(Another) question for the financial boffins on here.

Off_it

If the banks have no cash in the system and are being bailed out by the government, this means that government borrowing has to increase.

But if it's not the banks, who on earth are the government borrowing from? - and mores the point, where are they getting their money from?

Curb_It

they are printing extra 50's, 20's and 10's up innit.

Salad

underneath the Bank of England is the world's largest vault and in that vault is a humungous mattress and under that mattress ....

razil

don't forget the banks do actually have assets, and the government is buying priority shares effectively. In other words I haven't a chuffing clue...

howitzer

yep banks do have assets, it's getting them to lend to eachother that's the issue

governments issue government debt (like treasury bills) which are risk free and are bought by the likes of you and me (in their pension funds etc)

MCS

us tax paying mugs i would think!

Leroy Ambrose

Yep. Increase in income tax and massive cuts in public spending over the next ten years or so. In reality, this will just mean that the working and lower middle class bear the brunt of it all (as usual) - the upper middle and rich will have accountants who squirrel their money away so that very little tax is paid, whilst the underclass (no job, no desire to work, living off the dole all their life) will continue to receive their dole money because the welfare state still hasn't had the reforms so badly needed for the last thirty years.

razil

or the gov sells their golden shares in the banks at a big profit? Not sure but I think they get dividends too.

:)

Medders

[cite]Posted By: razil[/cite]or the gov sells their golden shares in the banks at a big profit? Not sure but I think they get dividends too.

If the banks are in that much of a dire state, then there shouldn't be any dividends or bonuses...

Off_it

So, basically nobody's got a Scooby then!

MCS

mate, listen to what i said, we will pay, end of!! fact locked on ;-)

jimmymelrose

Anarchy In The UK

Listen up everybody. I now live in a small town in the Jura mountains in France. The only thing this town misses I was thinking the other day, as I looked across the valley in which it is situated, are some lovely red plastic seats, the red red robin on a tannoy etc etc. So why not simply build a new 30,000 stadium here and all you other Charlton fans can just move here too. It's perfect - there's a huge ready made valley ready to build it in. I reckon that as the only English team playing in France that we could fill it out every week - what do you all say?

Off_it

I think jimmy's been on the merlot!

Carter

Sooooo

The banks whilst making loads of money & profit off of us by charges, high interest rates and a bristling false economy do fuck all to keep the profit safe and had to be helped out by the government which we subsidise. This is so they can lend money back to us and make more money on that?

I think I'm in the wrong job

Stu_of_Kunming

razil

shame these journos can't spell, eh....

;)