[signs]

If so how long until the Government say we officially are ? what will happen ,mass unemployment ? health care shot ?

whats the likelihood ?

[Kieron]

Signwriters will be alright. "For Sale" boards, "To Let" boards, "Closing Down Sale" boards

[KhalJimbo]

Originally Posted by Kieron

Signwriters will be alright. "For Sale" boards, "To Let" boards, "Closing Down Sale" boards

Classic!!

[signs]

Originally Posted by Kieron

Signwriters will be alright. "For Sale" boards, "To Let" boards, "Closing Down Sale" boards

Good one "Saint" Kieron

[FZR400RRSP]

Originally Posted by signs

,mass unemployment ? health care shot ?

Er, aren't we already there?

[Decadence]

I think we're a bit screwed too, mass unemployment and the Government is still not shedding jobs in wasteful and unecessary areas. No way the taxpayer can support it all, we're doomed. Buy shares in Heinz, Campbells or Baxters while you can, the soup kitchens will be overrun.

[WillieCocker]

Over here, unemployment was 350k people last month.
My job is still safe and even i'm depressed.

[Bill Hicks]

Having Gordon Brown as a leader is enough to make anyone feel depressed!
Still he did manage a grimace or two yesterday when in the company of Jesus Ch, er sorry Barrack Obama!

[inzaman]

Originally Posted by Decadence

I think we're a bit screwed too, mass unemployment and the Government is still not shedding jobs in wasteful and unecessary areas. No way the taxpayer can support it all, we're doomed.

Tell me about it, luckily our local council is not 'run' by Labour. It looks like our council tax will get an increase of 3.25% which includes a 1% reduction in salaries yet Labour wanted additional increases over and above the 3.25% and stated 'the proposed budget would put too many jobs at risk'.
You couldnt make it up could you, increase taxes even higher in the current climate to save public sector workers

I too think we are staring into the abyss - hopefully i am wrong but everyone i know mentions that there company is making redundancies

[eric pisch]

Originally Posted by inzaman

Tell me about it, luckily our local council is not 'run' by Labour. It looks like our council tax will get an increase of 3.25% which includes a 1% reduction in salaries yet Labour wanted additional increases over and above the 3.25% and stated 'the proposed budget would put too many jobs at risk'.
You couldnt make it up could you, increase taxes even higher in the current climate to save public sector workers

I too think we are staring into the abyss - hopefully i am wrong but everyone i know mentions that there company is making redundancies

i live in a very wealthy tory borough and we are getting a 5% rise again (labore dont even stand in local elections)

things are going to get alot worse, at least another 12 months of bad news

when it becomes a depression I dont know there does not seam to be a standard definition for it, at 4 mill out of work after last time labore where in power it was stiff only classed as a recession

one of the worst things labore have done apart from borrowing like theres no tomorrow (again) is the increase in NI to recover the pointless vat reduction we have. Taxing companies for employing people is the daftest policy ever created....

[shilv]

I seem to remember hearing that it is classed as a depression if GDP falls by 10%(ish) in a year.

I think it may have only dropped by 5% (so far...)

[FZR400RRSP]

'Someone' (bank/building society/consumer body) today reported a 17% rise in consumer confidence for February.

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by bowfer

'Someone' (bank/building society/consumer body) today reported a 17% rise in consumer confidence for February.

Who felt more confident in Feb???

[jassco]

Originally Posted by bowfer

'Someone' (bank/building society/consumer body) today reported a 17% rise in consumer confidence for February.

how's that measured though? did people go from being in 'complete despair' to 'almost-complete despair'?

[JagoPlasma]

McDonalds?

[WillieCocker]

Originally Posted by JagoPlasma

McDonalds?

Safe as chips.

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by JagoPlasma

McDonalds?

Yeah but he's a clown...

[Desmo]

I don't know all the numbers, but I do know that people are being made redundant by councils as I've had a few friends affected by it. Another friend in HR told me they were letting over 40 people go.

[FZR400RRSP]

Originally Posted by jassco

how's that measured though? did people go from being in 'complete despair' to 'almost-complete despair'?

Dunno, but you're not helping....

[jay mc]

Lets be honest the goverment and local councils employed way to many people into non jobs any way. They also waste way way to much on varius pet projects that only help a small minority at best.

And with all these new staff there slower then ever!

Time for a bit more common sense and simplicity to things and its deffently time for brown and co to go to the polls!!!

[FZR400RRSP]

Originally Posted by jay mc

Lets be honest the goverment and local councils employed way to many people into non jobs any way.

