tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post8178617670769391653..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: New Book: What Did the Babyboomers Ever Do For Us?Iain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-28960061897337906312010-07-22T00:42:33.310+01:002010-07-22T00:42:33.310+01:00This is why I read you! We really do have to meet...This is why I read you! We really do have to meet up next I am in London. Keep up the good work!<br /><br />BlairUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02243660909657729649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-66600126649878125562010-07-21T22:37:42.313+01:002010-07-21T22:37:42.313+01:00@javelin
So what do you deem a 2productive asset&...@javelin<br /><br />So what do you deem a 2productive asset" ?Libertarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15219132362086878801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-61255666322852326792010-07-21T07:31:06.930+01:002010-07-21T07:31:06.930+01:00So let's state a clear example. Every few year...So let's state a clear example. Every few years a house goes up by £100k. Every few years it is sold. Every few years the seller spends the cash in their retirement. Then after 10 years the house halves in price. So where has the cash gone? <br /><br />House prices are a way that a WHOLE nation's wealth can be undermined. Far better to own productive assets.javelinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04685858339910528013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-63811457163837821082010-07-21T06:06:39.752+01:002010-07-21T06:06:39.752+01:00In the 1980s Britain moved away from socialist sta...In the 1980s Britain moved away from socialist state provision towards entrepreneurship under Thatcher. For a while we showed what we could do if the State climbed off our backs.<br /><br />The years from 1995 onwards saw a ludicrous loosening of credit which trebled the price of most assets within the next seven years.<br /><br />The bulk of the world's current problems go back to this fact. The unwinding of the credit boom taking place now will drive prices back down to where they started - houses, shares, commodities and so on.<br /><br />This was not the fault of the baby boomers, but a world over centralised and run by a banking cabal.<br /><br />No one was strong enough to stop what was happening. The coming slump is merely the end of two generations of boom which started at the end of the 1930s, or some would argue in the 1770s. The world will fall back, but as ever regrow again. But we are living right now through the greatest credit bubble the world has ever known.<br /><br />New technologies are all suppressed to enable the current paradigm to survive, with scientists who know how to run cars on water etc finding untimely deaths.<br /><br />The only technologies that have made it, thanks to the bb generation, have been the PC, the internet, mobile telephony. By now we should have cars that don't run on petrol, electricity which doesn't come from a power station, and the wealth from these showering down onto the next generation.<br /><br />The coming slump will release some of these other technologies. For example the Tesla electric car is starting to be manufactured in LA. This was invented a hundred years ago.<br /><br />The future will move the bb generation into the past and the world will regenerate. relax.Tapestryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267094484651413428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1538817757726018302010-07-20T19:07:50.468+01:002010-07-20T19:07:50.468+01:00Short on facts, long on catch phrases, deficient i...Short on facts, long on catch phrases, deficient in research. Not all baby boomers are as daft as this because they are not a closed society with identical or even similar interests but as individual as any other age group.Victor, NW Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14778890471547456396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-12428225952432722702010-07-20T18:12:06.267+01:002010-07-20T18:12:06.267+01:00I was born in 1946. My mother explained to me when...I was born in 1946. My mother explained to me when I was young that I was a baby boomer because I had been born a year after the war ended (a) Because my father returned (he was a POW) and (b) Because nature soon replaced those lost in the conflict. She said that of the babies born in the hospital when I was born 80% were boys!<br /><br />So the real baby boomer generation lasted for perhaps two or three years after the war. To extend this all the way to 1955 makes little sense. The later lot are not baby boomers in the way that I and other children of the immediate post-war years (1945-1949) are baby boomers! Sorry two-brains but you got this one wrong!Paddy Briggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17847108655078927970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-93945306236201832010-07-20T17:43:06.275+01:002010-07-20T17:43:06.275+01:00@javelin
You may be right about house prices but ...@javelin<br /><br />You may be right about house prices but what are you suggesting we invest in?<br /><br />Savings accounts don't earn any interest, ISA's are limited to a few K per year, and all of the rest attracts large amounts of taxLibertarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15219132362086878801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-50891955946658299202010-07-20T17:39:24.042+01:002010-07-20T17:39:24.042+01:00@Despairing Liberal
