Is it me??

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

I know there probably isn't a simple answer to this, but I'm going to ask anyways

What cures negative interest rates? Is it inflation? Deflation? Recession? What?

Whenever this covid thing finishes, theres going to be some hangover. The exchequer will have run up some debt. Other then construction I dont know anyones who's got a pay rise in the last year and some amount of people out of work. Scary times indeed.

amacca wrote: »

Uneducated opinion but I think what cures this situation is a collapse and people having to deal with reality.

Devaluing currencies has been carried out since they were created. Always ends badly with the poor and middle classes hardest hit. It can only end when either confidence is lost in the ability of the currency to hold value and runaway inflation forces the hard decisions to be made.

Ultimately what unnaturally low interest rates have done is remove the competition for money in the economy that forces a balance between wealth generation and things that dont actually really generate wealth. It will take an extended amount of time for that to correct itself but the alternative is a highly manipulated digital currency that will distort things even further from a natural balance

yosemitesam1 wrote: »

Devaluing currencies has been carried out since they were created. Always ends badly with the poor and middle classes hardest hit. It can only end when either confidence is lost in the ability of the currency to hold value and runaway inflation forces the hard decisions to be made.

Ultimately what unnaturally low interest rates have done is remove the competition for money in the economy that forces a balance between wealth generation and things that dont actually really generate wealth. It will take an extended amount of time for that to correct itself but the alternative is a highly manipulated digital currency that will distort things even further from a natural balance

Weimar style eh

We're told it's different this time though because everyone is at it

I think there might be some truth in that given the US pumping dollars out backed by nothing (but it is a reserve currency)

The EU effectively doing the same by buying up govt bond (debt) not to mention 0% interest rates

The Chinese have skin in the game owning countries debt and needing the US/west to buy their products/exports too

They are all more interlinked and more dependant on each other to some degree now than they were so maybe we are ultimately looking at money being worth a lot less globally on a much shorter timescale than normal but wages not catching up with asset prices so countries competitive on wage rates and debt problem reduced by inflation?

That would explain the mad fever on people to buy things.....i hope they ain't buying them with credit for their sakes however ...

Not hard to explain I think. Have relative who does the books in rural town and he says many small businesses in the town will be well down on turnover for 2020. But he also does books for farmers in the area and says they are all well up in terms of turnover for 2020. One of the sectors that has been protected from worst of Covid and has benefited from good prices etc., government doing everything to keep meat processing etc going. So basically many farmers have had a very good 2020 and have cash to spend.

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Our local Credit Union had limited deposits to something like €20,000.
They now have a sign up at the hatch saying you cannot lodge more than €500 a week.
When I asked why, the lady told me that they have so much money on deposit in the AIB, at a negative interest rate, it costs them a lot of money every month.
As a result of this they don't want any more money on their books...

On top of the fact that many rural small towns have lost bank branches with Ulster Bank and now Bank of Ireland pulling the plug.

Thats the price we pay for Instant gratification, we want it made, we want it now and we want it delivered to the door. People want there houses now finished to a very high standard and are not shy of complaining and can get very upset if things aren't right for them, god knows they didn't spend 2 years sitting on deck chairs on a concrete floor in a sitting room trying to put a few Bob together to buy a bit of carpet and a suite of furniture. I can still remember the grandfather making a chair for him self out of a piece of wood hand carving it and suganing it. No sleeping or depression tablets needed back than. Might be time we got back to milling our own timber shouldn't be that hard to make up one for back of tractor if a lad put his mind to it and have enough cop on not to cut the fingers off himself.

kerryjack wrote: »

Thats the price we pay for Instant gratification, we want it made, we want it now and we want it delivered to the door. People want there houses now finished to a very high standard and are not shy of complaining and can get very upset if things aren't right for them, god knows they didn't spend 2 years sitting on deck chairs on a concrete floor in a sitting room trying to put a few Bob together to buy a bit of carpet and a suite of furniture. I can still remember the grandfather making a chair for him self out of a piece of wood hand carving it and suganing it. No sleeping or depression tablets needed back than. Might be time we got back to milling our own timber shouldn't be that hard to make up one for back of tractor if a lad put his mind to it and have enough cop on not to cut the fingers off himself.

