Uk is bankrupt

[junior02]

It puzzels me, as we pay more taxes than almost anywere else in the world The old boys brigade(GOVERMENT) must have offshore bank account somewhere

[KeithD]

It puzzels me, as we pay more taxes than almost anywere else in the world The old boys brigade(GOVERMENT) must have offshore bank account somewhere

Zimbabwe

[junior02]

Zimbabwe

[Arthur Little]

The old boys brigade(GOVERMENT) must have offshore bank account somewhere

... Switzerland?

[Arthur Little]

On reflection, how about the Phils? ... not such a daft when you consider the loot the British Embassy in Manila must have stashed away from the extortionate fees charged for 'Settlement Visa' applications from a large chunk of South East Asia!

[nigel]

They give all the money to me cause I'm so nice..

[RickyR]

More to do with the fact that money is spent on the most ridiculous things such as 150 million on some scuplture for the olympics. In addition to overspending due to abuse of the welfare state and immigration.

[sars_notd_virus]

It puzzels me, as we pay more taxes than almost anywere else in the world The old boys brigade(GOVERMENT) must have offshore bank account somewhere

World bank?

[fred]

the best guess is that about £20 million in child benefit was coughed up by British taxpayers last year to support almost 38,000 children living in Poland.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/t...in-Poland.html


Imagine how much you poor sods will have to cough up in child benefit when Turkey joins the EU!!

[Scouse]

More to do with the fact that money is spent on the most ridiculous things such as 150 million on some scuplture for the olympics. In addition to overspending due to abuse of the welfare state and immigration.

Guess you won't be applying for your wife/girlfriend to settle in the UK then in case she abuses the system.

[laurel]

Guess you won't be applying for your wife/girlfriend to settle in the UK then in case she abuses the system.

I really dont think there is any call for a post of this tone
We are all entitled to our opinion of course , but given the nature of what kind of forum this is, that kind of reply is misguided

[RickyR]

To be honest scouse, I would never let her. I don't use the NHS and Marvie and Angel won't use NHS. My children will attend private school, and should I ever find myself on the dole, I'd rather wait on tables or sweep the streets then accept handouts from the government!

Anyway, my reference was to abuse of the welfare state, not using it when you need to!

[nigel]

MONEY?

MASSES££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££

[Scouse]

We are all entitled to our opinion of course , but given the nature of what kind of forum this is, that kind of reply is misguided

I think all of the anti immigration posts are the ones that are not just misguided but downright offensive and are using double standards. It's ok for my Filipina to come to the UK but not others appears to be the attitude.

[joebloggs]

I'd rather wait on tables or sweep the streets then accept handouts from the government!

Anyway, my reference was to abuse of the welfare state, not using it when you need to!

its not hand outs from the gov, it's tax payers money, claiming it if your entitled to it and abusing it are 2 different things

I think all of the anti immigration posts are the ones that are not just misguided but downright offensive and are using double standards. It's ok for my Filipina to come to the UK but not others appears to be the attitude.

which immigration posts are misguided ?

what i find offensive is the 2 different immigration systems this country has, and I find it offensive that a citizen of this country has to pay and doesn't have the legal right to bring their wife here, while a European living in this country does.

double standards, i don't think anyone is against others coming here to the UK if they are legally entitled to, abuse of the visa system is wide spread, 1million illegal immigrants are here many working illegally.

a fair system for all

[Arthur Little]

what i find offensive is the 2 different immigration systems this country has, and I find it offensive that a citizen of this country has to pay and doesn't have the legal right to bring their wife here, while a European living in this country does.

Me too ... !

[Sim11UK]

which immigration posts are misguided ?

what i find offensive is the 2 different immigration systems this country has, and I find it offensive that a citizen of this country has to pay and doesn't have the legal right to bring their wife here, while a European living in this country does.

double standards, i don't think anyone is against others coming here to the UK if they are legally entitled to, abuse of the visa system is wide spread, 1million illegal immigrants are here many working illegally.

a fair system for all

I agree with you totally here Joe, but I also agree with what Scouse was trying to say.

There's a lot of anti-immigration on the forum, rightly or wrongly? aimed mainly at Eastern Europeans.

But most here, are expecting to bring there wives, husbands, fiancees etc. over here.
the supposed "right" type of immigrant?

[RickyR]

My view on immigration is that for people who come to the country, work and contribute or are supported by a spouse is more then acceptable; but i reiterate that abuse of the system is completely unwelcome, and not just by immigrants, but by citizens.
The welfare state and the NHS are great systems, but abuse of them places a heavy drain on these resources.
Take the couple in the newspapers today, who have 7 children and cannot afford to work, as the government gives them 800 pounds a week. If they worked, they couldn't earn that! The problem is at government level allowing this to happen, not with people.

[joebloggs]

I agree with you totally here Joe, but I also agree with what Scouse was trying to say.

There's a lot of anti-immigration on the forum, rightly or wrongly? aimed mainly at Eastern Europeans.