Not sure what you are chunte...@Despairing Liberal <br /><br />Not sure what you are chuntering on about Beckett is one of your lot. A talking out of his backside leftie.<br /><br />Mortgages in the 70's were only given if you had a savings account in credit with the lending institution, only gave a maximum of 80% and only as long as it didn't exceed 2.5 times annual salary. My first mortgage went from 8% interest to 17% in one year too, although we did get mortgage interest tax relief (ended by Blair in 2000 )<br /><br />The 100% unsecured sub prime lending frenzy was a New Labour Ponzi scheme in the late 1990'sLibertarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15219132362086878801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-2256373251058257442010-07-20T17:14:36.686+01:002010-07-20T17:14:36.686+01:00I was a little alarmed to hear that "You can ...I was a little alarmed to hear that "You can now only get mortgages up to two-thirds of your salary" ... having mortgages capped at less than 20k for most of us will make home ownership rather unlikely.<br /><br />Much of the argument seems horribly flawed, but I'm inclined to agree with the heart of it: the "boomers", of whom Brown is the most extreme example, inherited a windfall and squandered it to bequeath a mountain of debt to those who come after them. They voted themselves generous unfunded pensions for us to pay for, leaving the cupboard bare. It will take us decades to clean up the mess of unfunded pensions, off-books PFI-style debts and excess spending!jas88https://www.blogger.com/profile/05563592458314214904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-8157547978982195082010-07-20T16:13:55.246+01:002010-07-20T16:13:55.246+01:00@ Iain
"Out and out old leftie". Yes. ...@ Iain<br /><br />"Out and out old leftie". Yes. Unusual for an old Beaumont boy. I'd have hoped he'd be much more gung-ho than that.<br /><br />It's a partial view. I don't think, for example, that Ming Campbell was drummed out for being too old. He was, simply, not up to it. That said, his replacement is not much better - but the move is ultimately to get rid and then to set about finding a new leader, witness Brown and many, many others.<br /><br />In any event, it seems a very narrow perspective. But anyway, isn't the real story that each generation does its own thing - and, very often, the hell with the consequences?Unsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08307116169498533047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-74770819196018507302010-07-20T15:23:03.050+01:002010-07-20T15:23:03.050+01:00"If I used that as a criteria, I'd never ..."If I used that as a criteria, I'd never publish your comments."<br /><br />Iain, your wickedly waspish tongue definitely had a good holiday - did you book through Goldtrail? ;-)Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06358349301959327747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-85279962820092211302010-07-20T15:12:06.405+01:002010-07-20T15:12:06.405+01:00Where did I say Beckett is a right-winger? I was t...Where did I say Beckett is a right-winger? I was talking about Phillips and Hitchens. I'm sure you didn't give a large space to Beckett's article because he disagreed with the people you fellow-travel with in the bonkers little think-tanks that currently run Britain under New Cameroonianism. (actually just good ol' Monday Clubbism dressed up in New US Right colours). About 6 people formulated these policies and a few hundred more are carrying them out. Hurrah for democracy! And the gloriously supine LibDems!DespairingLiberalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02903904463236135611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-70235050028212335972010-07-20T15:04:17.842+01:002010-07-20T15:04:17.842+01:00You really are off form today. Francis Beckett is ...You really are off form today. Francis Beckett is about as far from right wing as you can get. He is an out and out leftie.Iain Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-83674120932042464322010-07-20T15:01:37.662+01:002010-07-20T15:01:37.662+01:00If that's the case Iain, may I please have spa...If that's the case Iain, may I please have space to publish an article at length on your headline blog? Not in the comments section? Thanks.<br /><br />The "bombing of boomers" by right-wing Tories is a well-trodden path - it is the mainstay of sad Mail commentators like Phillips and Hitchens. There is nothing new in this article. It's all nonsense anyway - each new generation has to deal with the legacy of the previous one and the boomers did their best with that. They are not a homogenous group. The critique is based on the alleged moral degeneration that ensued after the swinging sixties. In fact, numerous in-depth research studies have shown that the traditional model of family life was already collapsing Europe-wide during and after World War 2. Blaming it on the Boomers is a misdiagnosis of the after-effects of global war. The position was far more acute in Russsia and Eastern Europe - this is often mistakenly blamed by the New Right on the communist rule of those states, ignoring the massive destruction and human loss there was there compared to Britain.DespairingLiberalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02903904463236135611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-2669897305436534322010-07-20T14:44:15.868+01:002010-07-20T14:44:15.868+01:00Thanks