Posted by: "Nigel Stanley" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
This is all getting very off-topic, but many people think the pound
has been significantly over-valued because of the over-dominance of
financial services in the economy since Mrs Thatcher's city big bang
in 1987. This has not been helped by government and Bank of England
wanting an over-valued pound to bear down on inflation - one reason
why our interest rates are often higher than elsewhere.
___________________________________________
I don't see it that way. In about 1970, I bought from Germany some
components to build a radio ham TV transmitter. I got about 9DM for £1.
By the time just before the Euro arrived, I got about 3DM to a pound.
Today it's €1.1930 to a pound. In May 2008, I got €1.2595 using my
Nationwide credit card in Germany.
In June 2006, I got €1.3902. In Nov 2005, I got €1.4414. (I keep
records of diesel costs for my car.)
The long term trend is always the pound going down.
I have as one of my 'homepages' a €/£ exchange rate page. It is
continually going down a little, up a little, down a little......
I also receive e-mails from the New York Times everyday. The US stocks
are going - yes just like here. Continually down & up & down & up.....
These movements are necessary for the 'financial parasites' to make
their profits, for doing no real work.
My car a Land Rover, if bought in the UK (made in Solihull, UK) I would
have had to pay £25,500. But it's been exported to Germany and sold by
a German handler (dealership). I wanted a LHD, so headlights and speedo
(not MPH) were replaced and the reversing & rear fog lamps were changed
over. It was then shipped by truck and a ferry to Felixstowe where I
collected it.
I paid just over £7,000 less after paying UK VAT (Ah, back on topic!).
That's a saving of 28%. If I lived in Germany it would have been an
even bigger saving as no extra work and no shipping costs. Also at that
time German VAT (16%) was less than UK VAT, but I had to pay the higher
UK rate.
So who did not make about £7,500 extra profit?
A German would have paid about 30% less than an Englishman, to own the
same car in his own country!
The 'financial parasites' and the 'select few' are making a fortune
while we pay more for almost everything.
Reg.
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