[Closed] Osborne. How useless is he, then?

[i]January's finances are often in surplus because of a spike in tax receipts.[/i]

So nothing he's done then, really.

I think that's the bit the BBC sticks in for "balance"... 😉

How useless - very. Worst chancellor I can remember. clueless and thick

How useless - very. Worst chancellor I can remember. clueless and thick

no room for grey in your life eh, TJ? 🙂

How useless - very. Worst [s]chancellor[/s] government I can remember. clueless and thick

Edit that might be a teeny weeny bit harsh, I can remember Thatcher 🙁

Major was grey and dull. Obsbourne is not

I blame Sharon

Imagine a Chancellor making a decent fist of balancing the books.

How about Baron Lamont of Lerwick? Seen here with his Special Adviser, who clearly learnt a thing or two

[img] [/img]

mcboo - Member
Imagine a Chancellor making a decent fist of balancing the books.

I know! Appalling, isn't it?

Doesn't he know he needs to get called an "Iron" chancellor or something and just stand there looking smug?

I think you'll find he did a bit more than just stand there looking smug actually Woppit!

He [s]bankrupted the country[/s] ended boom and bust, then saved the world

mcboo - Member

Imagine a Chancellor making a decent fist of balancing the books.

Mind you I had forgotton Lamont. Probably worse but we have yet to see the full stupidity of Osbourne come to fruition.

Mind you he has played a blinder so far. He claims Labours quantitative easing is wrong so he put the brakes on the economy big style - now a complete u turn and pumping money into the economy.

now a complete u turn and pumping money into the economy.

Or not. As the case may be. The last round of quantitative easing went straight down the ever-open gullet of the banks, and never re-emerged. Not one bit of it made it into 'the economy'. Its sat in vaults, balancing overstretched over-leveraged balance sheets. Oh... actually.... some of it got skimmed off in bonuses

I doubt the next lot will fare any differently

The banks bankrupted the country [s]ended boom and bust,[/s] then he [s]saved[/s] organised a bailout model that the world copied and admired. 😉

How useless - very. Worst chancellor I can remember. clueless and thick

So a man who has succeeded in becoming an Oxford graduate who won a dean rusk scholarship to study at Davdison (in the top ten of us colleges), and has managed to get himself elected to arguably the 2nd highest office in the land, is thick in the eyes of a bloke who has so far only managed to succeed at being a big [s]s[/s]hitter on here.

We will see how history plays this one out.

Worst chancellor I can remember. clueless and thick

Forgot about that bloke.... what was his name? You know the one that sold gold at its lowest price and er left the country in £4trillion debt? Flash Gordon, Gordon the gopher or something?

Toys - there's different kinds of clever.

Plus I reckon TJ has done more good for the world.

The government are returning us to 100 years ago when the rich got richer - and the general public got poorer - all our business and industry is owned by other countries - low and behold they have been concerned that manufacturing was down - given Thatcher destroyed manufacturing we dont have any manufacturing - it seems the only people making any money is the banks and their executives -but! they have had a 40% cut in their bonus!!!

when you have a government who are all millionaires how on earth are they going to understand ?? there is also an arrogance - NHS everyone says its wrong - but they continue to push it!
Here in Somerset they are selling off the parts of the Quantocks even though many people have signed a petition(s) saying dont do it - yet the Tory Chair Ken maddock still takes £34000 expenses and they are still continueing with the disasterous 'SouthWest One' privatisation that is costing millions.
Children in a sweet shop is an analogy - there is money, we dont need all the cuts they just decide to spend it on what they want so the 'Quick Buck Boys' can move in - we will soon be 'doffing our caps' to them - and dont even get me started on the Queens Jubilee...... Olympics etc......
I sound like Mr Angry!!!

If we put TJ and Osborne head to head I reckon the only things TJ could do better is wiping bums and be more irritating.

molgrips - Member
Toys - there's different kinds of clever.

Really? If there is a choice can my kids have the kind that George Osborne has please?

What TJ says is generally true and supportive of the many 'working' people out there - Keep it up TJ!

Up the Workers!

(Teej has a fan)

Toys - I bet I'm better on a mountainbike.

You really think he is there on merit?

[img] [/img]

given Thatcher destroyed manufacturing

Contentious. If your dog is terminally ill and the vet puts it down, do you blame the vet for your dog's death?

Note I am not a Thatcherite or a Tory, this is an academic question.

I'm struggleing to understand the angry bile being spouted here. Why is he useless for generating a surplus? How else do you expect our enourmous debts to be paid off?

Pure ignorance too say the least?

Yes I used to have a chip on my shoulder about rich young toffs but I grew out of it, worked my ass off and beat them at their own game. What did you do TJ?

double dip george?

hes a genius

funnily enough by destroying public services hes managed to save money

have another line of coke with your prostitute friend mr O

[img] [/img]

mcboo - Member

Yes I used to have a chip on my shoulder about rich young toffs but I grew out of it, worked my ass off and beat them at their own game. What did you do TJ?

I have spent my life looking after the old, the frail, the vulnerable. Making the world a better place in small ways.

