have a Major push into tech as it seems to be dominated by American companies, even Sweden has a couple, NZ has Xero, but I can't think of any recent success stories out of the UK that are under 15 years old.
I am not really for manufacturing as its a low value industry unless its for supplies of national interest (another thing we should focus on).
acd80 said:
They are ancient though.I was thinking more recently, stuff like facebook, spotify, netflix and the like.
It depends how it was done.
I don't think a planned economy or a BritishLeyland.com tech venture will do us much good.
Proper education might.
I think the economic weakness it has highlighted that's worse than our lack of tech brands is our total dependence on other countries, and especially China.
The more worrying weakness still is that this whole debacle has only had any traction at all because the bulk of the population are either too lazy or incapable of looking at original sources and data for themselves, or they trust the BBC and other media outlets to do that for them. At a time when accessing these sources and finding alternative view points has never been easier.
It's impossible for any society to flourish or even survive, in economic terms or any other, with such a stupid population who are so easily led to such stupidity.
I don't think a planned economy or a BritishLeyland.com tech venture will do us much good.
Proper education might.
I think the economic weakness it has highlighted that's worse than our lack of tech brands is our total dependence on other countries, and especially China.
The more worrying weakness still is that this whole debacle has only had any traction at all because the bulk of the population are either too lazy or incapable of looking at original sources and data for themselves, or they trust the BBC and other media outlets to do that for them. At a time when accessing these sources and finding alternative view points has never been easier.
It's impossible for any society to flourish or even survive, in economic terms or any other, with such a stupid population who are so easily led to such stupidity.
I prefer to look at the positives. When the country was absolutely dead at the start of the lockdown just how much still functioned. Maybe 5% of the traffic on the roads but still 80% of the economy. British people and companies can react and adapt really quickly.
My commute was like a zombie apocalypse!
My commute was like a zombie apocalypse!
JuanCarlosFandango said:
It depends how it was done.
I don't think a planned economy or a BritishLeyland.com tech venture will do us much good.
Proper education might.
I think the economic weakness it has highlighted that's worse than our lack of tech brands is our total dependence on other countries, and especially China.
The more worrying weakness still is that this whole debacle has only had any traction at all because the bulk of the population are either too lazy or incapable of looking at original sources and data for themselves, or they trust the BBC and other media outlets to do that for them. At a time when accessing these sources and finding alternative view points has never been easier.
It's impossible for any society to flourish or even survive, in economic terms or any other, with such a stupid population who are so easily led to such stupidity.
I don't think a planned economy or a BritishLeyland.com tech venture will do us much good.
Proper education might.
I think the economic weakness it has highlighted that's worse than our lack of tech brands is our total dependence on other countries, and especially China.
The more worrying weakness still is that this whole debacle has only had any traction at all because the bulk of the population are either too lazy or incapable of looking at original sources and data for themselves, or they trust the BBC and other media outlets to do that for them. At a time when accessing these sources and finding alternative view points has never been easier.
It's impossible for any society to flourish or even survive, in economic terms or any other, with such a stupid population who are so easily led to such stupidity.
JuanCarlosFandango said:
The more worrying weakness still is that this whole debacle has only had any traction at all because the bulk of the population are either too lazy or incapable of looking at original sources and data for themselves, or they trust the BBC and other media outlets to do that for them. At a time when accessing these sources and finding alternative view points has never been easier.
What's more surprising is the abundance of polymath 'experts' who dwell on every thread on PH. Backed up by alternative view points (aka youtube videos) they espouse on every topic with the authority of fools.tangerine_sedge said:
What's more surprising is the abundance of polymath 'experts' who dwell on every thread on PH. Backed up by alternative view points (aka youtube videos) they espouse on every topic with the authority of fools.
Indeed, it has been an education for me in seeing how many posters on here believe in global conspiracies, are experts in how masks are useless and have no concern about anyone except themselves.It's definitely shown the weakness in our education system. The government are so busy trying to level everyone based on their privilege/disadvantage that no one seems to have considered the fact that the point of schooling is to produce skilled and productive members of society, not scores on a board.
I'm no lefty but I can't help but wonder how much inequality is derived from the lack of properly educated people and thus an inflated demand for those who are.
I'd venture a guess that, worldwide, there's a strong correlation between the quality and widespread accessibility of education systems compared to the distribution of wages top to bottom in a given society.
If I were prime minister I would throw money at schools and drawing higher skilled people into teaching.
I'm no lefty but I can't help but wonder how much inequality is derived from the lack of properly educated people and thus an inflated demand for those who are.
I'd venture a guess that, worldwide, there's a strong correlation between the quality and widespread accessibility of education systems compared to the distribution of wages top to bottom in a given society.
If I were prime minister I would throw money at schools and drawing higher skilled people into teaching.
dreamcracker said:
We just need to get everyone that was on furlough back to work where possible.
The shops locally are much busier this week, probably as more people feel confident to go out.
I have not noticed any recession.
How? What jobs are they going to do.The shops locally are much busier this week, probably as more people feel confident to go out.
I have not noticed any recession.
