[SWLGooner]

TINA...?
is this an abandon our rubbish Elvis based music and go full old skool 80s vote?
in which case - yes I'm all in

voting Tory in the locals OTOH is bonkers (unless you're a millionaire)

OTOH?

[highburyJD]

OTOH is on the other hand

like Jeremy Beadle has a huge willy,
but on the other hand...

still dont know what TINA stands for...

[Chippy]

OTOH is on the other hand

like Jeremy Beadle has a huge willy,
but on the other hand...

still dont know what TINA stands for...

Thatcher said There Is No Alternative.

[highburyJD]

no alternative to what..?
never heard that before

[Chippy]

You're obviously a lot younger than me, cos it's one of the phrases she is v famous for. I always find that this website helps in such circumstances.

http://www.justfuckinggoogleit.com

[highburyJD]

TINA to lassez faire deregulated capitalism
so shes be proven conclusively wrong on that then...

[frankbutcher]

TINA to lassez faire deregulated capitalism
so shes be proven conclusively wrong on that then...

What are you suggesting then? Communism? I suppose you'd support a welfare state which allows everyone to take out, but no-one puts in apart from "the rich". You sound like Robin Hood. Labour allowed Banking to get out of control because it was paying for their welfare handouts. Labour took us from surplusses to multi-billion £ deficits. How can they fuck it up that badly? The Conservatives might have instigated laissez-faire economics but you still have to keep your hand on the steering wheel. Labour went effing mad, the Tories and Lib Dems are picking up the pieces, yet it's their fault?? Yeah, ok. Work that one out for me. I'm really interested to know. You Labour supporters are a joke. It's always someone else's fault. Are you seriously blaming the banking crisis on the Tories? Unbelievable stuff Jeff!! You mentioned you don't work in the City anymore..? You seem quite bitter about the City. Any reason apart from the current banking crisis? Did you not quite hack it in the City? Anyway, I'm going off at a tangent. It seems that everything that has happened is the Tory's fault. What has Labour done wrong? Nothing? Sounds like Pravda.

[highburyJD]

'new' Labour continued the insane failed process of deregulation (when have I mentioned labour BTW? are you turning into Babatunde?? stop arguing against imaginary foes. The Labour party is a joke. I've said more than once I would bin party politics.)

banking without regulation - a combined retail and investment banking sector failed miserably
failed probably worse than ANYTHING has failed before

to suggest retail banks should not be allowed to gear up to the 9s then gamble with our wages and savings isn't communism

[highburyJD]

You mentioned you don't work in the City anymore..? You seem quite bitter about the City. Any reason apart from the current banking crisis? Did you not quite hack it in the City?

Just reread this - if we're gonna get personal, business loan allocation is by no stretch of the imagination included in my definition of either being a banker or working in the City. It's middle of the road, middle management - no trading, no marketmaking, no risk, no account. Computer says no.

My experience, at the most prestigious UK investment bank, left me comfortable enough that I'm following dreams rather than working for other people.
Absolutely nothing to be bitter about at all, quite the opposite.

[frankbutcher]

You mentioned you don't work in the City anymore..? You seem quite bitter about the City. Any reason apart from the current banking crisis? Did you not quite hack it in the City?

Just reread this - if we're gonna get personal, business loan allocation is by no stretch of the imagination included in my definition of either being a banker or working in the City. It's middle of the road, middle management - no trading, no marketmaking, no risk, no account. Computer says no.

My experience, at the most prestigious UK investment bank, left me comfortable enough that I'm following dreams rather than working for other people.
Absolutely nothing to be bitter about at all, quite the opposite.

Fair play. Seems odd that what has left you "comfortable and following your dreams" is now an industry you choose to attack. Hypocrisy springs to mind. If you worked for an Investment Bank and got fat off the profits, how can you now attack those same bankers as you have done several times in this thread. I think you've dropped a bollock here fella. Essentially you owe your life to Thatcher's policies. I'd start praying at the altar of Conservative laissez-faire economics. Or will you carry on biting the hand that fed you? BTW I am middle management. No shame in that for someone in their twenties. I don't pretend to be anything I'm not. Pays a decent wage. Good work / life balance. Plenty of corp entertainment, nice holidays, plenty of spare cash. Great really.

