Economy & Banks

switch time!

got my £100 from first direct

also gonna get another £100 in 11 months when I switch again. and another £100 from whoever wants me then.

Truth time coming up.

Whatever salary those 7000 Barclays staff being made redundant in the UK will get in their next job, that is their real worth.
The rest of the banking sector take notice please.

Switched bank account and direct debits in Feb (hassle free switching assured).

Letter today council tax not paid April or May.

Cunts.

ftse could hit an all time high today just 30 or so points away
approx. 16 years after the last one

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/15/britain-boe-mpc-idUSL6N0O14DJ20140515

something for hippy

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-22/hookers-and-blow-how-changing-definition-gdp-officially-jumped-shark

wut?!

LOL!

Jesus! The economic system really is broken, isn't it. Happiness index anyone? How do you rate that? I'm fairly happy, I'd give myself a 8.3

something for hippy
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-22/hookers-and-blow-how-changing-definition-gdp-officially-jumped-shark

That's brilliant. Gotta love the Italians!

GDP might have been useful but if every country starts making up it's own rules then it's less useful, no?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-25/and-worst-performing-strategy-2014[](http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2014/05-overflow/20140524_funds.png)

what you should have invested in
anyone got a time machine

WTF is a Very Important Short Basket?

Bankers, pfffft

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/may/27/-sp-special-report-an-outsiders-guide-to-the-city-of-london

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/27/uk-tax-inspectors-collect-record-24-bn

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-25/and-worst-performing-strategy-2014[](http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2014/05-overflow/20140524_funds.png)

what you should have invested in
anyone got a time machine

where's Bitcoin?

p.s. I read ZH daily now, damn you dicki!

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/may/27/capitalism-critique-bank-of-england-carney

Fractional reserve banking. What are our options?

a) ban it (in favour of making money creation an instrument of the state a la Positive Money)
b) remove all government control from money creation (privatise central banks, remove deposit protection and refuse bailouts a la schlichter)
c) something else?

What would you go for and why?

Can there be more than one "right" (optimal? feasible?) option?

these guys are all over fb

http://www.positivemoney.org/

I think that there are other more important economic issues. Broadly speaking if I could make two changes it would be (1) much greater taxation of wealth and income for the purposes of greater re-distribution

Is wealth redistribution through taxation an effective mechanism, given we're all being taxed to use money by the banks who have created it?

Because 97% of the money in the UK is created by banks, someone must pay interest on nearly every pound in the UK. The bottom 90% of the UK pays more interest to banks than they ever receive from them, which results in a redistribution of income from the bottom 90% of the population to the top 10%. Collectively we pay £165m every day in interest on personal loans alone (not including mortgages), and a total of £213bn a year in interest on all our debts.

Looks as though it might counter *some *of the above inequality, but taxes would have to be very punitive for the wealthiest to cancel out this effect.

Interestingly, AAV points out that the only political party with any stated will to initiate reform of monetary system are the Greens.

I think that's great, but I'm worried that people who are scared of environmentalism will be put off the subject by the implied link?

^^^ These are all good suggestion, much of which has already been suggested by the Vickers commission. However, in a global market, introducing reforms in just one country is never going to work. Banks are multi-nationals, so unless there is consensus among all countries, or a global government regulating them, no reforms will work.

Why is positivemoney not published in any peer review journals?

As this guy says:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/29/economics-the-users-guide-ha-joon-chang-review

Economics isn't a hard science. There are just different schools of thought.

Yes, that's an interesting point.

Plenty of internet debate, of course, but who knows

Of course, I think it's accepted that banks lend money into existence, but I assume you're talking about Positive Money's proposals to change the system?

switch time!

got my £100 from first direct

also gonna get another £100 in 11 months when I switch again. and another £100 from whoever wants me then.

I applied for a first direct account after being inspired by this, just gone through. Definitely leaving after 6 months for the bonus £100. I am also keeping my Halifax account and pushing £1k in and out of it once a month to collect the £5's, lol