Harleyman Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Our Sea Harriers, and your all-aspect Sidewinder AIM-9L, took care of that little problem. Mind you, the UK <> US relationship was better under Reagan and Thatcher than it is now, presumably because Blair, slimy politician that he is, was only interested in feathering his own nest when bending over for both the US and Europe... I've been back several times to Britain over the years. It's by far much more prosperous and better off than it ever was during my time. Can some of this be attributed to EU membership? Same goes for Ireland even though it's economy has lately gone down the old wazoo, but after joining the EU it enjoyed a period of intense prosperity for several years As for Reagan and Thatcher it was a whole different era. There were now wars or threats of terrorism in their day and overall the economies of both countries were pretty good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Bourne Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 I've been back several times to Britain over the years. It's by far much more prosperous and better off than it ever was during my time. Try coming back in another few years, when the spending cuts have bitten Same goes for Ireland even though it's economy has lately gone down the old wazoo' date=' but after joining the EU it enjoyed a period of intense prosperity for several years[/quote'] EDIT - Wasn't Ireland's prosperity down to nothing more than inflated property prices (which accounted for most of England's increased prosperity) ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wednesday1 Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Try coming back in another few years, when the spending cuts have bitten I reckon this song will be No1 again, as it was for Charlie and Di's wedding back in the summer of 1981 when it seemed all of Sheffield was closing down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WhhSBgd3KIGhostTown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 I reckon this song will be No1 again, as it was for Charlie and Di's wedding back in the summer of 1981 when it seemed all of Sheffield was closing down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WhhSBgd3KIGhostTown Sheffield's industry was based on steel (why should I be telling you the obvious) but once the steel industry went down the city felt the pain. Not just Sheffield either. Many steel manufacturing regions in the eastern US states become blighted also and worse off since laid off employees didn't get the same unemployment benefits than their British counterparts. Blame it all on foreign competition. Cheap labour equals cheaper prices. Cheaper prices attract the buyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Try coming back in another few years, when the spending cuts have bitten EDIT - Wasn't Ireland's prosperity down to nothing more than inflated property prices (which accounted for most of England's increased prosperity) ? Spending cuts? They're going to bite here also. Ireland attracted a lot of foreign investment after it joined the EU. Manufacturers saw a potential employee market of young well educated people and jobs were plentiful even to the point of people from other parts of the world locating there to live instead of people leaving as had been the case for several hundred years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFKvsNixon Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Spending cuts? They're going to bite here also. Ireland attracted a lot of foreign investment after it joined the EU. Manufacturers saw a potential employee market of young well educated people and jobs were plentiful even to the point of people from other parts of the world locating there to live instead of people leaving as had been the case for several hundred years The foreign investment probably saw Irelands 12.5% corporation tax, and decided to base their European side of their business there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wednesday1 Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Sheffield's industry was based on steel (why should I be telling you the obvious) but once the steel industry went down the city felt the pain. Not just Sheffield either. Many steel manufacturing regions in the eastern US states become blighted also and worse off since laid off employees didn't get the same unemployment benefits than their British counterparts. Blame it all on foreign competition. Cheap labour equals cheaper prices. Cheaper prices attract the buyers The main reason for the delcine in the early '80's was because Sheffield made 'special' steels for use in the UK engineering industries, all of which were decimated around this time, coupled with the Conservative govt's privatisation of this sector of the industry in the Phoenix 1 and 2 privatisation schemes, which was to see dramatic reductions in the manpower and capacityin both the nationalised and private sector. Anyway, too much for a Saturday night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vague_Boy Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 In particular, she thought that the economies of Europe were too diverse for monetary union to make any sense. A "one size fits all" monetary policy for economies as diverse as Germany and Greece has indeed proven to be an utter disaster. The US Dollar is more or less the single currency in any case as it's the major trading currency around the world It's the world's "reserve currency" in that commodities such as oil are purchased in dollars, but it's not a single currency in that sense. We don't pay for our weekly shop in dollars do we? The US dollar's unquestioned hegemony as the global reserve currency looks to be under threat anyway. UN calls for new reserve currency China Calls for a New Global Reserve Currency hardly take anything the wicked witch of grantham said with any degree of accuracy as she ruined the working people of this country Is that why many of them won't work these days? I've got a broad back That must make up for your narrow mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildrneil Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 The main reason for the delcine in the early '80's was because Sheffield made 'special' steels for use in the UK engineering industries, all of which were decimated around this time, coupled with the Conservative govt's privatisation of this sector of the industry in the Phoenix 1 and 2 privatisation schemes, which was to see dramatic reductions in the manpower and capacityin both the nationalised and private sector. Anyway, too much for a Saturday night! Which is, of course, why Sheffield is producing more of these specialist steels than ever. It really pees me off this "oh woe it's all the evil Thatch's fault". We're talking what thirty years ago now - more than enough time to rebuild an economic base but it seems some people are happier moaning about history than looking to a potential future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wednesday1 Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 Which is, of course, why Sheffield is producing more of these specialist steels than ever.It really pees me off this "oh woe it's all the evil Thatch's fault". We're talking what thirty years ago now - more than enough time to rebuild an economic base but it seems some people are happier moaning about history than looking to a potential future What utter garbage. There is only Sheffield Forgemasters left which produces engineering steels within the city boundaries! Please point me in the direction of these phantom steelworks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.