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Britain's Trillion Pound Horror Story

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I was debating with somebody about EMA (I'm in support of it) and he told me I should watch this documentary, to educate myself on economics and the current political situation.

I probably will watch it, as it's good to get more than one side of a story and admittedly, I have read an awful lot of more 'left-wing' literature/articles as of late...

However, reading reviews, apparently it's a one-sided polemic and it conveniently misses out a lot of information and misrepresents arguments against the director's view.

I know it was put together by Martin Durkin, who also did the Great Global Warming Swindle, which received a shit ton of complaints and that Channel 4 have had to apologise for inaccuracies in his documentaries before...

So has anybody seen it and is it a waste of an hour or so watching it?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Not watched it. Maybe a few of us could all watch it then discuss, a bit like book club but, with a docu instead?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sounds like I'd find it quite an interesting watch.

    Regarding EMA, it is a relatively new thing isn't it?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I watched the first 15 minutes, so far so good. But I can only pick on him using children in his pre-scripted message. That's just tasteless.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've seen it, I thought it was informative.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If its the one I think it is - don't bother and I'm speaking as a supporter of right-wing economics. It's marginally more accurate than the guff that the TUC puts out, but that's like saying Spartacus was more historically accurate than Gladiator - it's not a high bar to reach

    For example, we're often told how much the public sector pension pot is and how this is a terrible debt we owe - which is only true if tomorrow every single public sector worker gets paid thei final pension entitlement in one lump sum. In reality that's not going to happen - mine isn't due for over another twenty years and its not paid in one lump sum either...*

    As a rule of thumb avoid anything which either suggests we can pay for everything if only we taxed the rich or that the economy is in such a bad state we're about to go bankrupt next Tuesday.

    * which isn't to say my pension isn't top whack - as a civil servant on classic I pay no contributions and its based on final pay, not my non-existent contributions.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    * which isn't to say my pension isn't top whack - as a civil servant on classic I pay no contributions and its based on final pay, not my non-existent contributions.
    Lucky!

    I pay around £50 per month in to mine...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Namaste wrote: »
    Lucky!

    I pay around £50 per month in to mine...

    About £300 for me :(
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MoK wrote: »
    About £300 for me :(

    Sweet Jesus, that's a quarter of that I take home. :eek:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Best I don't tell you what I actually take home then ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ~£5000/month

    Wild guess :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I watched it. It was shit. Made no effort to be balanced whatsoever, and then claimed Hong Kong as some sort of model of perfection. It also included some bizarre economics about how if you lower the taxes, you actually increase the tax revenue. Now it's true that there's a optimum level beyond which your revenues fail to increase any more, but to claim that Hong Kong, with its lower GDP per capita and lower taxes, could provide the same level of spending of public services as the UK is a bit ridiculous. In fact, it didn't claim that, but it did imply that you can massively cut taxes and actually increase tax revenue at the same time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Is this the documentary which had the bus with £4.7 trillion written out on the side of it? If it is, I found it interesting at points.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    JavaKrypt wrote: »
    I watched the first 15 minutes, so far so good. But I can only pick on him using children in his pre-scripted message. That's just tasteless.

    Those same children will likely be reading from a different script, following a decade or so of institutionalisation.

    No doubt time will see many of them doing battle with other welfare recipients (with uniforms on) in Parliament Square, demanding their entitlements and rights to a free university education.

    Any prospect of being weaned from the Government breast, before the grave beckons, being very low.

    Such is life.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I watched it. It was shit. Made no effort to be balanced whatsoever, and then claimed Hong Kong as some sort of model of perfection. It also included some bizarre economics about how if you lower the taxes, you actually increase the tax revenue. Now it's true that there's a optimum level beyond which your revenues fail to increase any more, but to claim that Hong Kong, with its lower GDP per capita and lower taxes, could provide the same level of spending of public services as the UK is a bit ridiculous. In fact, it didn't claim that, but it did imply that you can massively cut taxes and actually increase tax revenue at the same time.

    I think that was a reference to Laffer Curve Theory.

    As for Hong Kong providing a happy ending for the horror story, Mr.Durkin appears to me to have overdosed on optimism pills prior to filming. These eyes cannot see, or even contemplate any happy ending to this story.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've got to work another 39 years before I get my pension :impissed:
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