Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Snige I think living in a democracy is very important. I respect your decisions to only use 10 litres of fuel a week. However, it feels to me like the media/even financial institutions are trying to brainwash (yes brainwash) millions of people into feeling guilty over doing what they enjoy. If I enjoy driving a Ferrari and I can source the fuel for it economically either from land I own (or land other people own who are happy for oil exploration to happen) then please don't criticise my lifestyle. I am just focusing on living the life that feels right to me ... I do not question your right to do the same.
Almost every business would benefit from a fall in fuel costs (albeit to differing extents admittedly). However, it is a lot fairer than simply targeting the banks (and their investors) over and over again.
Very good points Broomfielder. It is completely unfair to investors in banks. When other people run short of money these investors are always the ones targeted (same in 2008). You make a very good point that others should be asked to fund any shortfalls. A good start would be reducing tax on diesel/petrol in the UK to the same level as in the USA. This would reduce the price per litre to about 55 pence. This is a contribution the government could make using the money they took from investors during the 2008 meltdown.
Biggest recession ever isn't going to happen in my opinion. It is not in the interests of 85% of the population. Ergo instead of the biggest recession ever I predict a fracturing of society as each company decides to do what is in their own best economic interest. That is why government will just have to accept fossil fuels are here to stay in large volumes until at least 2040. It will take decades to slowly wean the economy off them in a way that is acceptable to the majority of voting/hardworking citizens. And if governments try and do it in a way that is not acceptable then like I said I think society will fracture and different groups will just do whatever is best for them (such as importing coal from open seam mines in Indonesia). You can't blame the citizens...it is a completely failure of national energy policy in the UK since about 2003. Over that time people have been getting energy poorer not energy richer. Energy (along with clean water) is one of the absolute fundamentals for any business. And the UK has been a business led economy since the 17th century so I would be very surprised if the majority of people in the UK would cut off their noses to spite their faces.
Basically people are trying to carry on because the economy evolved as it makes life so much better and that is why no one really wants to give it up.
Ergo because people are trying to carry on the best they can then there are all sorts of conflicting pieces of advice out there - which is only to be expected. In WW II your government were telling you that your army had won a battle when in fact they had lost or perhaps had even been routed and nearly all killed.
Anyway, flu comes back every year because our immunity to it doesn't last. If the same is true of corona then outbreaks will flare up from time-to-time. Most older people are vaccinated against the flu and yet every winter millions of people get the flu and tens of thousands die of it.
In short people are going to try and carry on the best that they can because that is the sort of mentality which led to quite a rich and affluent society to begin with.
Governments need to focus on keeping people both healthy and also doing well economically. If they focus too much on green issues or pandering to small niches of wealthy people then they will either be voted out or there will be a fragmentation of society as every group decides to look after their own economic interests because everyone knows fossil fuels are still the best form of energy (cheapest, most user friendly and easy to transport, highest energy content per litre - except for nuclear which is very dangerous).
That is just how I am seeing things. Governments can't ignore the lessons of history. We must try and keep society (or the vast majority) getting economically richer. We can't afford to worry about drowning a few island which have very small populations which can easily resettle elsewhere. These people are not more important than the millions of ordinary citizens who have worked hard everyday so that they can enjoy a comfortable standard of living.
I agree only if - it is people hoarding cash (whether it be cash, gold, or digital currencies) that is disrupting the global economy. Wayne Rooney needs to go out and spend £3 million treating all his friends to luxury hotels and experiences. The people who are trying to create businesses are judged by the banks on whether people are willing to pay them money. If people hoard money then the banks just assume that people with good ideas are actually having bad ideas (as they only language they understand is money). Hence if people don't spend money you can see that it will completely distort the information bankers receive about what people value and lead them to make decisions which others would see as very off (but the bankers are thinking it is very off that person A desires experience Z and person A has £150,000 in cash, and saving bonds, and yet person A is only willing to pay £50 for experience Z when the person who has created experience Z needs at least £300 per customer/client/guest just to break even.
So yes, anyone with huge amounts of cash, bonds, or digital currencies - decide what you value in life - what do you want to see more of - and go out and start spending money on these products/people/businesses. Banks are assuming you are voting for what you like with your cash - so you better get voting with your cash as the banks are going to assume if you don't that they may as well close these businesses down as people aren't enjoying the products/services which they offer.
Rubbish. Utter rubbish. The banks are not a free market force. The economy need to be torn to pieces and re-made on a decentralised basis. Then we will see what footballers are really worth - probably no more than a tiler, a plumber, or a helicopter pilot.
It also shows this isn't really about the virus at all, but is an excuse for another financial crisis. These are the seeds of mis-government which have led to civil unrest in the past. The one thing successful governments must never do is to prevent citizens from becoming richer through their own hardwork and industry. If you remove the incentive of working to create a better lifestyle then society collapses.
The banks have well and truly mucked up millions of people's lives and the economy in general. If you work for a bank you have a huge mess to sort out and a lot of people you owe a huge debt to.
The banks have well and truly mucked up millions of people's lives and the economy in general. If you work for a bank you have a huge mess to sort out and a lot of people you owe a huge debt to.
The banks have well and truly mucked up millions of people's lives and the economy in general. If you work for a bank you have a huge mess to sort out and a lot of people you owe a huge debt to.
