Is Dave mad ?

[Pierre ZFP]

I hear that Steve Jobs wants to buy it.

He's going to call it iLand  [:P]

[Iceni]

[quote user="sweet 17"]Like I said earlier, why don't we give each Irish person a quarter of a million each and they can spend some of that buying British goods?  Still less than 7 billion?[/quote]

So where will they find these "British" goods, I thought that everything was made by pre-pubescent children in China, S America etc (except those made in Leicester of course) ?

They could be forced to buy derivatives and similar financial instruments from UK nationalised banks. [:D]

John

 

[just john]

[quote user="Iceni"] So where will they find these "British" goods, [/quote]

They could buy their own cheddar . . .

[just john]

[quote user="Iceni"] So where will they find these "British" goods, [/quote]

They could buy their own cheddar . . .

[quote user=" "] 

UK’s biggest trading partner:

16% of all Irish exports are bought by the U K, €13.5 billion in 2009

British exports to Ireland are 3 times British exports to China and 5 times the exports to India

Trade with Ireland exceeds total U K trade with Brazil, Russia, India and China

Every man, woman and child in Ireland spends an average of £3,607 per year on British goods,
one of the highest per capita spends on British products in the world

Last year, British food and drink exports to Ireland totalled over £2.4 billion,
keeping it comfortably in the number one position as the world’s greatest importer of British food and drink

Ireland is also the world’s largest importer of U K fashion and textiles.
In 2009, British fashion and textile exports to Ireland totalled nearly £1.2 billion

There are 43,000 Irish directors of UK companies

http://britishembassyinireland.fco.gov.uk/en/news/press-archive/270-UKTI-press

[/quote]

[Gardengirl]

A chap on the radio today was saying that their lingerie exports to Ireland were excellent, so he was very pleased we're offering a loan to Ireland! Who says we aren't into manufacturing any more? Oh, maybe they're produced in sweat shops somewhere - presumably they'd have to have lots of talc and white gloves around!  [:)]

[baypond]

[quote user="sweet 17"]See, Baypond, I'd never have made a banker, like you?[:D][/quote]

Maybe sweet, but that is not necessarily a bad thing is it?

[Rob Roy]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

What I want to know is this:  if there are just over 4 million people in Ireland, wouldn't it be cheaper to give them all say a couple of hundred grand each rather than paying the "country" billions?

And, don't forget, they weren't on the side of the Brits in the last war.  Yes, I know I shouldn't mention the war, but it's a matter of being unable to choose your own neighbours, I suppose.[:'(]

[/quote]

Ireland were officially neutral during WWII, but many thousands of Irishmen were killed as they joined up and fought in British Regiments. My own first cousin died in the Paras drop at Arnheim.

[mint]

RR, I am truly sorry about your cousin.  One reason I hate wars is that there are so many casualties and not all are about the death of people caught up in them (like your cousin).

But, being neutral or sitting on the fence, is not so difficult.  It's nailing your colour to the mast that is either foolhardy or brave, depending on your perspective.

Baypond, your remark is spot on:  I'd have made a rotten banker![:D] 

[PaulT]

[quote user="Quillan"]

What I find outstanding is why the Irish never saw this coming as it was apparent from about 10 years ago.

The Irish were given a massive grant from the EU to rebuild, modernise and enlarge their infrastructure (roads, airports, railways, schools, hospitals etc). If people can remember that far back there were amusing stories how 'Paddies' working on the UK roads were being enticed back to Ireland by big money as they (Ireland) did not have enough skilled workers. There were comments about how bad this would be for the UK, road works etc would take longer if these people went back.

So they went home, big bucks were made, new roads were built etc, etc. The people benefited from an unparalleled rise in wealth, house prices increased (remember the one bedroom council flat in Dublin going for 1.5M Euros a few years back). People bought new cars, new TV's, new everything for they were rich and the money just kept rolling in.

The problem then started, the projects finished (there is only so much new road you can build etc), people had no work, they were unemployed. It didn't all happen over night either but over a period of the last three years or so. Ireland became very expensive (have a look on Ebay Ireland at the prices things go for) and the companies like Dell, HP and co couldn't afford to pay the high wages the staff demanded to manufacture, even Amazon moved it's warehouse out.

What the Irish should have done is carry out this work over a longer period of time, not paid such high wages, made sure there was a backup plan, look to see what could go wrong etc, etc. In fact there are loads of things they could have done to either avoid for reduce the effects but unfortunately they went at it like a bull in a china shop and now they are having to suffer the consequences dragging us all in with them.

By the way don't blame 'Dave', this would have happened and the UK would still have to do this, it's just that it happened on Dave's watch not Brown's and of course sh*t like buses always comes at once just when you don't want it.

[/quote]

This will now sound like a promotion for either dictatorships or communist style ruling............

Is there not a problem with the way democratic countries operate. They elect a crowd in to government for a period of x years and during those years they try to make it so good for people that they get elected for another x years. Eventually, the cost of making it so good comes and bites them on the bum. So another crowd get elected in to government, they blame the previous lot for the state of the country, take harsh measures and then towards the end of their tenure give out 'sweets to the children', get relected, the sweets come to bite them on their bum and the original crowd get back in, blame the previous lot and the cycle repeats itself.

Paul

[Quillan]

Very true Paul thats why you can't, in fairness, blame just the Labour party for the £4.8 trillion debt the UK is saddled with. Just a simple calculation shows the debt has been increaseing year after year over many governments. The thing is these governments try and hide the total debt by just telling people about the money they borrowed last year and that next year it will be less, they never talk about the actual total debt. Lets not forget either that the government does not have any money, it never has and it never will, it's our money, the money they collect in tax's from us that they are spending. Bit like me buying a new house, car, go on an expensive holiday etc and put it all on your credit card. You would go berserk and quite rightly so but until all people in general wake up and understand this it will simply carry on.