But most here, are expecting to bring there wives, husbands, fiancees etc. over here.
the supposed "right" type of immigrant?

i think you should have a legal right to be with your spouse, whether that be in the UK or the Phils or whatever other country, Europeans in the UK have that right, so why don't British people have the same rights ?

that's totally different than someone who comes on a visit visa or student visa and breaks the law by 'overstaying' ( i like how people say they are an over stayer, like its something minor that they just forgot about for years - they are illegal immigrants who have abused the system and lie, making it more difficult for everyone else) many working illegally for years, i'm sure no one is supporting them on here ???

and if your talking about people on work permits or tier 1 permits, sure the country might need certain skills, but the gov knows what skills shortages there are, why dont they get colleges and unis to train British people instead of psychology degrees

as for eastern Europeans, its not just eastern Europeans its uncontrolled immigration from Europe, estimates of million illegal immigrants in the uk, 750,000 polish came to the UK, and only god knows how many people came from the Baltic states, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Albania etc and Turkey next ? and of course they will come here, because of the better standard of living, the gov has no idea about how many people came to the uk or left the uk, its

and don't forget other govs in other countries put their own citizens first before others, as a Brit you cant even own land in the phils...


i'm not anti eastern European, my parents are from the Baltic's , im' anti EU, ever expanding unelected Union who make more laws than our own british gov that effect us all

[Sim11UK]

Again I agree with you Joe & Ricky...was just looking at it from a different view point.

Presumably migrants are all lumped together, in terms of numbers per year, from wherever they come from, or for whatever reason they came here aren't they?...I don't know?

[Notavirusalso]

i'm not anti eastern European, my parents are from the Baltic's , im' anti EU, ever expanding unelected Union who make more laws than our own british gov that effect us all [/QUOTE]

Lets not blame the people that come here as I have found it easier working with some Polish than some lazy ass brits....but my wages have gone down as what i belive to be a direct result of this type of immigration .. but it is not the fault of the peolpe who come here and work legally but the goverment...I guess when the immigrants start takeing the M.P,s job and doing it at a cheaper rate then they will soon put a stop to it

[keithAngel]

The only thing that ****** me off in all this is that the UK (and other westen states) doesnt make the rules for immigrants equal to the country they come from.

Hence if your in for example the Phils with your spouse you would have the same rights of employment , investment etc as your spouse would enjoy in the uk

I think if this were adopted vast improvements would be made in the Phils and other third world countries and the playing field would be level

[fred]

Keith..That would simply mean that Filipino`s married to foreign nationals (for example) would enjoy the same rights that we enjoy here and in many other countries..Meaning none.
I doubt that that type of pressure would make any difference as most of the really tough laws here are directed by the R.P constitution.
GMA has tried to amend the constitution here for years resulting in rally after rally orchestrated by her political opponents.
Unless the European union counter this type of insular policy by other countries by the complete banning of work permits/sale of land etc etc then it will never happen..They cannot even give us equal rights among EU participating members!!
More chance of juggling salt.

[keithAngel]

Point taken Fred but if suddenly overseas remitances were threatened by reciprocal "nationalised" occupations things might move along at a jolly pace as your well aware there are plenty of ex-pats running operations here that bring value and employment but they are mostly at the mercy of rules either not being applied or brown envelopes changing hands

I allso think thats what Europe should be occupying its self with ensuring parity and rights for its citizens both within and without Europe rather than buiding useless beaurocracies

[fred]

Keith..
I agree and you are making far too much sense!!

[joebloggs]

well the uk is not doing badly as other countries, Iceland, Greece, Baltics, and against some other euro countries, infact fred maybe you missed this..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8606499.stm

maybe things are looking

[fred]

well the uk is not doing badly as other countries, Iceland, Greece, Baltics, and against some other euro countries, infact fred maybe you missed this..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8606499.stm

maybe things are looking

Joe.. I hate debt..Call me old fashioned!!
The UK public sector net debt was £848.5 billion. (or 59.9% of National GDP)
The Centre for Policy Studies argues that the real national debt is actually £1,340 billion, which is 103.5 per cent of GDP...Or was that 1.34 TRILLION??
Looking up you say?
“In an extreme situation a fiscal crisis could lead to some domestic capital flight, severe pound weakness and a sell-off in UK government bonds. The Bank of England may feel forced to hike rates to shore up confidence in monetary policy and stabilize the currency, threatening the fragile economic recovery,” they said.
Morgan Stanley said that such a chain of events could drive up yields on 10-year UK gilts by 150 basis points. This would raise borrowing costs to well over 5pc - the sort of level now confronting Greece, and far higher than costs for Italy, Mexico, or Brazil.
High-grade debt from companies such as BP, GSK, or Tesco might command a lower risk premium than UK sovereign debt, once an unthinkable state of affairs.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/e...s-in-2010.html

[joebloggs]

The Centre for Policy Studies argues that the real national debt is actually £1,340 billion, which is 103.5 per cent of GDP...Or was that 1.34 TRILLION??
Looking up you say?


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/e...s-in-2010.html

CPS fred, founded in 1974 by Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph, is an independent centre right think tank

but the telegraph link is nearly 5 months old, the one i posted about growth is only a week or so..