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(BBC) Interesting UK November retail sales weakest since May. When will they learn to emulate Americans and spend money they don't have?   (bbc.co.uk) divider line 5
More: Interesting, Sir Philip Green, skin cares, toiletries, ready meals, IHS Global Insight, footwear, BRC, outlet store  
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82 clicks; posted to Business » on 06 Dec 2011 at 10:23 AM   |  Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook   more»   |    Get this fabulous T-Shirt and impress the methane out of your friends! shirt it!



5 Comments   (+0 »)
   
 
Arkanaut
2011-12-06 10:30:20 AM
Or at least emulate the Dutch and give people money to spend?
 
apeiron242
2011-12-06 10:41:23 AM
Subby,

Our economy runs on money we don't have. Nations with strong currencies tend to run a deficit because the accounting works in their favor... until it doesn't.

But try starting a business without borrowing. Try buying anything big, like a house, new car or education without borrowing. It's VERY difficult, near impossible. But this is also by design because it a) means you get the thing now, but you pay for it with tomorrow's inflated money and b) because debt makes people conservative (afraid).

Here's the real kicker, Subby: money IS debt. If people stop borrowing, or worse yet, paid off their debts, the debt backed currency explodes in a fire death of inflation.

We COULD get away from debt based money but each president that tried has been assassinated.
 
tillerman35
2011-12-06 01:44:33 PM
If you don't have any money, you should not buy anything. Hmmm. Sounds interesting!

Sounds Confusing!
 
Helen_Arigby
2011-12-06 06:39:03 PM
apeiron242: But try starting a business without borrowing. Try buying anything big, like a house, new car or education without borrowing. It's VERY difficult, near impossible.

I think you're confusing "go into well-considered debt in order to gain a clear, large asset, then follow a plan to pay it down" with "borrow for everything and live your entire life constantly paying close to the minimum payment".

We COULD get away from debt based money but each president that tried has been assassinated.

On this point, we're agreed. It's an intriguing coincidence, is it not?
 
brantgoose [TotalFark]
2011-12-06 07:00:04 PM
It's a lot easier to spend money you don't have when you don't have any.

Europeans are loathe to spend money they don't have because they do have it. They're up to their eyeballs in money they don't have. They just don't want the tax collectors to find out how much they don't have. You can't spend money you don't have when it means being taxed on the money you do have. In other words, it's like borrowing money from the bank, only in reverse. If you don't need the money, you're all set to borrow from a bank. But you daren't be spend thrift if you want your thrift to pass unnoticed.

Germans have to take a couple of extra weeks each year of vacation just to have the time to spend the money they don't have. An American can do it at the drop of a hat and declare bankruptcy before the hat leaves his hand.
 
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