Thursday, March 05, 2009

Time to leave the country?

Ok now I'm starting to really wonder what Gordon Brown and his cronies are up to. My building society stated on their website this morning that they are reducing my ISA interest rate to 0.5% with effect of 4 days ago, great notice period I thought. Then at noon topday the 5th March the Bank of England announce that they are againcutting the interest rates to 0.5% so what now for my saving in my Isa 0.25% or nothing/no incentive to save or maybe they may charge me soon for the priviledge of being a good steward and being careful with my money not foolish like those who caused this crisis.

So what benefit do I get for being careful, living within my means, no running up ridiculous debt I could never pay. Well none it seems Mr Brown is happy to take from the careful and give to the foolish, for a vicars son he doesn't pay much attention to advice given in the gospels. I fixed my mortgage earlier in the year at a rate I knew I would be able to pay and didn't borrow more than I needed less than 3 times of the combined salary of my wife and I the fixed rate was 5.63%. So know I am losing out on two fronts my savings are not earning any interest and I am paying at least 2-3% over the going rate. I'm wondering when the stupidity will cease it was low interest rates that got the UK into this mess in the first with people borrowing more than 5 or 6 times their salary. The only people that are benefiting from this ridiculously low interest rate are those who borrowed 95 or 100% of the value of their homes that can now not remortgage and are therefore on standard variable rates those that were foolish with theior money are now being rewarded why?

This is wrong, the government seem unwilling to recognise that not only the banking system was wrong but the whole nature of a spend spend spend society the banks, the credit card companies, the retail sector and the foolish and greedy members of the british public are to blame for this mess so the Prime Minister wants to help them out instead of letting them learn from their lesson he punishes those that were careful in order to help those that were plain stupid.

Well its going to back fire there will be another RUN ON THE BANKS, I have just removed all my savings and on the way in and way out I saw many other clutching their savings books to do the same, so the money will no longer be with the banks to lend to the foolish or even the aspiring home owner who may have been meticulously saving up a deposit for their first home only to be thwarted by the Bank of England's so called economic progress. In Britian approximately two thirds save whilst a third don't so the government has disadvantaged the majority. So what will we do with the saving well not what the government hopes we are wise people we aren't going to buy new cars, t.v's or sofas, some may spend it on the house mine will go on new windows we badly need them, others with more money may buy a cheap property abroad well done Mr Brown the money has gone out of the country. What we aren't going to do is spend Britian out of the reccession, unwise spending and borrowing caused this problem in the first place and is never going to cure it. Spending will only move the problem further downstream it will catch up eventually.

So what now well after seeing the chaos unfold, I am even more closer to annoucing plans to emigrate once I finish my PhD. Canada isn't in an economic mess and even though America has partially caused this they are willing to learn from it and take appropriate action, lending to the industries that employ people but on the condition they produce greener goods an example is the american automotive industry, there is also talk of taking some of the bankers that caused this to trial not rewarding them with 700K a year pension Mr Brown. Even Europe has got some good ideas like Germany's policy to give people £2500 off new cars if the scrap an old one, giving two benefits, keeping people in work and improving emmissions for the environment. This would be far cheaper than buying all the banks, its not a game of Monopoly Mr Brown, I don't want my tax money or my wifes taxes paying some fat cat, his ridiculous pension for being a prat and allowing unscrupulous lending to people that could never pay.

On the matter of tax as well, I no longer pay now that I am doing a PhD but my wife does and as she is self employed its a bit of a pain but she paid it on time. However due to a cock up on the inland revenue's part they sent her a bill for some under paid tax quite a small amaount, it was dated the 16th feb but didn't arrived till the 4th of March with a threat that if it wasn't paid by the 28th of feb she will be charged a 5% surcharge. They refuse to remove this despite the fact that we didn't recicev the billtill a week after the date of final payment. Yet another example of the government screwing the hard working British public.