Mortgage rates / interest etc

[Spectric]

Is it not really guilt money for the years that we ruled these countries and the impact we have had on them such as cutting India into two. We are trying to be nice now because we realise we will become subserviant to them in the future, be nice to people on the way up a ladder because you will meet them again when you come down.

 

[Jacob]

Are they coming here because we are in effect advertising ourselves as a soft touch, .

They are coming here because they are desperate. But other parts of Europe are a softer touch and more go there. It's usually family or other connections which bring them here.
Statistics do not show that they are significantly criminally inclined except in small groups such as certain drug dealers, but they occur in all branches of society. Howard Marks's lot was one one of the biggest but I don't think the Welsh as a whole got blamed for drug dealing.

There is absolutely no reason why those with your perspective cannot voluntarily pay higher taxes. .....

Doesn't work. Another of the free market fundamentalist myths.

 

[John Brown]

Let’s put some numbers on things. First off, the UK national debt is approximately £2,427 billion. We have a population of c67 million. That’s each an average debt of £36,200 per person in the country. Let’s take Pakistan, it’s national debt is $248 billion, with a population of 225 million, an average debt of $1,102 per person in the country. Now the average gross income in the UK is £38K (ONS 2021) so, roughly one years salary is owed in debt by everyone in the country. The average annual income in Pakistan is $7,330, which is that each person owes around 2 months salary to clear the national debt. However, the UK provided Pakistan with £14.5 billion in Official Development Aid. The UK is increasing the burden on its population at a higher rate than one of the principle country’s it provides aid to.

The indebtedness of every person in the Uk is nearly 6 times higher than a country we are providing aid to. If you were looking at to whom you would lend money to, you would say that the UK is bankrupt, and Pakistan is in a good position to raise more debt if required to sort out its problems. Let’s not forget it’s also a nuclear country.

The UK provides aid to India, China and a number of other countries, where similar calculations can be done. The reason I’m highlighting nuclear countries with space programs is because it’s a huge expense to have these.

These types of numbers and comparison are never considered when the whole issue of aid to other countries is debated.

Firstly, what do you mean(!) by average? Mean? Mode? Median? Just curious, as the word "average" is bandied about, and most people, I believe, interpret it as the arithmetic mean.
Secondly, India is one of the most unequal countries in the world when it comes to income/wealth. So whatever interpretation of average you apply, there are still plenty of people in extreme poverty. Maybe they could do with some aid.

 

[John Brown]

Is it not really guilt money for the years that we ruled these countries and the impact we have had on them such as cutting India into two. We are trying to be nice now because we realise we will become subserviant to them in the future, be nice to people on the way up a ladder because you will meet them again when you come down.

That's possibly the most cynical viewpoint I've encountered today! I hope it was proposed, at least partially, for comic effect.

 

[IBmatty]

Sometimes funny reading this sort of thing from France. Half UK is delusional, other half ignorant re the channel crossings. I think the UK media is as guilty as the politicians for that. Not once have I seen any UK stats or opinion that matches the reality visible from the window.

 

[Dibs-h]

I suspect this thread will get moved over to the "by request" forum soon enough.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Sometimes funny reading this sort of thing from France. Half UK is delusional, other half ignorant re the channel crossings. I think the UK media is as guilty as the politicians for that. Not once have I seen any UK stats or opinion that matches the reality visible from the window.

What is the French perspective on it?

 

[deema]

Firstly, what do you mean(!) by average? Mean? Mode? Median? Just curious, as the word "average" is bandied about, and most people, I believe, interpret it as the arithmetic mean.
Secondly, India is one of the most unequal countries in the world when it comes to income/wealth. So whatever interpretation of average you apply, there are still plenty of people in extreme poverty. Maybe they could do with some aid.

Average is just that, average or mean, mode is most frequent and medium is in the Centre.

India is a democratic country, the inequality is perpetuated by whom they vote in. It’s a choice on what they do with their resources.

 

[deema]

Doesn't work. Another of the free market fundamentalist myths.

It doesn’t work because although for instance individuals propose a solution, they aren’t willing to as an individual enact it by paying voluntarily more taxes.
The argument for more tax is only appealing when it’s someone else paying it.

 

[Jacob]

It doesn’t work because although for instance individuals propose a solution, they aren’t willing to as an individual enact it by paying voluntarily more taxes.
The argument for more tax is only appealing when it’s someone else paying it.

Most people accept the inevitability of tax and regard it as the price of civilisation. There is no alternative.

 

[Richard_C]

Who were they?! Don't forget IDS and the other one I cannot remember!

Don't be vague, 'twas William Hague.

 

[Jameshow]

Don't be vague, 'twas William Hague.

Yes I believe so!!

 

[Richard_C]

As always, those bl@@dy scientists have changed their minds!

When new evidence is available, scientists change their view (remember when the atom was indivisible). People who don't change their view in the light of evidence, however strong, are called politicians ..... or in some cases forum participants.

 

[John Brown]

When new evidence is available, scientists change their view (remember when the atom was indivisible). People who don't change their view in the light of evidence, however strong, are called politicians ..... or in some cases forum participants.

