Purple Brain
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Ditto.
The UK could certainly use another one of her as she was in her prime right now.
The UK could certainly use another one of her as she was in her prime right now.
Mr. Charts
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Very sadly the mould was broken when she was made.
We are ruled by political pygmies
and the alternative political parties make pygmies look huge
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NVP
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ssshhhhh............
Remember modern day politics (and life ?) mean we must never ever upset anyone too much , and walk through life quietly, ignoring what the world has become and the multitude of losers and hangers on that have been been spawned to bleed the (few) income earners dry ......
shhhhh
N
Remember modern day politics (and life ?) mean we must never ever upset anyone too much , and walk through life quietly, ignoring what the world has become and the multitude of losers and hangers on that have been been spawned to bleed the (few) income earners dry ......
shhhhh
N
NVP
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L
Liquid validity
No that's it, the rest was pretty trivial, stuff like
preventing us from falling into the abyss of IMF bailout debt
Ask the Greeks and Cypriots how that feels...
I'm sure someone will chime in to tell me how it would have been perfectly
possible to avoid further IMF bailouts, and service a burgeoning public sector
wage bill for industries that couldn't cover that wage bill themselves and so on.
Why no one sees that as a paradox escapes me :whistling
Especially as cuts in public sector spending were part of the
conditions of the 1976 IMF bailout - i.e. unavoidable.
That's exactly why I said in my first post on this thread she was the only option,
no one else would have had the balls to make those cuts and deal with
the inevitable fallout.
Mr. Charts
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Purple Brain
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Didn't know where to start on Thatcher's Achievements as there were so many, some of which were quite personal to me in being in the right place at the right time. I consider myself honoured to have intersected with her prime years.
Started googling (as you do) to put together a concise list and found one that looks pretty good without emendation. So here it is.
1. Ended Socialism in Britain. She privatized state-owned industries and allowed tenants in council houses the right to buy their homes. Margaret Thatcher privatized industries by selling shares and millions of Britons became the first in their family to own stock in a company.
2. Revitalized the British economy. Margaret Thatcher cut taxes and regulation quite far. When she became prime minister in 1979, the top tax rate was 98%; the bottom rate was 65%. However much or little you earned, you were paying most of your money in taxes. When Margaret Thatcher left office in 1990, the top tax rate was only 40% and the bottom tax rate was 25%. This allowed people to keep more of their own money and buy things. By cutting regulation, Margaret Thatcher allowed business to thrive in Britain.
3. Cut the power of the trade unions. Margaret Thatcher introduced legislation to mandate secret ballots among union members before having a strike and banning secondary picketing. The number of strikes went way down. Also, by defeating strikes such as the Miners' Strike and the steel strike, Margaret Thatcher sent a message loud and clear that striking won't work anymore.
4. Radically changed British society. Margaret Thatcher's policies of free enterprise, privatization, home ownership and less government allowed millions of Britons to move up in society. As a result, the class system was weakened, more people moved into the middle class and upward mobility became the 'in' thing.
5. Won the Falklands War. When Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982, Margaret Thatcher sent a large navy task force down to retake those islands. Britain won the Falklands War and it was Britain's first military victory since 1945. The Falklands Victory forever broke the blue funk Britain had been in since the end of World War II and made Britain feel proud, strong and confident again.
6. Through her friend, President Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher won the Cold War. President Reagan would not have been President Reagan if it was not for Margaret Thatcher. She became Prime Minister before Reagan was elected president and her example made it possible for Reagan to be elected. As president, Reagan often looked to her for guidance and leadership in waging the Cold War.
7. Got Iraq out of Kuwait. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Margaret Thatcher was visiting President George H. W. Bush in Colorado and she told him forcefully that he must send troops to Saudi Arabia and get Kuwait freed. Bush the elder did not dare disagree with Mrs. Thatcher so he did what she told him.
8. Created the world we live in today. The fact that capitalism and democracy are seen as the best and only viable forms of political economy is all because of Margaret Thatcher. Other countries around the world followed her example.
{OK 6 & & are a bit 'iffy'}
I'll leave it to others to add their own.
Started googling (as you do) to put together a concise list and found one that looks pretty good without emendation. So here it is.
1. Ended Socialism in Britain. She privatized state-owned industries and allowed tenants in council houses the right to buy their homes. Margaret Thatcher privatized industries by selling shares and millions of Britons became the first in their family to own stock in a company.
2. Revitalized the British economy. Margaret Thatcher cut taxes and regulation quite far. When she became prime minister in 1979, the top tax rate was 98%; the bottom rate was 65%. However much or little you earned, you were paying most of your money in taxes. When Margaret Thatcher left office in 1990, the top tax rate was only 40% and the bottom tax rate was 25%. This allowed people to keep more of their own money and buy things. By cutting regulation, Margaret Thatcher allowed business to thrive in Britain.
