Coronavirus Thread (Off Topic, Politics) (312 Viewers)

Brighton Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
I find myself in the novel position of agreeing with Coventrian.

We have all the ingredients for some very nasty things happening. If people can't afford food with all the other money slushing around then they will (very understandably) think "what the fuck", I'd probably be the same myself.

Well this is why a 3-4 month flat UBI would have made more practical sense. Yes some will take a pay cut but it's probably the best the government could offer
 

Ring Of Steel

Well-Known Member
On BBC now

"There’s some confusion over the number of tests being carried out each day to see if people have coronavirus in the UK. On Sunday Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove suggested there had been 10,000 tests the previous day. Health Secretary Matt Hancock likewise tweeted that the 10,000 test figure had been reached - with the aim of reaching 25,000 within weeks. But now Social Care Minister Helen Whately says the government has in fact achieved the “capacity” for 10,000 tests – with the actual number carried out on the day in question being more like 7,000.

Adding to the confusion, Public Health England has tweeted that the latest figure, as of 09:00 GMT on Saturday, was 9,114. We’re checking the figures with the government and Public Health England. Testing is a sensitive matter, with the government under scrutiny over whether it has been aggressive enough in its approach. So any apparent anomaly in the figures could raise further questions about whether ministers have a handle on this critical issue - and whether the claims they’re making on ramping up testing are all that they seem."

You can't believe a single word they say. Not even in circumstances like this can they manage to tell the truth.
 

Brighton Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
The individuals I can’t comment on but probably would want to remain employed. Without revenue for a few months and they’ll be gone as will all suppliers to the company

I'm thinking more if they're given the choice between £0 and £2,500
 

Brighton Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
Engineers that couldn't mend a puncture on a bicycle. Everyone seems to have engineer written on there backs at our place. Honestly it's a joke. We fix the damn things and do they listen to us on advice? Do they fuck.

You should tell them that, I know one at the Solihull site
 

SkyBlueDom26

Well-Known Member
I think the 'up to 6 months' is the governments way of pressuring people to stick to the rules and stay in... can see restrictions slowly being lifted after 3 but if they said that people would become more relaxed and less serious about the situation
 

tisza

Well-Known Member
The big problem there is that a lot of work is paid in cash and is ‘lavoro nero’ so they can’t claim money from the state.
No foodbanks here either.
Same here. Black economy estimated at around 15% of GDP (although this is a big reduction after govt crackdown). But figure much higher amongst self employed.
We've had 4 burglaries in ours and neighbouring streets this past week. Just cash and cards, all whilst people are sleeping. That's why gun sales etc. are up here
 

Otis

Well-Known Member
I think the 'up to 6 months' is the governments way of pressuring people to stick to the rules and stay in... can see restrictions slowly being lifted after 3 but if they said that people would become more relaxed and less serious about the situation
'up to 6 months' though, could result in hoarding and panic buying.
 

Ring Of Steel

Well-Known Member
Really wish I'd graduated a few years after 2013

Well I'm not going to express opinions on the rights and wrongs, but its a fact and does illustrate the massive problems coming down the track.

If you're a decent young mid-manager at a large company then I'd say you're looking at something in the region of £50k basic, pension & benefits of some kind. As an estimate.

On that level of income you might have a mortgage of £500 to £1,000, you might have a couple of young kids, car loan and so on, and you can still leave reasonably enough, you have your career ahead of you. This stuff means that immediately you cannot pay your mortgage, you might not be able to pay for the car, its instant financial meltdown and in the space of a fortnight you've gone from stability to being at the mercy of the banks and with the prospect of no job because your employer caves in under the weight of having no income but a stupidly high cost base. And in the post-coronavirus shake up & levelling off that level of salary will not be easy to come by. There is no grey area, you are utterly fucked. There is a purely 'Capitalist Darwinian' view that some will take, that this will flush out the strong companies from the weak (and you already see markets moving wildly between industry sectors), but from a human point of view its not their fault they were put on packages like that, and now they're going to spend maybe a decade or more getting back on their feet.

I'm not expressing sympathy for them any more than anyone else, but this is going to be horrendous- anyone 'highly geared' is going to have one hell of a problem very soon if they work for a company that doesn't have cash reserves and/or relies on razor sharp timings on cashflows.
 

Ring Of Steel

Well-Known Member
Just curious but the recession of a few years ago how long did it last?

Some would argue it never ended and still guides decision making to this day. I would argue that the companies that didn't learn their lessons then are going to be the first to go under this time, ie the ones without significant cash reserves, silly contracts, bad supply chains and so on.

