Mortgage rates / interest etc

[sploo]

Maybe it is time to have a referendom and ask if the people in Northern ireland want to remain British or become Irish and you have a potential solution if they want to be Irish as then it is all within the EU.

I thought the genius of the Good Friday Agreement was that it effectively covers that as part of its scenarios; namely that (for all intents and purposes) there is no border between ROI and NI, but that there will not be a united Ireland until a majority in NI votes for it. The resulting compromise is that the Nationalists and the Republicans get the illusion of a united Ireland, and the Unionists and Loyalists can feel safe that there will not actually be a unified Ireland because the population of NI will never vote for it.

Given that Brexit chucked a huge torpedo through that by requiring a border between ROI and NI I could see the suggestion of "why don't you (NI) guys fix it by just voting to decide if you want to be Irish?" might cause some... strong reactions.

 

[johna.clements]

Sorry - this is now getting a little ridiculous!

Boris Johnson was born in the USA - and therefore had USA citizenship
No country imposes citizenship to then tax people...

The USA decided that Boris Johnson who was born there whilst his parents were studying was a USA citizen.
Boris's parents are from the UK and he was three months old when they returned to the UK.
Boris was not asked if he wanted to be a US citizen when he was 18 or 21 he had no choice in the matter.
Boris had to pay the USA to stop being a citizen.

 

[deema]

The USA decided that Boris Johnson who was born there whilst his parents were studying was a USA citizen.
Boris's parents are from the UK and he was three months old when they returned to the UK.
Boris was not asked if he wanted to be a US citizen when he was 18 or 21 he had no choice in the matter.
Boris had to pay the USA to stop being a citizen.

It’s where you are born that matters not where your parents are from. Born in the USA in almost all cases means you are a US citizen. If your in the USA when your born then your subject to USA law.
https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-h-chapter-3

 

[johna.clements]

It’s where you are born that matters not where your parents are from. Born in the USA in almost all cases means you are a US citizen. If your in the USA when your born then your subject to USA law.
https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-h-chapter-3

Yes you have no choice in the matter. Other countries have different rules.

 

[baldkev]

@baldkev - is this question an annual event?

Interest rates and mortgages.....

yes, it seems so. Last time i was aiming at doing something with our house or moving, and a year later ive done nothing.... so i was tring to figure out what to do for the best. The mrs wants a bigger house, but currently, we dont really have that option ( house prices here are high and i dont want to move out of our area ) I do however promise not to ask next year because i will have been forced to jump by then and remortgage

If I weren't so lazy I'd use Photoshop to knock up an image of a car with a towbar in the shape of a menorah

I'll have to google menorah

 

[sploo]

I'll have to google menorah

I did the reverse; googled the name of that "Jewish candle thingy" (with no disrespect intended to anyone of the Jewish candle thingy faith)

 

[baldkev]

I did the reverse; googled the name of that "Jewish candle thingy" (with no disrespect intended to anyone of the Jewish candle thingy faith)

Hmmmm. Interesting towbar attachment choice.... probably more useful than a cross because you can hook more kit on it.... plus those candles would be handy in the dark.

 

[deema]

I know far too much about Towbars……..now that is a can of worms!

 

[Richard_C]

10 pages so far, my most popular thread yet..... if i start a thread on towbars we can run through everyones thoughts on religion

I have heard that in deepest East Cheam there is a tribe of caravan draggers who worship a deity called Witter. Their fundamental belief is an afterlife of fixed mortgage rates and no VAT or corporation tax.

 

[Scruples]

Thought for the day:
All modern economies are largely socialist, with massive levels of tax and public spending.
There is no alternative.
The "capitalist" state, where everything is provided by free market forces, is a childish fantasy; "Trussonomics" or the fundamentalism of the Tufton Street Taliban.
The most often repeated mantra of the right is about keeping taxes low. They keep flogging this dead horse simply because they think taxation is "unfair", rather like spoilt kids with too many sweets.
Truss pulled the covers off briefly and showed it in all its silliness. She will be remembered!
Maggy has a statue in Grantham, where should Lizzy's go?

https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicat...about UK Tax,Jun 2022, with 270 observations.Denmark 41%, Norway 35%, UK 26.5% ...