3. Cut the power of the trade unions. Margaret Thatcher introduced legislation to mandate secret ballots among union members before having a strike and banning secondary picketing. The number of strikes went way down. Also, by defeating strikes such as the Miners' Strike and the steel strike, Margaret Thatcher sent a message loud and clear that striking won't work anymore.
4. Radically changed British society. Margaret Thatcher's policies of free enterprise, privatization, home ownership and less government allowed millions of Britons to move up in society. As a result, the class system was weakened, more people moved into the middle class and upward mobility became the 'in' thing.
5. Won the Falklands War. When Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982, Margaret Thatcher sent a large navy task force down to retake those islands. Britain won the Falklands War and it was Britain's first military victory since 1945. The Falklands Victory forever broke the blue funk Britain had been in since the end of World War II and made Britain feel proud, strong and confident again.
6. Through her friend, President Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher won the Cold War. President Reagan would not have been President Reagan if it was not for Margaret Thatcher. She became Prime Minister before Reagan was elected president and her example made it possible for Reagan to be elected. As president, Reagan often looked to her for guidance and leadership in waging the Cold War.
7. Got Iraq out of Kuwait. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Margaret Thatcher was visiting President George H. W. Bush in Colorado and she told him forcefully that he must send troops to Saudi Arabia and get Kuwait freed. Bush the elder did not dare disagree with Mrs. Thatcher so he did what she told him.
8. Created the world we live in today. The fact that capitalism and democracy are seen as the best and only viable forms of political economy is all because of Margaret Thatcher. Other countries around the world followed her example.
{OK 6 & & are a bit 'iffy'}
I'll leave it to others to add their own.
You can't 'just' win a war, you either win or lose. The victory also led to the downfall of the military dictatorship in Argentina, a regime that had killed tens of thousands of its own people. Still I'm sure the preservation of hat making in Luton was much more important.
Mr. Charts
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Very well said ! :clap::clap::clap:
If anyone was over 16 in 1979, they would have known how glad people were to see Maggie come to power, then.
Unless one can remember "Sunny Jim" Callaghan and Michael Foot, they are in no position to criticise Thatcher. I was in Spain, then, so was not a victim of those times but I got the letters from home and heard the news.
Practically, everyone worked for the government and was paid by the taxpayer.
The miners were on strike because the unprofitable mines were going to be closed.
Rubbish was piled up to the first floor, with rats all over the place in some streets because the collectors were on strike.
Bus garages were on strike for more money, all the time..
Some columns in newspapers were left blank because the staff disagreed, at the last moment, to print certain news items.
Air traffic controllers were on strike, all the time and, if you wanted to go abroad, 300 quid was your limit.
When I was in London, once, the pound went to 120 pestas, when it was normally 165. I changed all my travellers cheques at once.
Electricity cuts happened all the time.
When Maggie took the country to war, she won the next election. My BIL said to me, if she doesn't go down to the Falklands, she won't get my vote again!
Mother Russia, of all countries, called the UK "a basket case"
I could go on and on and I cannot, for the life of me, understand why she is so maligned by some.
Except for Neil Kinnock, of course, but he would not like her, would he?
She was what the country wanted and. of course she got some of it wrong, sometimes, but she was a breath of fresh air.
Pat494
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Have you just had a largely liquid lunch PB ?
If someone wins a war then their opponent loses it.
The downfall of the cruel dictatorship is probably largely forgotten now by most Argentines. But think how popular it would have been if it had won.
What hat making in Luton has to do with anything is beyond me.
Purple Brain
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I imagine it was some time before you took another trade that good.
NVP
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now thats an interesting point of view .......:|
There was another one, but that was with John Major and Nigel Lawson, in 1992.
The pound left the snake and I had money in a currency fund. They were swearing to defend the pound and I thought "Why take the risk" , rang the bank and changed to to DMs with about two hours to spare.
Soros did much better because he used leverage. I was not trading forex in those days. I would have, probably, got it wrong, in any case.
They can't blame Maggie for that, or for what happened, afterwards
counter_violent
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Just in case you missed it...the Falklands is still a hot topic currently...and Argentina does have another complete nut job as leader presently.
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They invaded to gain popular support, had they won they would have survived for much longer and killed many more of their own people. The anti British racism in Argentina will prevent them from ever acknowledging the fact. They've been free for 30 years because she retook The Falklands.
She never had a good word for the Pope when he was a Cardinal. As soon as he became Pope she could not get her ass over to the Vatican quick enough to kiss his hand (?) and get blessed.
Joules MM1
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funeral costs:
......bill clearly doesn't trade gold, those coffins keep depreciating...
keeper of the eternal flame said:
......bill clearly doesn't trade gold, those coffins keep depreciating...
That reminds me of the Senator visiting one of the Indian princes and he boasted, "There's enough gold in Texas to build a wall all round the border, to a height of four feet.
The Prince looked at him, thoughtfully, and said "All right, go ahead and build it, If I like it, I'll buy it".