But I'd say probably 2011/2012 maybe for companies, for individuals as above, some people never recovered.
 

Brighton Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
Well I'm not going to express opinions on the rights and wrongs, but its a fact and does illustrate the massive problems coming down the track.

If you're a decent young mid-manager at a large company then I'd say you're looking at something in the region of £50k basic, pension & benefits of some kind. As an estimate.

On that level of income you might have a mortgage of £500 to £1,000, you might have a couple of young kids, car loan and so on, and you can still leave reasonably enough, you have your career ahead of you. This stuff means that immediately you cannot pay your mortgage, you might not be able to pay for the car, its instant financial meltdown and in the space of a fortnight you've gone from stability to being at the mercy of the banks and with the prospect of no job because your employer caves in under the weight of having no income but a stupidly high cost base. And in the post-coronavirus shake up & levelling off that level of salary will not be easy to come by. There is no grey area, you are utterly fucked. There is a purely 'Capitalist Darwinian' view that some will take, that this will flush out the strong companies from the weak (and you already see markets moving wildly between industry sectors), but from a human point of view its not their fault they were put on packages like that, and now they're going to spend maybe a decade or more getting back on their feet.

I'm not expressing sympathy for them any more than anyone else, but this is going to be horrendous- anyone 'highly geared' is going to have one hell of a problem very soon if they work for a company that doesn't have cash reserves and/or relies on razor sharp timings on cashflows.

It isn't their fault they have been offered packages they probably shouldn't have been. I just feel a bit salty that I will do well to ever get to £50k despite the experience and qualifications that I worked hard for whereas sitting behind a desk doing bugger all can get people that type of pay packet. I know I sound childish saying 'it's not fair' but well, it isn't!
 

Brighton Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
We are talking about the general public here though. You just know that some will now panic even further.

The missus has been complaining of stomach upset because I'm not cooking enough 'proper food'. I was in fact cooking the stuff that her folks piled up in the kitchen.
 

Ring Of Steel

Well-Known Member
It isn't their fault they have been offered packages they probably shouldn't have been. I just feel a bit salty that I will do well to ever get to £50k despite the experience and qualifications that I worked hard for whereas sitting behind a desk doing bugger all can get people that type of pay packet. I know I sound childish saying 'it's not fair' but well, it isn't!

No I agree with you, it isn't fair, and I feel the urge to reiterate, I am not bleating on their behalf. All I was saying is that many people tend to gear their lifestyle and expenditure to their income, and they are going to be massively hit because not only are they going to struggle to make ends meet short term, they may well find themselves owing many thousands to lenders for several years to come. They might genuinely never recover from this.

Being the 'hippy' I am similar to your good self, I used to be pretty high up in a company (a Chinese owned company certain posters will be delighted to hear :) ) but hated it, got totally, utterly disillusioned with the way the world works (yes, including the Chinese way, could tell many stories there) and now I don't have many 'things', I don't have 'stuff', I will be just as fucked as everyone else, I can't see how my employer will be able to survive, but well, what can you do. As long as my family, kids, friends, as many people as possible come out with their health intact, we can all rebuild until the next time the way we live comes back and bites us royally in the arse. But we seriously have to change the way we live, or this will repeat itself every few years, there is no doubt about that.
 
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westcountry_skyblue

Guest
Did you get anywhere with the issue you were having at work?
I accepted furlough in the end as if I didn’t going down the employment law route could have taken years with courts closed.
My owner said it wasn’t his idea to shut but the governments,He is paying the extra 20% as a thank you.
Be interesting in the long run if this goes on for months and not just my employer but thousands others remain shut.
 
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westcountry_skyblue

Guest
At least I’m being paid and can provide for my kids,They are the world to me!! PUSB
Feel sorry for the ones not so fortunate as me.
My sister has the virus atm caught it on the frontline at UHCW but she’s coming through it at home,All she says is not the correct PPE atm for them.
First thing she said this morning on the phone was,I need to get back in on Saturday to help the victims and my colleagues!!
 

fernandopartridge

Well-Known Member
Extensive testing isn’t really evidence of a slow down. We are doing 10,000 a day I think now but the test is only a blip in time. It also apparently is not always accurate and cannot pick up all those with the infection

Health minister was on the radio this morning, of course 10k tests is the current capacity but they actually did 7k yesterday. It is just one lie after another from the cabinet.
 

Brighton Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
As an aside I requested a refund from Aer Lingus for flights in April but despite having confirmation of it being processed I'm still getting e-mails about the upcoming flights and I don't see it even being cancelled. Can't get through to them on the phone either.
 

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