And 1% of the pupulation account for 33% of the tax revenue. Hmm...
It seems the more companies we have the more taxes the state get. Is that socialism?

 

[rwillett]

Having worked and travelled in India, the notion that Indians are lazy is farcical. I count many Indians as friend both here and India and they are very, very hard working.

India has many problems, the incredible difference between the very wealthy and the poor, a caste system that still permeates throughout the rural population, a government that is wholly inefficient, an inability to levy and collect taxes efficiently. I can’t comment on the social issues of religion and the role of women as I still don’t understand them or get my head around them. They also don’t appear to have strategic natural resources in great abundance, so they have to buy in things like oil.

If India could correct these problems, and skip the economic stages of exploitation of natural resources that the uk went though with coal and oil, they will become an economic powerhouse that will dwarf the UK.

Whilst I can’t see them challenge China or the USA, they will overtake the UK soon, they are ranked 6th for GDP, we are currently 5th but Liz has done an excellent job of trashing our economy in 44 days, so I expect that to change. 20 years from now, I’d expect to see India as 3rd for GDP, ahead of Germany, Japan and the UK.

It’s entirely possible that India will start to try and restrict immigration to us, much like various Home Secretarys are doing to India with their hateful and spiteful views. We should be very careful for what we wish for.

Anyway as we are rapidly becoming the laughing stock for Europe and the rest of the world, I’m going to head back to my research on whether my Jewish heritage allows me to claim Portuguese nationality.

Will the last right wing conservative nut case, turn the lights off when they have finished their ideologue experiments please, we can’t afford the electricity.

Thanks

Rob

 

[Jacob]

And 1% of the pupulation account for 33% of the tax revenue. Hmm...
It seems the more companies we have the more taxes the state get. Is that socialism?

Probably, but call it what you will, it's broadly redistributive, there is no alternative, this is how modern economies work

 

[johna.clements]

Having worked and travelled in India, the notion that Indians are lazy is farcical. I count many Indians as friend both here and India and they are very, very hard working.

India has many problems, the incredible difference between the very wealthy and the poor, a caste system that still permeates throughout the rural population, a government that is wholly inefficient, an inability to levy and collect taxes efficiently. I can’t comment on the social issues of religion and the role of women as I still don’t understand them or get my head around them. They also don’t appear to have strategic natural resources in great abundance, so they have to buy in things like oil.

If India could correct these problems, and skip the economic stages of exploitation of natural resources that the uk went though with coal and oil, they will become an economic powerhouse that will dwarf the UK.

Whilst I can’t see them challenge China or the USA, they will overtake the UK soon, they are ranked 6th for GDP, we are currently 5th but Liz has done an excellent job of trashing our economy in 44 days, so I expect that to change. 20 years from now, I’d expect to see India as 3rd for GDP, ahead of Germany, Japan and the UK.

It’s entirely possible that India will start to try and restrict immigration to us, much like various Home Secretarys are doing to India with their hateful and spiteful views. We should be very careful for what we wish for.

Anyway as we are rapidly becoming the laughing stock for Europe and the rest of the world, I’m going to head back to my research on whether my Jewish heritage allows me to claim Portuguese nationality.

Will the last right wing conservative nut case, turn the lights off when they have finished their ideologue experiments please, we can’t afford the electricity.

Thanks

Rob

I worked in the middle east. The Indian and Pakistani labourers that we had worked hard.

 

[Jacob]

https://www.ukwealth.tax/

 

[deema]

It’s not that inequality exists, that’s always going to be the case, neither is it really about how much the top 1% has either. It’s really about the difference between the majority and the lowest percentages of the population. Large scale inequality causes societies to break down, it’s therefore in everyone’s interest that the bottom isn’t too far below the median. The problem we face is that the way to increase government revenues / reduce the inequality. We have seen that from the responses and discussion on this thread. I rather like this short uTube video about inequality

 

[Spectric]

If anyone saw that program last night with mr Foggle in Detroit then you can see the results of inequality, from the richest place in the USA to a ghetto with many people getting up and leaving for good, leaving behind a crime ridden city with a murder rate to match.

