tegs07

I think those of us who are fortunate enough to have bought property years ago or are lucky enough to have a council house can’t begin to understand how much of peoples wages are being eroded by rent/mortgage payments. For many (and this includes people who are well paid) the lions share of their income is gone before they even consider every day bills like utilities and food.

Government keeps raising taxes Tim and you are correct people need to spend and government needs to raise funds to run the country. I also agree that we are not all poor but it really is a K shaped economy. Some people are doing fantastic. Some are really feeling the pinch and the vice is squeezing every last drop out of the low hanging fruit. This is the USA but we are the same: Now any rational person (this is not party politics) would look at this and think feck me the public are playing their part. Corporations are paying a tiny fraction and the interest rate on the deficit we have to borrow is enormous. Let’s try and balance the books, boost productivity, get people out spending, learning and becoming more productive, healthier and happier. Nope. Instead they cut social spending, tax individuals more rack up more debt, print more money to cover the deficit, watch the rich buy more houses, cars, stocks, gold etc and the poor get poorer as inflation rises and then rinse and repeat. I know I am a stuck record but honestly fcuk the lot of them. Particularly central bankers. They are either idiots or are genuinely sick in the head.

I can’t comment personally. My generation (and the only time I have been in a band) there were lots of local bands and lots of live music in pubs. People in general had less of an aspirational lifestyle. They went to the pub to watch mates play and occasionally to London. Most guys I know in bands now struggle to get a younger crowd and play to the grey hairs and no hairs. As for social media - mixed success. Clicks don’t equal revenue is the feedback I get. They are not in it to be social media stars. You guys will know more about this than me though.

I wonder if it did work. Ireland (and every thing Irish) became really fashionable for a while, largely due to Fontaines DC and a couple of in crowd actors. For a while I was no longer the guy drinking the old man pint. France never seemed to match the UK success in music despite funding. It’s not that I al against this idea. I just think that there are bigger issues to tackle and have lost all faith in big government and central control of funding.

I think a culture change is also needed. My kids generation are happy to spend eye watering sums of money to see the bigger artists on their mega tours but have really minimal interest in watching unknown artists. When I was their age (and still) once bands had got bigger than the Brixton Academy (this was my yardstick) I was no longer interested. Not because they had ‘sold out’ or whatever other nonsense but because I prefer smaller venues and some spontaneity. I don’t want to buy an overpriced ticket months in advance. Even now in Bristol it’s the Fleece, Thekla, Strangebrew or Lantern (there are a couple of others but you get the idea).

It’s the wrong conclusion. 2008 and then Covid saw a massive increase in the money supply. Central banks printing like crazy. This stoked massive inflation - particularly in stocks and property. Prices went up hugely. Mortgages went up, rents went up, food went up, transportation costs went up, wages went up slightly. People are not going out because of Covid or working from home. They are not going out because they are skint. All of these schemes, every attempt at raising wages are all going to fail. You can’t fill a collinder with water. No matter how good the intentions or how much water you pour in.

The problem with this approach is it’s too broad brush. Plenty of jobs have to be done on site. Office jobs can benefit from some on site presence. HR, IT support, any creative industry. Flexible working makes more sense though. Not everyone needs to be in every day. Many people are realising that if they want career progression then full time work from home is a dead end so are going into work. I guess the city centre has lost out on footfall, but most people I have worked with who don’t bring their own lunch tend to get a meal deal from a Supermarket anyway. The higher earners in city centres might eat out more often, I don’t know. I tried that lifestyle and it wasn’t for me. I don’t know anyone who has been able to WFH who has given up on their social life. People are generally finding that their money buys them less so have cut back in going out though.

Indeed. I work from home most days. My days in the office are my least productive as I can’t concentrate over the inane conversations. Ironically my last two jobs were focused around increasing productivity through technology investments and innovation. The teams delivering this on the tech side and consulting side worked really hard both times. Working long hours, going above and beyond. Trying to get people to test and utilise the technology to streamline their workflows and save time/increase productivity was a nightmare. Everyone is too busy. They seem fine arriving slightly late (due to traffic) but always seem to have time to take a full lunch, chat about nonsense and leave bang on time to beat the traffic home though. Edit: I rarely worked anywhere where people were rich enough to buy lunch out every day. Some bought in food, most got a meal deal. There were always those who would regularly spend £15+ a week on coffee so maybe Costa/Starbucks took a hit? If so good. When I work in an office I strictly do my mandatory hours as well. If I am wasting my time getting there and back, ironing clothes and all the other pointless stuff that has no bearing whatsoever on my job then I will be less likely to do anything beyond what I have to.

I guess that in the same way that the pound was strong against the franc and property was cheaper in rural parts of france than england there are opportunities now. if people are looking for them. there are also organisations like positive money and people like gary stephenson campaigning for change. the right wing and the tech bros are not our only options.

Again this is timing. You planted your radishes during the right season. It’s now mid January.

Elon is part of the problem and not the solution. His involvement in other countries politics is frankly terrifying.

