Do you understand National Debt?

[Coldicote]

The 18.03.10 news reports say that the govt. borrowed less than expected in January, also in February (£12.4bn). Borrowing for the current year has reached £131.9 bn and may be less that the govt's forecast of £178 bn. Are ordinary mortals really expected to understand this? A debt, or borrowing, by the very nature of the words implies an obligation to re-pay. Who are the rich peple the govt. borrows from, or is the whole thing just a mince-up of words designed to confuse people?

[Old_Geezer]

There are international banks & funds that can supply the money. Try Googling it you'll proably find a lot on it.

Yes there is an obligation to repay, but that is normal practice; one borrows when one needs to, to turn things around and invest for the future, then pays back when things are going well and the economy can afford it.

[jake-the-peg]

They borrow by issuing "Gilts" these are bonds promissing to pay back money + a set interest in X years.

These are bought by financial institutions like the ones that invest pensions.

The rich people the government borrows from are to some extent you and I

[sarah_louise]

You will find this an interesting site
http://www.debtbombshell.com/

[Coldicote]

Very many thanks for these thoughtful answers. I begin to wonder whether money is real or just a notion for complex accounting. Sarah_louise your web link was very interesting thank you and helps to put the whole thing into understandable layman's language. I'm reminded of the biblical quotation "...for the love of money is the root of all evil" - even in those far off days!!

[tamborine]

vote wisely at the next election !

[R1Geezer]

The goverenment borrows mostly from the public in the form of Gilts, bonds, national savings etc. To be fair to the government they are not a "mince-up" of words. All the figures are publicly available.

[Dodger666]

Tamborine

It doesn't matter who you vote for, the Government always gets in.

Seriously though what we need for our votes to count is proportional representation. Historically, British Governments have rarely had the backing of the majority of the electorate, 1931 was the last time one party got more than 50% of the votes. For example in 1997 Labour got 43% of the total votes and 63% of MPs, and in 2005 they got 35% of the total votes and 55% of MPs. How on earth can that be democratic?