for writing such an in depth article on thi...Thanks for writing such an in depth article on this subject. It rarely gets the attention it deserves. <br /><br />I was thinking predictively about this subject this morning. I think every politician should do. <br /><br />Baby boomers are just coming to retirement (65 years since the war). <br /><br />So how can you rely on selling your house to the next generation to pay your pension if they will be skint in 20 years. The answer is you can't. <br /><br />So this raises an interesting question of virtual wealth accumulation in houses. We could all work our selves to the bone. People could gradually get off the housing Market and spend the cash they make on their houses. Then one day it all goes pop. <br /><br />So rising house prices are ALSO a form of hiding falling wealth. This is VERY important. <br /><br />Wealth needs to be spread more widely. It needs to be accumulated in companies and productive assets. For that reason it is better that house prices FALL and we then have more income to invest. A 30% drop in house prices won't actually cost the UK anything because this fall will happen in the future. But it does mean more cash to invest in other things.javelinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04685858339910528013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-88996447457553734022010-07-20T14:37:23.193+01:002010-07-20T14:37:23.193+01:00The mortgages thing is wronger than that - you don...The mortgages thing is wronger than that - you don't get a mortgage for 2/3rds of your <i>salary</i> you get it for 2/3rds of the <i>value of the house</i>t.Nileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03060945134872813307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-7957964520693604212010-07-20T13:48:28.708+01:002010-07-20T13:48:28.708+01:00You can quibble with certain points - I feel that ...You can quibble with certain points - I feel that what he says about mortages is wrong as I remember having to raise a substantial deposit to buy a house in the 70s.<br /><br />However, a lot of it is true. My generation of baby-boomers never had to make the sacrifices that my parents'generation who went through the war did.Charlotte Cordayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02699082712772273159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-40799921216021714232010-07-20T13:25:45.894+01:002010-07-20T13:25:45.894+01:00If I used that as a criteria, I'd never publis...If I used that as a criteria, I'd never publish your comments.<br /><br />I thought it was an interesting article and might encourage people to buy the book. I don't necessarily have to agree with it to publish it. I wouldn't have a publishing company if I adopted that as a rule.Iain Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-20185906606788966962010-07-20T13:21:08.238+01:002010-07-20T13:21:08.238+01:00But you agree with the sentiments surely, otherwis...But you agree with the sentiments surely, otherwise why give it such space?DespairingLiberalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02903904463236135611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-43958223352429646422010-07-20T13:12:08.086+01:002010-07-20T13:12:08.086+01:00The first glaring mistake is what makes me wonder ...The first glaring mistake is what makes me wonder how reliable the rest of the article/book/whatever is.<br /><br />In this case, it's the straightforward one of age: Winshton was never 70 when he became PM. First time round he was 65, and then in 1951 he was 76 (on his 70th birthday, he had become Leader of the Opposition).<br /><br />It doesn't diminish the point being made, but is the kind of basic detail one might expect an author to nail.<br /><br />Hmmm, wv = "brong"!Tim Fentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00726447899972084146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-8852174668710692902010-07-20T12:59:20.786+01:002010-07-20T12:59:20.786+01:00How strange that you can't read, and don't...How strange that you can't read, and don't realise I didn't write the article. <br /><br />Welcome back.<br /><br />I think.Iain Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-45481182663006076182010-07-20T12:56:17.298+01:002010-07-20T12:56:17.298+01:00How strange that you don't understand that the...How strange that you don't understand that the Beatles' "When I'm 64" is a love song. You appear to have missed the entire point of the 60s - I can only assume you weren't there. At your local Young Conservatives listening to Cliff Richards records presumably.DespairingLiberalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02903904463236135611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1691453431306345032010-07-20T12:14:15.354+01:002010-07-20T12:14:15.354+01:00I was going to Fisk this extract, then realised th...I was going to Fisk this extract, then realised that life's too short. Willetts does the intergenerational conflict thing superbly in 'The Pinch' and the above appears derivative. <br /><br />Nye Bevan was an old gulag apologist and Soviet tool and the enemy of the British working class, whom he sought to disempower, destroy and consign to compliant Welfare slavery.<br /><br />Buy the book? I'd rather take geography lessons from a flat-earther.Raedwaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11699610899843349594noreply@blogger.com