Jayus I take it your not married, if I went milling furniture and go suganing whatever, it wouldn't be left in the yard

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Young guy across the road here, ordered a skip and had it full when his father in law had a look tru it. A perfectly good aluminium ladder thrown away.
He brought me in to show me the ladder. He threw it out because it had paint splatters on it. The look of bewilderment on the father in law was priceless.

That's revolting ....perfectly good ladder, with a bit of patina to add to it's authenticity.

I'd nearly have yer man shot for throwing something like that out but I'd definitely secretly hope he ends up needing a ladder at some time in the future with no money to buy one.

Stuff like that is a crime to me.

Neighbour works in a dump in Tralee and lands with some great stuff every so often. All sorts of tools, chains, brand new slings and ratchet straps, shovels, yard brushes. Great car to see coming. Unbelievable how it ends up in there.

timple23 wrote: »

Its a disgrace that we have to put up with so much scrutiny from environmentalist, when companies are getting away with blue murder with planned obsolescence.

I'd agree, I don't mind the scrutiny, if there's a problem let's fix it but planned obsolescence has to be one of the biggest environmental problem and it'll take them a long time to get around to that because far too many business modela rely heavily on it. It's frustrating when they focus on the cobwebs in the corner of the room and ignore the giant elephants sitting down on the sofa watching television and eating all the good biscuits.

I tell people just get the kids clothes when their getting presents. People will go for chape Chinese doll houses etc that fall apart after 3 days and are fecked Into the bin

farawaygrass wrote: »

Stop the amount of crap bought as presents for our kids is sinful. There is even way too much good quality stuff bought. They hardly play with 1/4 of it. Every present they get now for Christmas or birthday is as good as a main present. We pled every year with relations to cut back but it’s worse it’s getting. I know there is a hell of a lot worse complaints to have too but I can’t help but think of the poor kids that are less fortunate

See it here with the 2 smallies. Best craic they have had over the past few weeks was in the garden playing with water in containers, worms and bugs, and finally a blanket thrown from the couch to a side table. Now it's there den and the cushions from the couch are gone into it. Kids want to use their imagination and want to have fun. Dread Christmas with the amount of stuff that comes in

Jjameson wrote: »

Who do we owe this money to? Will they live long enough to recoup it? And can we kill the bastard!?

We might get two birds with the one stone as well.....
....he /she is probably investing heavily in plant based heavily manufacturing food ie vegan

Green farmer wrote: »

Loved it when my kids were smaller. A bulky present would come into the house and the kids would get more fun playing with the cardboard box which housed the present as opposed to the present itself.

This!
Almost every time - the box would become a house or a fort or a bus or a tunnel

Another thing the kids here knock savage craic out of is chalk on the tar outside. They draw towns and houses and the like and have savage craic going to the shop or robbing the bank or the likes

Deleted User wrote: »

What ever entities buy our bonds a lot of the time the ecb I think.

The last year has been mad, money out of fresh air yet we can't sort homelessness and housing.

Just tells you what money really is, a mechanism of controlling the masses.

I read somewhere that more US dollars have been printed in the last few years than in all of the history of the currency, that is an incredible fact ( if true) and must lead to runaway inflation eventually.

Homelessness, or at least the visible version of it , is almost always the result of addiction or anti-social behaviour or mental health issues, and that's a very different problem to solve than just providing more housing.

Green farmer wrote: »

Same here. Simple things. A euro or two on some chalk meant loads of fun. Let them draw whatever they wanted as the rain would wash it away and they could start again next day. The only good thing about the last recession was gave us a opportunity to focus more on the simple things in life. Sometimes when things are booming things can get overlooked and it becomes keeping up with the Jones.