Sadly inequality in Sweden has risen sharply since the 1990s and it is now the largest gap between rich and poor in the Nordic countries and also has a rising pace of racial tension and populist support than other Nordic countries. It’s probably not surprising that intolerance and populism goes hand in hand with inequality. It’s a trend playing out across the democratic world. The solution to this crisis IMO is only achieved through sound money and taxation of wealth rather than the narrow focus of income. This chart tells us everything we need to know if we continue down this path. Governments via central banks will continue to borrow massively and the velocity of money supply will continue to cause inflation while having a less and less impact upon economic growth. This is a doom loop feeding inflation of assets and a crisis in the bond markets as investors retreat from a system that is mathematically doomed to collapse eventually. The ultimate question who is going to profit and who is going to lose when it does collapse? Mathematically it will. There will also be a change (probably 2 very different ones) to try and stop the collapse. I suspect the biggest losers will be everyone who has no understanding or interest in this chart or what is going on behind the scenes over the next decade. There is a way out of this situation but it does involve people understanding what is happening rather than accepting that the purchasing power of their wages is falling or blaming immigrants.

deleting. it’s a lost cause

To be fair much of the public are so exhausted running ever faster on the hamster wheel and getting further away from where they started to be interested in other people getting subsidies (even if they are from war torn nations and have lost everything).

Very true. In my mid 50s I finally find myself in a position where I can buy a relatively expensive bass. I have a couple now and honestly they have added little to my playing ability or overall enjoyment than the used Squire CV which was my first enjoyable bass to own. If they needed to go I would not lose sleep over them. I tend to sell things if they are no longer needed or working out for whatever reason. I would far prefer to sell at a loss than keep something that has no utility for me. I would also prefer to sell a bass here cheaper than deal with eBay, Reverb or a 3rd party. It’s less stressful, cheaper and you tend to be dealing directly with someone who knows what they’re looking for (a genuine buyer). If someone makes money off my loss (or laziness) then I wouldn’t be too concerned. I’ve been there where side hustles and extra jobs were unavoidable. I can understand why some people find it objectionable but I guess we never know about other people’s motivations or personal circumstances.

I’ve sold two basses here. Both for less than I would have been able to sell them for on fleabay or Reverb. I can’t claim that it was altruistic. I would far rather sell an instrument cheaper to someone who wants to play it and knows what they are looking for than deal with tyre kickers and general numpties on ebay in particular. Hopefully they were well received. If they were sold on well it makes no difference to me either way. As far as the need to help musicians out vs profit all I would say is as countless threads on BC have pointed out a very decent instrument can be bought used these days for £200 or less. Most expensive purchases are luxury rather than necessity. Edit: Just as I finished typing this I spot an Ibanez Roadster for £250 and a Squire Bronco for £135 on marketplace!!

I guess I would fall into the ambivalent camp on this topic. Buying and selling anything involves a bit of risk and a bit of effort. If that leads someone to making a bit of profit then I am probably OK with it. If someone profits from something I sell, I don’t particularly care as it’s being sold for a reason.

Same. I think the last thing I sold was years ago. A wood burner listed as collection only due to the weight. Loads of enquiries about dimensions (listed in description) make (listed in description) and delivery costs. One bloke really wanted it but couldn’t collect. In the end I agreed to his courier request only to find that they only accept goods on a palate, safely secured and plastic wrapped. Not something your average person has tucked away. Nevertheless I managed to find it all, took an afternoon off work, helped the courier manoeuvre it so the mini forklift could get it in the LORRY!! Guy gave me a negative review due to time taken (3 days) for posting!! Ebay upheld this despite me letting them know I was a private seller and not in possession of a warehouse and pallets! No thanks.

Shocking 3D printed cock would get far more hits. Those of the errant thumb persuasion may be tempted…

I rarely go to bigger gigs for this reason. It’s kind of the antithesis of rock and roll. Paying a fortune and using apps to pre plan your life months in advance and then pay a fortune and join massive queues to watch NPCs film the entire thing on their phones. WTF is that all about. Yep I am the grinch. There are still countless fantastic gigs where you can make the decision on the evening, not suffer massive crowds and traffic congestion and get change from £30.

Is he that man of the people, ex banker bloke who lives in Belgium, had a german wife but has an issue with the EU, Brussels and immigration?

The illusion is ruined when Carl McCoy speaks and sounds like he just popped in to fit a new boiler…

Well enjoy the Musk Reform alliance. The right wing have the backing and the numbers. I just hope that people don’t fall for it and can put their differences aside. I don’t believe any billionaires or tech giants have my interest at heart. Back in the day they just asset stripped companies. They now have their sights set on entire countries and are using every trick in the book to achieve their goals (including divide and conquer). Personally I am making plans to vacate if it happens. Anyhow it’s going off track so I will bow out

Definitely and I appreciate your insight. Personally I am not particularly active on social media and would not talk about this stuff with friends and particularly not with certain family members 😱 So I read comments on BC, the company intranet and BBC news pages to get some perspective about what people think and what they prioritise. I find it very useful to try and second guess the direction of travel. It appears to be off a cliff 🙂 economically i see no solution to inflation, debt or sluggish growth. powers that be are impotent and lacking in vision or mandate. culturally the polarisation is becoming more pronounced and zealotry is rampant in both camps. debate and acceptance of differences is becoming a lost art. the vultures are circling within and outside and the clock ticks. have a great weekend everyone 👍