 

[akirk]

It’s not that inequality exists, that’s always going to be the case, neither is it really about how much the top 1% has either. It’s really about the difference between the majority and the lowest percentages of the population. Large scale inequality causes societies to break down, it’s therefore in everyone’s interest that the bottom isn’t too far below the median. The problem we face is that the way to increase government revenues / reduce the inequality. We have seen that from the responses and discussion on this thread. I rather like this shirt uTube video about inequality

A very good video - and it highlights many of the issues...

One thing which comes out of that is the concept of zero and the inability once there, or close to ever move off it - and if you take the analogy of monopoly then you could give a minimum which removes zero - i.e. every time you go below e.g. £300 bank tops you up to £300 - it would change the game considerably as it removes your ever being in the situation where you have no scope for change - doesn't remove the ability to win or lose when you land on Mayfair with hotels on it as you would have to address the ability to have debt above that minimum - but take it back into the real world and arguably that is the benefits system - whatever happens there is a minimum that keeps you from complete zero...

of course there are huge issues - how do you distribute benefits / how do you make people spend it on shelter and food rather than a new phone / alcohol and gambling / etc. but the underlying principle is correct - that you have a compassion which should mean that no-one has less than needed to survive - shelter / warmth / food.

beyond that, the biggest issue is psychological - why do people want things / why is a 60 inch OLED TV more appealing than the current 40 inch LCD TV such that someone wishes to upgrade for £1,000? Why is it that some people don't care about upgrading, and for others it becomes a priority even where they have other debt?

What is it about money and how society promotes and values it that leads to acquisition of wealth - if for example society valued time more than money, how would that change the dynamics - after all, everyone has the same amount of time (ignoring for now life span), so there is less ability to hoard it or have disparity - could society change the psychology?

lots of things to consider - we don't have it right yet...

 

[Spectric]

In the UK we are programed to get on the property ladder and then spend a vast part of our lives paying a mortgage, this reduces the amount of money available to spend and increases national debt. If there was a good rental property market with regulated rents then people would have more disposable income that would benefit all.

 

[johna.clements]

A very good video - and it highlights many of the issues...

One thing which comes out of that is the concept of zero and the inability once there, or close to ever move off it - and if you take the analogy of monopoly then you could give a minimum which removes zero - i.e. every time you go below e.g. £300 bank tops you up to £300 - it would change the game considerably as it removes your ever being in the situation where you have no scope for change - doesn't remove the ability to win or lose when you land on Mayfair with hotels on it as you would have to address the ability to have debt above that minimum - but take it back into the real world and arguably that is the benefits system - whatever happens there is a minimum that keeps you from complete zero...

of course there are huge issues - how do you distribute benefits / how do you make people spend it on shelter and food rather than a new phone / alcohol and gambling / etc. but the underlying principle is correct - that you have a compassion which should mean that no-one has less than needed to survive - shelter / warmth / food.

beyond that, the biggest issue is psychological - why do people want things / why is a 60 inch OLED TV more appealing than the current 40 inch LCD TV such that someone wishes to upgrade for £1,000? Why is it that some people don't care about upgrading, and for others it becomes a priority even where they have other debt?

What is it about money and how society promotes and values it that leads to acquisition of wealth - if for example society valued time more than money, how would that change the dynamics - after all, everyone has the same amount of time (ignoring for now life span), so there is less ability to hoard it or have disparity - could society change the psychology?

lots of things to consider - we don't have it right yet...

The benefit system decentivies saving money. If you have over a £16000 it is "taxed" at 100%, you get no universal credit until you have spent your saving to a certain level and then they are reduced.

If you have a low income but still can save money you could loose the money you are saving as a deposit if you are unable to work for some time. It is not irrational to then decide to spend money as you get it rather than save for a very long time and then maybe loose it.

 

[whereistheceilidh]

In the UK we are programed to get on the property ladder and then spend a vast part of our lives paying a mortgage, this reduces the amount of money available to spend and increases national debt. If there was a good rental property market with regulated rents then people would have more disposable income that would benefit all.

I tend to agree with Spectric that we are programmed to aspire to property, but unfortunately there is little incentive to put out property as a long term let without conforming to a rash of rules & restrictions.
I also feel that Akirk's & Spetric 's comments are linked by the idea of programming, especially advertising. That idea of being nudged into spending or doing more than we need to......
I suspect it also applies to tool advertising as well....