Vicious circle with them.
They stick rigidly to all sorts of health and safety rules, work practices and 'employees rights' that they need more staff just to get a set amount of work done.
My friend works for local government and, quite honestly, his place is a holiday camp.
Flexi-time, compulsory breaks, umpteen holidays etc.etc.
Then they have to down tools for compulsory first aid training.
Then they have to down tools again if the temperature in the building falls below a certain level etc.etc.
All stuff that other businesses just, basically, ignore and get on with it (rightly or wrongly).
If they simply stuck to 0900-1700 like the majority of the private sector, I'm utterly convinced they'd need loads less staff.
Then again, his pay isn't great.
When he moans, I tell him to get a proper job.

[la gran siete]

Originally Posted by bowfer

Vicious circle with them.
They stick rigidly to all sorts of health and safety rules, work practices and 'employees rights' that they need more staff just to get a set amount of work done.
My friend works for local government and, quite honestly, his place is a holiday camp.
Flexi-time, compulsory breaks, umpteen holidays etc.etc.
Then they have to down tools for compulsory first aid training.
Then they have to down tools again if the temperature in the building falls below a certain level etc.etc.
All stuff that other businesses just, basically, ignore and get on with it (rightly or wrongly).
If they simply stuck to 0900-1700 like the majority of the private sector, I'm utterly convinced they'd need loads less staff.
Then again, his pay isn't great.
When he moans, I tell him to get a proper job.

seems to me the private sector should be copying the public in its work conditions and not moan about them.Work to live not live to work should be the motto.Good luck to them.Btw it isnt a bed of rose as somewould think

[nheather]

'Someone' (bank/building society/consumer body) today reported a 17% rise in consumer confidence for February.

Sort of correct. What actually happened is the number of people saying it would get better increased slightly to 19% and the number saying it would get worse decreased from 50odd to 40odd (can't remember exact numbers) with the remainder undecided.

So confidence is still depressed but not as depressed - which can be reported as an increase in confidence.

Tell me about it, luckily our local council is not 'run' by Labour.

Wrong way round. Labour run councils typically enjoy lower council tax rises whilst labour is in power. Quite simply, the ruling government looks after their voters and reduces the central government payments to opposing councils. As a result the opposing councils have to increase their local tax which gives the impression that the opposing government taxes it's people more.

Typically, this year, you will see a lot of labour councils with tax rises of 2% or less and conservative ones with 3% or more.

Cheers,

Nigel

[IPaintSara]

Its a downturn when the bloke down the street loses his job, its a recession when your neighbour loses his, its a depression when you lose yours.

[GBDG1]

What are you guys on about. I saw a mortgage adviser on the BBC news this morning and she said that there were good signs that the market had bottomed out and prices would be on the rise soon.

[pandemic]

Originally Posted by shilv

I seem to remember hearing that it is classed as a depression if GDP falls by 10%(ish) in a year.

I think it may have only dropped by 5% (so far...)

Not quite, actually we'd be a hell of a lot more depressed if it had dropped by 5%. Current trends estimate a fall of 3.3% over 2009.

[eric pisch]

Originally Posted by Lawrenzini

What are you guys on about. I saw a mortgage adviser on the BBC news this morning and she said that there were good signs that the market had bottomed out and prices would be on the rise soon.

prices in some areas are being artificially raised like london, there has been a large move by overseas investors buying up property in desirable areas that are deemed to be "bargins"

mortgage lending in Jan was 10% of that 12 months ago

[dalethecaptain]

Depression is defined as a sustained annual contraction in GDP per capita over period over years, which was previously a decade.

I don't think we will be going that far as a nation, but expect the situation to not return to anything like normal for the next 3 to 5 years. Years of excess have a price, and spending taxpayers cash like water is not beneficial to anyone because no lessons are being learnt. The days of Y2K prosperity and the debt that funded it are over for good, that is the stark reality and the reason for confidence falling off a cliff. The cookie jar is empty, there ain't no more to go round.

The saying 'when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches cold' is pretty accurate. America currently has the Flu, SARS, and a bad dose of the common cold thrown in for good measure, so the rest of the world has a nasty dose to look forward too, and its slowly heading east around the globe. This downturn is unlikely to shift the balance away from the US, having recently been in China the downturn is biting hard at all levels, Its nothing like it was 18 months ago.

Public Sector expansion is not the answer. Every pound you give the taxman buys just 37 pence worth of services today (source: ONS, Taxpayers alliance) after civil service bureaucracy. Further expansion will just add to this waste.

[mij]

We are now going to be making more money (Quantitative easing), so I suppose some manufacturing is booming.

[IPaintSara]

Just remember, if you're caught printing money its not counterfeiting, its quantitative easing