The banks ought to be telling the government what to do - not the other way around. Look at the calibre of the people in each institution. Far more intelligent in the banks on average. Ergo government ought to take its orders from the banks - the people who understand the global economy. That's unless you all want to be poor. I suppose you are mentally poor already to accept living in an economy in which the Prime Minister is paid 1% of what a footballer earns. That is lunatic economics right there. Whoever accepted that state of affairs in their world/life (without protesting about it) is utterly crazy. You ought not to attempt to run a centralised economy without paying the people who make important economic judgements the most money. Not that it matters as much as deciding which economic model to use (capitalist, communist, or in-between/hybrid) - personally I have always argued for a de-centralised economy in which we trust people to help each other and do the right thing by one another.
However, the centralised economy that currently exists in the UK is pure economic lunacy, as can be seen by the fact the person who makes judgements/decisions affecting the fabric of society (the Prime Minister) is paid 1% of someone who kicks a polymeric/plastic/rubberised object around a field (a footballer).
You can not run a centralised economy without paying the people who make the most important judgements the most money. Not that it matters as I have always argued for a de-centralised economy. However, the centralised economy that has been created (far too over-centralised I would argue) is pure economic lunacy. Just one example will prove this beyond reasonable doubt. The person who makes the most important judgements about health and social care (the Prime Minister) is paid just 1% of the salary of someone who kicks a round object about a field (a footballer). Now if I was the cleverest economist with the best judgement what job would I end up doing. I would try and become a footballer rather than the Prime Minister. Ergo we end up with depressed economists who are failed footballers and jacked-up gob****es as the Prime Minister because nobody else wants a job that only pays £150,000 per year. If I had any brains I could go to silicon valley and earn £450,000 as a programmer. So who would want to be PM?
The banks ought to be telling the government what to do - not the other way around. Look at the calibre of the people in each institution. Far more intelligent in the banks on average. Ergo government ought to take its orders from the banks - the people who understand the global economy. That's unless you all want to be poor. I suppose you are mentally poor already to accept living in an economy where the Prime Minister is paid 1% of what a top footballer earns. That is lunatic economics right there. Whoever accepted that in their world is a utterly crazy. You can not run a centralised economy without paying the people who make important judgements the most money. Not that it matters as I have always argued for a de-centralised economy. But just saying that the centralised economy that has been created is pure economic lunacy as can be seen by the fact the person who make important decisions (the Prime Minister) is paid of 1% of what someone who kicks a round object around a field earns (a footballer).
The money grows by good decisions/judgment. The oil and has around the Falkland Isles ought to have been developed as it economically attractive. That is where the money comes from - from good economic decisions. The investors in Premier Oil and Rockhopper should be rewarded with whopping great payouts as they made excellent economic decisions about which projects had excellent economic returns. Sadly investing in Barclays shows no real judgement at all. You make your money in the market by picking companies that have the biggest and best projects (the most economically attractive). Or at least that is how it ought to work. But then the Banksters became too powerful and lost all humility and willingness to take the ideas of stock-pickers with years of experience into account. Hence viable oil projects (such as the Falklands were shelved) and the result is a current economic crisis (ten years in the making) due to the high price of petrol in the UK which has been too high for a decade (but nobody seemed to want to listen to the people making that point).
The money grows by good decisions/judgment. The oil and gas around the Falkland Islands ought to have been developed as it economically attractive. That is where the money comes from - from good economic decisions. The investors in Premier Oil and Rockhopper should be rewarded with whopping great payouts as they made excellent economic decisions about which projects had excellent economic returns. Sadly investing in Barclays shows no real judgement at all. You make your money in the market by picking companies that have the biggest and best projects (the most economically attractive). Or at least that is how it ought to work. But then the Banksters became too powerful and lost all humility and willingness to take the ideas of stock-pickers with years of experience into account. Hence viable oil projects (such as the Falklands were shelved) and the result is a current economic crisis (ten years in the making) due to the high price of petrol in the UK (which has been too high for a decade) -but nobody seemed to want to listen to the people making that point.
The money grows by good decisions/judgment. The oil and has around the Falkland Isles ought to have been developed as it economically attractive. That is where the money comes from - from good economic decisions. The investors in Premier Oil and Rockhopper should be rewarded with whopping great payouts as they made excellent economic decisions about which projects had excellent economic returns. Sadly investing in Barclays shows no real judgement at all. You make your money in the market by picking companies that have the biggest and best projects (the most economically attractive). Or at least that is how it ought to work. But then the Banksters became too powerful and lost all humility and willingness to take the ideas of stock-pickers with years of experience into account. Hence viable oil projects (such as the Falklands were shelved) and the result is a current economic crisis (ten years in the making) due to the high price of petrol in the UK which has been too high for a decade (but nobody seemed to want to listen to the people making that point).
The coming oil supply cuts (and the resultant rise in the oil price) is going to create a global economic disaster. Just sayin'. I don't like to say I told you so. But I did tell you all 8 years ago to get on with developing the Falkland Isles oil ASAP. There are also 100 Trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves that are easily deliverable on a commercial basis within the Falkland Islands' basin. Instead you want to waste time and money on mining lithium for the white elephant which are electric cars. One of the biggest policy mistakes in human/economic history.
The coming oil supply cuts (and the resultant rise in the oil price) is going to create a global economic disaster. Just sayin'. I don't like to say I told you so. But I did tell you all 8 years ago to get on with developing the Falkland Isles oil asap. You are a bunch of selfish muppets.