Why is life suddenly so cheap?

neil

america has historically led the world in freedoms for the individual - is it americanism that has caused capitolism or is it freedom sweeping the world that gives people a shot at capitalism

i once went to work in paris, and after a few months of fitting into the french way, set up an appointment at 9.00, but turn up at 11.00, then go out for a coffee and then make your way to a nice restaurant for a nice long wine fueled lunch and then maybe pop back to the office to catch up on your friends before organising dinner

it was great for a while - but i got a real fear of what kept the whole system going - and everyones attitude that they want but why should they work for it

and i promise you that system is falling apart - dont worry about second homes and all that - we are at the start of a huge down turn cycle for europe

america will not be able to bail europe out - nor have the inclanation to do it - the US and the US people have had a huge wake up call about how people think about them in europe - and thats gonna affect stuff for a long time and at exactly the wrong time in europes economic cycle
 
stevet,

I forgot about parallel universes,

Neil,

We live in a market economy and that is what is driving house prices. An attempt to buck markets has been proven to always ultimately fail. The reason you are being encrouched by new housing estates is that we live on an Island with a relatively large population and there is a massive increae in 1 parent families and they need to be housed. If you compare the number of people per square KM with that of France then the UK is very much higher.


Paul
 
No - lots of houses but no wealth generation albeit big drain on infrastructure.

Stevet...big down turn. Would this reduce House prices in France/UK ?

And

If Europe crashed surely that would effect the USA who export to Europe?

I see we have moved away from crime :)
 
The criminals are the politicians :cheesy: , but I don't know a way out of that one :confused:
 
Neil

It would have an impact on everyone including the US. However I understand the trade balance is strongly in EU favour ( 2:1?) - so incidentally go figure the outcome of a serious Trade War.
 
oatman

i definetly support the theory that most politicians are ego maniacs or crooks or both - but Blair seems to be a real guy to me - and i come from totaly distrusting him at first - purely as it was hard to believe that he believed what he was saying -

but over time he has shown himself to probably be exactly what the ideal politician should be - level headed, even handed and genuine, direct and with a moral concious
 
neil

house prices on the whole in europe dont tend to do what they do in the UK

but anything which becomes an investment which is supported by the public will inevitably come crashing down

house price inflation is fueled by there being more buyers than sellers - but in this current case the underlying fuel is cheap money - and the use of estate agents who are able to pump up prices by - well - pumping up prices to gullible buyers - but the contiued pumping becomes a self fulifilling thing and prices move higher so everyone thinks they are on a winner

we talk about getting filled in trading on here and liquidity etc

houses are very very illiquid - it takes 3 months to complete a sale

house price values are tied to the interest rate - rate halves - prices double - rates double i prices......!!!!

the steam went out of the london market ages ago - that with full employment and the lowest interest rates

whats your guess about what will happen....!

either way property is screwed - either inflation will drive down property values or deflation will cause people to question why they should have a mortgage round their neck when they can rent more cheaply anyway
 
Mr Chill

yep - thats what stopped the troubles in ireland - they came up with amazing tax perks which caused international companies to set up their european bases there - they trained up the kids - the kids said - hang on - we want ferraris and swimming pools - screw fighting some egotistical old people's war - result - end of troubles - hopefully!
 
Blair, genuine? wow!!! personally i think he is a big time glory hunter who is trying to pre-empt his place in history. He had the opportunity to become a great PM but has blown it IMO. I voted for him cos i believed in his sincerity but he has now succeeded in putting me off voting forever.
Coming back to the original topic, i think the various media of communication have also contributed to making life seem so cheap with their utterances in their quest to have the biggest impact. Even the great 'internet' (which has served me and other people so well) has been a source devaluing life........a typical example is a website said to be promoting (and giving tips on) sucide (as reported on BBC radio 5 live over the weekend)....how low can people get?
 
Stevet
repeating yourself is a sign of advancing age !
:D

Yes - I fear houses prices to revert to some sort of mean or fall as the owners creak under the strain of paying off their debt.

The trick is to get out before you are swept along by crashing prices. Some trick.

trader 333.

We are not engulfed by one parent families, who could not afford to buy in any case. Biggest problem is 2nd home owners and retirees causing a local market to become National but without the accompanying increase in wages .

I've seen these property market frenzied feeding spectacles in the past. When the party stops every one concerned steps off except the houseowner.

The sharks move on.
 
here we go again, 4 bombings in Turkey, good money making opportunity (going short) but same old story............lives been taken away cheaply
 
grubs50

well, there you go - there was as much chance of me voting labour as i dont know what - and i was convinced all the blair chat before he came in was just a cover up and once in - it would just revert to the old labour ways of destroying capital and enterprise

but here we are years later - with one of the best and most respected leaders in the world and considering our base - one of the best economies - pity we are covering up unemployment by massaging the numbers with public expenditure - but there you go - some labour stuff is hard to eradicate

people dont remember or want to remember what a toilet this country used to be and how far we have come on
 
neil

yep - you are right about advancing age - another sign is hanging out at the latest london night spots - but in this case - its more to do i think with T2W - seem to be some access probs

house prices will drop below mean at first -- but could take 10 or 20 years to revert to mean - same for the stock market - cant be long before the dow hits 5000 and stays there for 10/20 as well
 
I am not saying all Blair's policies are bad but my major prob is with his decision to join Bush's war under false pretence and his seeming inability to admit it was a mistake. he is probably the only person that still believes that weapons of mass destruction would be found in Iraq.
 
grubs50

it was saddam who made it clear by his actions that he had WMD - he even threatened to use them on the troops and told his own generals they woudl be used - his own people were waitng for him to use them

this is the guy and who up and invaded kuwait - if he acted as if he had WMD and says he has WMD and would use WMD - i would believe him - wouldn't you?

the fact he and his lot were so inept that they probably forgot where they put it or killed all those who knew for secrecy - but forgot one person should know -is neither here nor there
 
where do you get all your info from, Stevet?.....how can he admit having WMD's when he had UN inspectors in his country. you should learn to back your arguments up with logical facts.
 
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