[highburyJD]

didn't realise you were that much younger than me, fair play, I've probably got a decade on you.
(you'll learn )

Way I see it is I don't make up the game or set the rules.
Some advantages I had from my upbringing could be considered unfair - you can't help but take them.

Thought it was ridiculous the money they gave me in the 90s (wages and budget) but didn't turn it down.

I think there should still be a 50% tax-rate but will only pay what the government sets, not more.
Some of the tax-deductions I can make on my investments are silly IMO they encourage speculation and asset bubbles, of course I still take them.

Don't feel I owe anything to Thatcher/Reagan/deregulation/lassez-faire economics. I'm very arrogant, I think I'm clever enough that whatever the 'game' I would have found a way to play it well (impossible to be proved right or wrong on that front).

I state how I things should be and deal with them as they are.
Personally I don't see that as hypocrisy
but what hypocrite does...

[frankbutcher]

didn't realise you were that much younger than me, fair play, I've probably got a decade on you.
(you'll learn )

Way I see it is I don't make up the game or set the rules.
Some advantages I had from my upbringing could be considered unfair - you can't help but take them.

Thought it was ridiculous the money they gave me in the 90s (wages and budget) but didn't turn it down.

I think there should still be a 50% tax-rate but will only pay what the government sets, not more.
Some of the tax-deductions I can make on my investments are silly IMO they encourage speculation and asset bubbles, of course I still take them.

Don't feel I owe anything to Thatcher/Reagan/deregulation/lassez-faire economics. I'm very arrogant, I think I'm clever enough that whatever the 'game' I would have found a way to play it well (impossible to be proved right or wrong on that front).

I state how I things should be and deal with them as they are.
Personally I don't see that as hypocrisy
but what hypocrite does...

I always enjoy a good debate so forgive me if it came across as personal. Fair play for doing so well in the City. There are a couple of Gooners I know well that did well in the 90s as Bond Salesmen. Seems like a pretty cut-throat business, so you need to make your dough then get out! I did work at a Stockbrokers for a year when I first left Uni (a certain firm that lost their entire US operation in 9/11). Didn't really think it was for me though so went into Business Banking. I'm not a Banker. Nor do I work in "The City". Suits me though. You're right that Banking is fucked. I just think that the Government can't be blameless as they were over-reliant on the income from it. The Bank's need to be far more regulated than they were. To be fair though, they seem pretty regulated to me at the moment. Basel and Sarbanes Oxley are really biting now. The next step is splitting out Retail / Business from IBs. I think it will happen too. Just a matter of time. The IBs are effectively using deposit monies as gambling money in a casino. I think we both agree on that. It's a dog-eat-dog world though, so might as well jump on the gravy train while it's still running.

[g88ner]

For some reason, I read through this thread, and instead of frankbutcher and HighburyJD crossing swords, I see two Patrick Bateman's from American Psycho

Very glad I work hidden away in a lab most of the time, far away from the dog-eat-dog world of the city... it's probably not as bad as I imagine, but it seems a very arrogant, money obsessed world and I really wouldn't fit in at all

Edit: I see frank uses the phrase "dog-eat-dog" world in the above post, so perhaps I'm not far off then

[frankbutcher]

For some reason, I read through this thread, and instead of frankbutcher and HighburyJD crossing swords, I see two Patrick Bateman's from American Psycho

Very glad I work hidden away in a lab most of the time, far away from the dog-eat-dog world of the city... it's probably not as bad as I imagine, but it seems a very arrogant, money obsessed world and I really wouldn't fit in at all

Sounds like a romantic view on matters. However I'm not into hiring and then murdering call girls.

[g88ner]

For some reason, I read through this thread, and instead of frankbutcher and HighburyJD crossing swords, I see two Patrick Bateman's from American Psycho

Very glad I work hidden away in a lab most of the time, far away from the dog-eat-dog world of the city... it's probably not as bad as I imagine, but it seems a very arrogant, money obsessed world and I really wouldn't fit in at all

Sounds like a romantic view on matters. However I'm not into hiring and then murdering call girls.

How about murdering work colleagues with an axe to the back of the head whilst talking through your music collection?