Posted on 01/20/2009 11:19:15 AM PST by Golddigger3
They don't know what they're doing, do they? With every step taken by the Government as it tries frantically to prop up the British banking system, this central truth becomes ever more obvious.
Yesterday marked a new low for all involved, even by the standards of this crisis. Britons woke to news of the enormity of the fresh horrors in store. Despite all the sophistry and outdated boom-era terminology from experts, I think a far greater number of people than is imagined grasp at root what is happening here.
The country stands on the precipice. We are at risk of utter humiliation, of London becoming a Reykjavik on Thames and Britain going under. Thanks to the arrogance, hubristic strutting and serial incompetence of the Government and a group of bankers, the possibility of national bankruptcy is not unrealistic.
The political impact will be seismic; anger will rage. The haunted looks on the faces of those in supporting roles, such as the Chancellor, suggest they have worked out that a tragedy is unfolding here. Gordon Brown is engaged no longer in a standard battle for re-election; instead he is fighting to avoid going down in history disgraced completely. . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
How much ya need? Uncle Sam’s been writing a lot of checks....
“...the possibility of national bankruptcy is not unrealistic.”
And they’re not the only ones!
Gee, um....sounds like us, too, huh?
ROTFLMAO!
Fuggettaboutit!
You mean, the messiah and his cult of followers won’t be saving the Brits?? Bummer.
National bankruptcy is not something that is attributable to a single government or to a single party. It comes from an institutional and individual consumption policy supported by debts that can’t be repaid.
Sad to say that America is on the same path.
What it means is the rest of the world refuses to accept your paper currency. Oil and everything we import will dry up if the rest of the world loses confidence in our currency. SIX MONTHS AGO, the British pound sterling was valued at about $2 USD. Now it is down to $1.43 USD, or it has lost MORE THAN 25% of its value in just six months. Imagine if the USD collapses and prices to import oil, tv’s, cars, etc go up rapidly.
The ONLY thing making the USD strong is the weakness of the British economy and the EURO zone economy. Spain estimates its unemployment could hit 20% within a year if things continue as is. The banking tsunami has crushed Iceland, is crushing Ireland and now Britain. It is only a matter of time before the world loses confidence in the Dollar. If/when that happens, all bets are off. One only need to look at gold prices to see the world is running scared of ALL paper currency.
I guess we need to consider a bailout for England. Might as well include other nations while we are at it. /s
Here is an article about the pound and the possible implications for the USD $ in the year ahead. Explains better than I the danger the US currency faces if the rest of the world refuses to keep lending to us. Our politicians are totally brain dead because they ASSUME the $ will ALWAYS be the reserve currency and foreign gov’ts will always buy our gov’t bonds to finance our debt. Keep your eye on gold, the talking heads like CNBC, etc continue to diss gold as an alternative to the USD $, but gold is actually even in the last 12 months is dollar terms.
If you look at $800 gold six months ago, it cost $800 US, but it only cost 400 british pounds. Today it is about $850 US, but the same ounce costs 615 British pounds (850/1.38 $ per pound). If you lived in Britain and bought gold six months ago, you have made over 50% on your money vs 6% if you lived in USA and bought with USD$.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123258222098404279.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.