United Kingdom V: Son of a beach

[CMcK]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/06/house-prices-will-not-fall-far-despite-lockdown-says-study

Whilst analysis says house prices will only fall by 3% but freeze in numbers till next year when they will bounce back

I don’t trust analysts but I hope they’re right. My house went up for sale the Monday before lock down kicked in. Sharing a house with your ex wasn’t a period in my life that needed extending!

[Neon Ignition]

Brilliant

https://twitter.com/i/status/1246145580402966528

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/coronavirus-spain-universal-basic-income-europe-a9449336.html

Spain is to roll out Universal Basic Income

[fishbowlhead]

Isn’t Spain always a few weeks from collapse economy wise? How they going to do that?

[Dogg Thang]

Many nations have seemingly located that elusive magic money tree that they only otherwise pull out to pay for wars or bailout banks.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Many nations have seemingly located that elusive magic money tree that they only otherwise pull out to pay for wars or bailout banks.

Truth. Also the billion they found for the DUP that time. Magic money.

[fishbowlhead]

Awesome, thats solves that great mystery then. Because i was beginning to suspect the numbers don’t add up, as usual, but im sure that isn’t the case at all, nope, everything is fine.

[Brad]

Now would be the perfect time to write off all the debts various nations have and allow every country to print enough cash to buy everything needed to cope with this crisis, including company bailouts, paying everyone's salary etc.

[prinnysquad]

Quantitative easing.

Banks do it every day. They are essentially allowed to ‘invent’ money. You know that loan they give you? They create that money out of thin air. I did not realise this until a couple of years ago.

[MartyG]

Quantitative easing.

Banks do it every day. They are essentially allowed to ‘invent’ money. You know that loan they give you? They create that money out of thin air. I did not realise this until a couple of years ago.

All money is an illusion. There may once have been a time when currency was based on real commodities (think gold/silver coins - there are no gold reserves that cover all the sterling in circulation) but the reality is currency is an abstract bubble, whose worth is based purely on faith of value rather than any concrete real value.

[prinnysquad]

Yes. Check out Positive Money for details.

[fishbowlhead]

All money is an illusion. There may once have been a time when currency was based on real commodities (think gold/silver coins - there are no gold reserves that cover all the sterling in circulation) but the reality is currency is an abstract bubble, whose worth is based purely on faith of value rather than any concrete real value.

There isn’t even the paper printed to cover all the money they invent every day, let alone a physical resource like gold anymore 🤷

[charlesr]

Yeah the way banks are allowed to loan you money they don't have but you HAVE to give it "back" to them? Always freaks me out.

[Dogg Thang]

I was on a big project a couple of years ago that was being paid in dollars and, because of world events (Trump), exchange rates were all over the place so we locked in on a fixed rate deal with the bank. Sounds simple enough but when our banker explained the process involved (which I can’t remember now but it was horrendously complex and essentially involved rich people betting on imaginary numbers), it just sounded like a total scam.

[Asura]

I was on a big project a couple of years ago that was being paid in dollars and, because of world events (Trump), exchange rates were all over the place so we locked in on a fixed rate deal with the bank. Sounds simple enough but when our banker explained the process involved (which I can’t remember now but it was horrendously complex and essentially involved rich people betting on imaginary numbers), it just sounded like a total scam.

So much of finance is. It's like has already been said; the modern economy is like mass hypnosis. It's a collective mirage that we all buy into.