A lovely sentiment, not grounded in any kind of reality.
tangerine_sedge said:
JuanCarlosFandango said:
The more worrying weakness still is that this whole debacle has only had any traction at all because the bulk of the population are either too lazy or incapable of looking at original sources and data for themselves, or they trust the BBC and other media outlets to do that for them. At a time when accessing these sources and finding alternative view points has never been easier.
What's more surprising is the abundance of polymath 'experts' who dwell on every thread on PH. Backed up by alternative view points (aka youtube videos) they espouse on every topic with the authority of fools.They have now gone virtual.
k it, I cant be arsed. BigMon said:
tangerine_sedge said:
JuanCarlosFandango said:
The more worrying weakness still is that this whole debacle has only had any traction at all because the bulk of the population are either too lazy or incapable of looking at original sources and data for themselves, or they trust the BBC and other media outlets to do that for them. At a time when accessing these sources and finding alternative view points has never been easier.
What's more surprising is the abundance of polymath 'experts' who dwell on every thread on PH. Backed up by alternative view points (aka youtube videos) they espouse on every topic with the authority of fools.They have now gone virtual.
I have been genuinely surprised over these last few months about just how many crackpots and conspiracy theorists are on PH, in our workplaces, sitting round our dinner tables and so on.
It's actually worrying to be honest. We are almost at a tipping point where the view spouted by the crackpot is almost as powerful as the views of experts and people who spend their lives studying their chosen topics. I enjoy social media, youtube, forums etc as much as anyone else, but I truly now believe they could be the downfall of society in some ways.
We will become so divided and distrustful as thousands of daft ideas gain traction on the net, that we could see a real breakdown.
The internet has been so incredible in so many ways, but I now think it genuinely poses a small but significant threat to public heath and order.
(Apologies for the thread derailing. As you were.)
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 14th August 09:31
Lord Marylebone said:
This.
I have been genuinely surprised over these last few months about just how many crackpots and conspiracy theorists are on PH, in our workplaces, sitting round our dinner tables and so on.
It's actually worrying to be honest. We are almost at a tipping point where the view spouted by the crackpot is almost as powerful as the views of experts and people who spend their lives studying their chosen topics. I enjoy social media, youtube, forums etc as much as anyone else, but I truly now believe they could be the downfall of society in some ways.
We will become so divided and distrustful as thousands of daft ideas gain traction on the net, that we could see a real breakdown.
The internet has been so incredible in so many ways, but I now think it genuinely poses a small but significant threat to public heath and order.
(Apologies for the thread derailing. As you were.)
If only PH had a "like" button!I have been genuinely surprised over these last few months about just how many crackpots and conspiracy theorists are on PH, in our workplaces, sitting round our dinner tables and so on.
It's actually worrying to be honest. We are almost at a tipping point where the view spouted by the crackpot is almost as powerful as the views of experts and people who spend their lives studying their chosen topics. I enjoy social media, youtube, forums etc as much as anyone else, but I truly now believe they could be the downfall of society in some ways.
We will become so divided and distrustful as thousands of daft ideas gain traction on the net, that we could see a real breakdown.
The internet has been so incredible in so many ways, but I now think it genuinely poses a small but significant threat to public heath and order.
(Apologies for the thread derailing. As you were.)
Edited by Lord Marylebone on Friday 14th August 09:31
The Wookie said:
It's definitely shown the weakness in our education system. The government are so busy trying to level everyone based on their privilege/disadvantage that no one seems to have considered the fact that the point of schooling is to produce skilled and productive members of society, not scores on a board.
I'm no lefty but I can't help but wonder how much inequality is derived from the lack of properly educated people and thus an inflated demand for those who are.
I'd venture a guess that, worldwide, there's a strong correlation between the quality and widespread accessibility of education systems compared to the distribution of wages top to bottom in a given society.
If I were prime minister I would throw money at schools and drawing higher skilled people into teaching.
this is the key.I'm no lefty but I can't help but wonder how much inequality is derived from the lack of properly educated people and thus an inflated demand for those who are.
I'd venture a guess that, worldwide, there's a strong correlation between the quality and widespread accessibility of education systems compared to the distribution of wages top to bottom in a given society.
If I were prime minister I would throw money at schools and drawing higher skilled people into teaching.
If you think about the pay of lots of other professionals compared to teachers it reveals how much we undervalue teachers. Doctors are much better paid for example.
But if you think about the effect of a skilled teacher, it can be enormous. E.g., if a primary teacher can provide 5% better education to a class of 30 for a year, every individual in the class will be better educated for the rest of their life, and if we agree more educated people are more productive, then the benefit in GDP across the lifetimes of every individual in that class will be huge. And that's just one year, a teacher can easily have a 40 year career and influence thousands of students. Not to mention that the benefit you get from being taught by this superior teacher is carried through, and aggregates through, the rest of your educational career.
In contrast, doctors spend most of their time 'fixing' people who are economically unproductive because they're retired.
So: spend your money on education, it will pay you back a million times over. In fact, it's the only category of government expenditure that generates significant return on investment (infrastructure does too, but much lower). Everything else is a cost to be met, education is an investment.
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