Keeping up with the Jones must be the most depressing way I can think of living.

wrangler wrote: »

A very sound celebrity on BBC has labelled the present generation of children as Snowflakes, so it's the way they're being reared/ spoilt

Well if its a "very sound celebrity" it must be true...:rolleyes:

I'll take parenting advice from celebs with a very large pinch of salt.

I love when this comes up, as if my generation/previous generations were some sort of hard working beacons of light, with superior morals and ethics that the current generation aren't fit to measure up to. It's laughable.

I don't envy anyone coming out of school/college these days. Jobs & careers, qualification expectancy, performance evaluation requirements, personal & social expectations & hopes; are all massively different to what previous generations had experienced.

Deleted User wrote: »

Just tells you what money really is, a mechanism of controlling the masses.

I'll have to disagree with you, the formation of loans and borrowing is what controls you, if you don't owe money you can have a relatively carefree existence,.
However most of us will borrow to buy land, house etc. A lot of the problem is not being happy with what was left to you, 30 or 40 acres in a will can turn into 80 acres or 140 acres and a big loan and a tractor needed to farm it, what our parents survived on wouldn't do us as our generation wanted more and bigger machinery.
I'm just commenting on the farming aspect of it but its across the board in every part of culture, the hippy in a mobile has often a happier life than the lad killing himself with 150 milkers and big loans or the the lad above on a roof with a 40 grand jeep, keep the banks away from your door and life simple and things often look better, in my experience anyway

wrangler wrote: »

I've a friend, older than I am, in a so called partnership with his son. Any time I'm over there and I ask where his son is, he says ''driving children'' so who's the snowflake there..... there's three generations of them there

Anytime you're over there as well, convenient. Well on that 'evidence' I'm convinced. Snowflakes the lot of them.

wrangler wrote: »

Don't you know we're all a band of liars on here, I don't care enough to bother lying on here
Actually we'll leave lying to Beef Plan

It's disingenuous. You care enough to come on and wax lyrical about "snowflakes" despite obviously no experience of what you're complaining about.

Would generalisations about farmers be as accepted by you...not a hope.

wrangler wrote: »

Not many spoilt pups in this family
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/todays-children-cant-look-after-themselves-says-tv-shepherdess-amanda-owen-xmrrpxx3l

Again, a "celebrity" with an agenda and a profile to maintain says so....

“The snowflake generation, they can’t do anything”, Owen, 46, told Radio Times. “They don’t know anything about how to look after themselves, or a work ethic — all of that has gone out of the window.”

It's patent lies by her without any backup for a sweeping generalisation, but its ok because it keeps her profile relevant and ultimately keeps money coming in.

Again, I'll take statements like that with a hefty lump of scepticism.

Stihl waters wrote: »

I'll have to disagree with you, the formation of loans and borrowing is what controls you, if you don't owe money you can have a relatively carefree existence,.
However most of us will borrow to buy land, house etc. A lot of the problem is not being happy with what was left to you, 30 or 40 acres in a will can turn into 80 acres or 140 acres and a big loan and a tractor needed to farm it, what our parents survived on wouldn't do us as our generation wanted more and bigger machinery.
I'm just commenting on the farming aspect of it but its across the board in every part of culture, the hippy in a mobile has often a happier life than the lad killing himself with 150 milkers and big loans or the the lad above on a roof with a 40 grand jeep, keep the banks away from your door and life simple and things often look better, in my experience anyway

You don't want to have an anxious disposition or prone to depression to be borrowing money.
If any thing goes wrong the banks and the loan will make it a hundred times worse

wrangler wrote: »

You don't want to have an anxious disposition or prone to depression to be borrowing money.
If any thing goes wrong the banks and the loan will make it a hundred times worse

The uncle thats done fairly well for himself over in the states told me the amount of money i borrow isnt the issue if its €10,000 or €100,000 but no matter what the amount is if youre not going to be able to sleep at night over it forget about it.