Yes. I know. It was a joke.

 

[Spectric]

scientists change their view (remember when the atom was indivisible)

I have recently found that the way the structure of the atom was portrayed back when I was in education has now changed. We were taught that the electrons orbited around the nucleus with only a given number allowed in each orbit, but not anymore because rather than a set orbital path they now realise it is a range of spherical zones around the nucleus in which the electrons can be found and not in predictable paths. Got me curious as to what else in the world of electromagnetic's has since changed.

 

[johna.clements]

Let’s put some numbers on things. First off, the UK national debt is approximately £2,427 billion. We have a population of c67 million. That’s each an average debt of £36,200 per person in the country. Let’s take Pakistan, it’s national debt is $248 billion, with a population of 225 million, an average debt of $1,102 per person in the country. Now the average gross income in the UK is £38K (ONS 2021) so, roughly one years salary is owed in debt by everyone in the country. The average annual income in Pakistan is $7,330, which is that each person owes around 2 months salary to clear the national debt. However, the UK provided Pakistan with £14.5 billion in Official Development Aid. The UK is increasing the burden on its population at a higher rate than one of the principle country’s it provides aid to.

The indebtedness of every person in the Uk is nearly 6 times higher than a country we are providing aid to. If you were looking at to whom you would lend money to, you would say that the UK is bankrupt, and Pakistan is in a good position to raise more debt if required to sort out its problems. Let’s not forget it’s also a nuclear country.

The UK provides aid to India, China and a number of other countries, where similar calculations can be done. The reason I’m highlighting nuclear countries with space programs is because it’s a huge expense to have these.

These types of numbers and comparison are never considered when the whole issue of aid to other countries is debated.

From the UK Government

"Between 2015 and 2019 Pakistan was the largest single recipient of direct UK government-to-government bilateral aid. However, since then, overall UK aid has been cut from 0.7% of UK national income to 0.5% and aid to Pakistan has been reduced dramatically.


After experiencing the largest cut in UK aid of any single country, Pakistan fell to seventh in the table of UK recipients, with an annual budget of just less than £200 million."

https://committees.parliament.uk/co...6108/uk-aid-to-pakistan-must-be-more-focused/
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/22059/documents/163766/default/
Aid to Pakistan, a country of over 225 million. peaked at £603 million in 2016. Currently it is £200m

I do not know why you think that the entire aid budget goes to Pakistan. The total aid spending was £11500m in 2021, we are obviously not giving £14500 to Pakistan.

 

[Flynnwood]

Let’s not forget then the 1st and 2nd world war, Korea, Vietnam, Falkland Isles, troubles in Ireland, Ukraine (we are pumping money into helping their as well as taking refugees), why London is the capital and wealth isn’t distributed evenly across the UK. We are all in some way living with the effects of something. The UK is owed by all ( we fought in all) of them and either people are still alive and living with the consequences, or their children’s lives were / are directly affected. Which in some cases will affect generations.

We were all still paying for WW2 until the 80’s,

UK WW2 final payoff to USA loan was in 2006. Not that it really matters when printing money can win.
Dad was a Hurricane pilot.

 

[Jacob]

Sometimes funny reading this sort of thing from France. Half UK is delusional, other half ignorant re the channel crossings. I think the UK media is as guilty as the politicians for that. Not once have I seen any UK stats or opinion that matches the reality visible from the window.

The bigger issue; climate change is being ignored on every front.
It's already a major influence, individual stories may differ but environmental degradation is happening worldwide.
Migration is the natural reaction when things get too severe.
Migration is not the problem; it is the solution.
Are we just seeing the beginning?
The century of climate migration: why we need to plan for the great upheaval

 

[deema]

From the UK Government

"Between 2015 and 2019 Pakistan was the largest single recipient of direct UK government-to-government bilateral aid. However, since then, overall UK aid has been cut from 0.7% of UK national income to 0.5% and aid to Pakistan has been reduced dramatically.


After experiencing the largest cut in UK aid of any single country, Pakistan fell to seventh in the table of UK recipients, with an annual budget of just less than £200 million."

https://committees.parliament.uk/co...6108/uk-aid-to-pakistan-must-be-more-focused/
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/22059/documents/163766/default/
Aid to Pakistan, a country of over 225 million. peaked at £603 million in 2016. Currently it is £200m

I do not know why you think that the entire aid budget goes to Pakistan. The total aid spending was £11500m in 2021, we are obviously not giving £14500 to Pakistan.

Thank you, my bad, out the wrong number in.

 

[John Brown]

Average is just that, average or mean, mode is most frequent and medium is in the Centre.

India is a democratic country, the inequality is perpetuated by whom they vote in. It’s a choice on what they do with their resources.

I am well aware of the definitions. Average can, and is used for all of those, although more commonly for the arithmetic mean.
But when Liz Truss kept saying that the average fuel bill would be capped at £x, which "average" was she thinking of?
And you must have heard people say;" you know how stupid the average person is? Well half of the people are more stupid than that." According to my back of the envelope figuring, that's not true for the arithmetic mean.