Teej, by posting that picture you have committed a logical fallacy already showing that not only Osborne is smarter than you, but I am too. 😆

I'll let you work out what it is.

Meanwhile consider this:
Oxford being either the best or 2nd best uni in the country depending on your opinion, surely it's likely to produce the highest flyers? Is it not likely that those types will be attracted to each other at uni right? How else do you imagine people are selected for political office?

Was Brown selected because he was the best man for the job, or because he did a deal with Tony in a restaurant. Sounds like the same thing to me..

Frodo - Member

I'm struggleing to understand the angry bile being spouted here. Why is he useless for generating a surplus? How else do you expect our enourmous debts to be paid off?

Pure ignorance too say the least?

How about making the rich pay their fair share of taxes - like in countries such as Germany and France? How about clamping down on tax avoidance. How about stimulating growth?

A lot of individuals on self-assessment make their return for 2010-2011 and pay final instalment of their tax. Also get VAT from the pre-Christmas period coming in, and January is one of the months that most big companies make their third quarterly instalment payment of corporation tax for 2011. Chuck all tha together and you get a spike in government income. Government expenditures will be fairly even throughout year - so income up and expenditure flat = monthly surplus. Simple.

How exactly does a one-month surplus make Osborne the worst chancellor ever?

How is that relevent to generating a surplus ...?

You've conveniently forgotten some of the current governments moves already made to restrict tax avoidance, increase the personel allowance etc.

Would anyone else have done a better job in the situation?

Oxford being either the best or 2nd best uni in the country depending on your opinion, surely it's likely to produce the highest flyers?

Should our political parties not be made up of representatives, not 'high fliers'?

And since when is going to Oxbridge an indication of intelligence?

I'd rather have our cabinet ministers well educated and intelligent rather than scrapeing the barrel of humanity!

Anyone can become an MP you can see that from the rank and file but I'd rather ministers were the pick of the crop.

Should our political parties not be made up of representatives, not 'high fliers'?

And since when is going to Oxbridge an indication of intelligence?

Well consider this. The sun is arguably the most widely read newspaper in the uk (2.7m copies sold daily), it could be seen as a baromter of public opinion (or a measure of the public's ability to form an opinion) imagine what our country would be like if our democracy reflected this?

I like elitism.

TJ re fair taxes. I don't remember labour doing much to make taxes fairer do you?

edit: frodo beat me to it.

double dip george?

hes a genius

funnily enough by destroying public services hes managed to save money

have another line of coke with your prostitute friend mr O

You're using pictures from David Icke's site?

Seriously?

I'm still waiting on the lizards to erupt from Arran or whatever other nonsense he suggested.

Why do you keep harking on about Labour? I thought it was Osbourne under discussion.

Under labour - decreased child poverty, unprecedented long period of growth and low inflation, huge investment and improvement in public services. All now being reversed. Poverty increasing, waiting lists increasing, inflation up, growth down

it could be seen as a baromter of public opinion

Or it could be seen as a vehicle for one bloke's political ideas, using people's inertia and brand loyalty to manipulate them.. just sayin.

This thread merely confirms pre-determined prejudices and leads to a tired and pointless debate. No need to personalise the debate around Osborne or individual posters surely? And the Bullingdon Club, c'mon that was tired and cliched years ago!!

So some good news - fine. But like bad news how much of it actually down to one individual - Osborne? A very, very small percentage, if any. So yes, he may take credit to this tiny extent in the same way that he should take the appropriate level of blame if the opposite would happened.

But really this specific news (which may be revised at a later date) is about the local authorities who reduced borrowing, the corporations who did well enough to pay more corporation tax, the individuals who "created' more VAT revenues far more than any individual politician.*

Toys - you did forget to mention St Pauls School - the home of intellectually challenged individuals!

(edit * p.s. and interesting given past debates here, the fact that, according to FT, income tax receipts held up despite fears that the 50p tax rate would lead to either higher levels of avoidance and/or falling receipts.)

All now being reversed. Poverty increasing, waiting lists increasing, inflation up, growth down

Because labour spent all the money, it was a false promise, unsustainable spending , they knew damn well the tories would be left to pick up the pieces and be blamed.

Or it could be seen as a vehicle for one bloke's political ideas, using people's inertia and brand loyalty to manipulate them.. just sayin.

Which is why I said

(or a measure of the public's ability to form an opinion)

the bullingdon club photos remain as pertinent as ever as it shows in a simple and straightforward way the way these people get their positions by patronage and privilege

Because labour spent all the money, it was a false promise, unsustainable spending , they knew damn well the tories would be left to pick up the pieces and be blamed.

perfectly sustainable. Other countries manage it and more.

are you selectively quoting me to twist my words

I'm not like that 🙂

or did you just not spot my acknowledgement of exactly the same point you made?

I'm more like that.

Other countries manage it and more.

I think they tax more. I think that their electorate is happier with higher headline tax rates.

OK OK....before TJ goes off on one and rants himself into a lather.

Hijack

Who is the poshest on STW?