BOOM!!!! Financial Meltdown!

[dataDave]

Who do we actually owe all this money to? I don't get all this financial nonsense, what would happen if the government just refused to pay it back and we just carried on as before?

I think we owe it to Hitler.

[dataDave]

It's just one big pyramid system with plenty of people getting ****ed at the bottom, even people who have never signed up for a loan or any kind of finance - that's interest for you. You should see how some people get by in other parts of the world for a wider perspective on things.

Most corporations are worth more (and thus, more important) than most countries and the people that live within them.

..and all this talk of huge consumer debts, does anyone actually know anyone that's in massive debt? I'm talking six-figures. I did my damn best to try getting into huge debt at one point but you can only go so far under before you fist your credit rating and they stop lending you.

[EJG1980]

Who do we actually owe all this money to? I don't get all this financial nonsense, what would happen if the government just refused to pay it back and we just carried on as before?

That has always puzzled me. Surely this is money we borrow is from other countries. Yet pretty much the whole world is meant to be in a financial black hole so if everyone's finances are in such a state how is any country able to lend (or borrow) from any other country?

Every single country should just say "We won't call in any of our debts, if you don't call in any of your debts," and we'd all start from scratch again and everything would be lovely

Reminds me of the David Mitchell rant (from Mock the Week iirc) where he went on about it all just being random numbers on some computer somewhere.

[averybluemonkey]

The money is often borrowed from groups such as the World Bank. In the past when countries have said they can't deal with repayments the IMF steps in, takes over their national services, forces cuts and farms contracts out to Western corporations. Some country's have had their equivalent of the national health service torn down in this very manner.

[bwi]

prime example greece

bri

['Press Start']

Don't know if the amounts are exact but it gives a good idea of how inter country lending works. Or rather how f**ked it has become.

['Press Start']

I think we owe it to Hitler.

He owes the German Rothchilds

[Neil]

It's just one big pyramid system with plenty of people getting ****ed at the bottom, even people who have never signed up for a loan or any kind of finance - that's interest for you. You should see how some people get by in other parts of the world for a wider perspective on things.

Most corporations are worth more (and thus, more important) than most countries and the people that live within them.

..and all this talk of huge consumer debts, does anyone actually know anyone that's in massive debt? I'm talking six-figures. I did my damn best to try getting into huge debt at one point but you can only go so far under before you fist your credit rating and they stop lending you.

Dave with all due respect you waffle on.

['Press Start']

Little snippet from the IMF's recently published 'Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary stability' paper written by the Strategy, Policy and Review department of the IMF. A paper calling for a New Global currency issued by one central world bank:-

Why bancor? A global currency, bancor, issued by a global central bank (see
Supplement 1, section V) would be designed as a stable store of value that is not tied
exclusively to the conditions of any particular economy. As trade and finance continue to
grow rapidly and global integration increases, the importance of this broader perspective is
expected to continue growing.
 Nominal anchor. As a stable store of value, bancor could serve as a global nominal
anchor. The variability of traded goods prices that is currently related to exchange
rate volatility would be reduced. By not being tied as tightly as the SDR to the
conditions of a particular economy or a group of economies, bancor could provide
greater monetary stability, especially since key central banks retain monetary control
under an SDR-based system and their respective economies and currencies would be
expected to face episodic stresses and volatility (such as higher inflation or deflation).

I remember people rejecting the thought of a one world currency and now the IMF are suggesting it. Anyone warming to the idea of a one world Government yet?

[NW2013]

Impractical due to local economic differences. Then again it's worked so well in Europe.

['Press Start']

Impractical due to local economic differences. Then again it's worked so well in Europe.

Are you talking about the Bancor? world govenment or both?

[NW2013]

The single currency I was referring to, I think a world government is less unlikely. That said if there was a single unified government it could increase the stability of the currency and eradicate some differences. I think the way world relations are at the moment that it's massively unlikely still though.

Also Bancor sounds like the baddie from a Saturday morning children's cartoon.

I'm unclear whether they're proposing it as a new global reserve currency or an actual currency that you and I would use from day to day.

['Press Start']

The single currency I was referring to, I think a world government is less unlikely. That said if there was a single unified government it could increase the stability of the currency and eradicate some differences. I think the way world relations are at the moment that it's massively unlikely still though.

Also Bancor sounds like the baddie from a Saturday morning children's cartoon.

I'm unclear whether they're proposing it as a new global reserve currency or an actual currency that you and I would use from day to day.

I think they are proposing a reserve currency, which must mean America are starting to sweat as the dollar will loose value if big countries stop holding it as their reserve currency.

The Gulf states are proposing a new single currency for their transactions and some big countries have called for a global currency. I think we will see it next year, lets wait and see.

[dataDave]

[spagmasterswift]

Hungry Hippos!