Game ‘is over’ for Crown Dependencies
Thursday 14th July 2011, 2:30PM BST.
THE three Crown Dependencies are in danger of going bankrupt, tax avoidance campaigner Richard Murphy claimed yesterday.
His comments follow an announcement that the Isle of Man will lose millions in its VAT subsidy after it was forced to change the terms of its agreement with the UK.
Mr Murphy said that the jurisdiction was now in a state of chaos, while Jersey had a deficit of around £80m. in 2010 and Guernsey was using its reserves with no prospect of growth.
‘This [the Isle of Man’s agreement] draws a line in the sand which says the game is over for the Crown Dependencies,’ said Mr Murphy.
‘Each of the islands’ politicians have to work out what they are going to do to sustain their economies and that can’t be on low rates of tax alone,’ he said.
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I don’t agree with his politics but he has got a point with his analysis of the economic state of the dependencies.
One easy way out of this – Jersey and IoM must stop hanging on desperately to zero-10 (which IoM started in the first place) and join Guernsey in working out a new post zero-10 tax regime that puts less of a tax burden on the ‘ordinary’ people in all three jurisdictions.
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Game?! Just the sort of emotive, belittling attempt at instilling guilt into those who have no wish to become a part of the Euro superstate, with its agenda of wealth redistribution (i.e. government takes all your money to squander), that you’d expect from Mr Murphy. I could see those crocodile tears from here, as he lamented the state of the islands’ economies. I’m not an economist, but it’s a safe bet that any tax increases would see the loss or departure of locally-based businesses, wholesale. As an economist, he should know that it’s all about competition… the most attractive business proposal winning the customer. But then, Keynesian economics was always a misnomer… another euphemism for Marxism.
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Of course the Isle of Man has a massive problem – its lost/losing over £200m of annual government revenue which is bound to be extremely hard to replace. And that, remember, is in a jurisdiction which already has a full VAT regime at 20%. The existence of this annual subsidy from the UK was of course the basis upon which the Isle of Man led the “race to the bottom” re zero-10 Very bleak times indeed ahead for them in the form of huge tax increases.
But for Murphy to bracket all three Crown Dependencies together shows complete ignorance on his part and that’s being charitable. It looks more like malicious intent on his part. Neither Guernsey nor Jersey has ever relied on a UK subsidy and our economic models are therefore totally different from the Isle of Man’s. How can we possibly go “bankrupt”, as Murphy suggests, when we’ve always got the scope to introduce (or raise in Jersey’s case) GST if we even needed to? It looks like Guernsey is on course to do as forecast and eliminate our annual budget deficit by 2013, and of course we have government reserves out aside (as fortunately so does the Isle of Man).
Headlines like today’s are very misleading and will unnecessarily worry the local population – understandably so. But taken in context they are really nothing to be concerned about.
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And the cost of the runway work is not gonna help.
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For the self styled prophet of doom Richard Murphy to use problems in Jersey and the IoM to suggest “the game is up” for Guernsey borders on the laughable.
The fact remains that even after a global financial crisis we still have an economy with no national debt. Hardly the sign of an economy in danger of bankruptcy.
That’s not to say we shouldn’t be vigilant. Guernsey isn’t immune to the wider issues and shouldn’t bury it’s head in the sand when it comes to world affairs, our own public spending or the continuing need to diversify the economy.
Yes the time may come when major changes are necessary. We shouldn’t close our eyes to that possibility but providing we act wisely in the years to come neither should we be afraid.
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GM – he is not being ignorant when bracketing the three jurisdictions together, he is being wilfully disingenuous. He knows full well the IoM has different problems but he can never resist in getting his digs in, no matter how wide of the mark.
The UK (as with most EU states) looks just a little bit more bankrupt than us. We have no government debt – hardly the sign of someone going bankrupt.
He might wish it, but it ain’t so.
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Before some of you get to complacent, the islands are tax havens. If they stop people moving their cash to the islands to avoid paying tax in their home countries, how would the islands support themselves ?
Just asking.
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Murphy reminds me of End of Days doom merchant harold Camping who woke up with some explaining to do on May 22nd this year.
Guernsey has bounced back hugely over the past year or so, just ask around.
Enter Arnold…………
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Excellent post Richard,the truth hurts.
Great to read your continued battle against the off shore tax criminals.
Keep up the good work.
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I don’t see any complacency here, Me – certainly not in my post anyway. Just the rejection of a piece of scaremongering propaganda by Richard Murphy.
I agree it would be foolishness to suggest the finance industry will remain in it’s current guise forever. To use the analogy of Dad’s Army, there is no present need to go all Corporal Jones and run around screaming “don’t panic” whilst ignoring the impending disaster. However neither should we go all Private Fraser and walk around saying “we’re doomed” in total contrast to the facts – which is exactly what Richard Murphy would have us do.
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Oh! Richard Murphy …… come back Maurice Kirk, we’ve found someone who will salvage your reputation!
Murphy is the self-styled prophet of doom and anti-tax-haven campaigner who regularly promotes the complete abolition of all tax havens. This is the man who runs a number of blogs, but deletes postings if they disagree with his point of view.
Why is anyone giving this “waste of intellectual space” any credence by giving him web-space or newspaper coverage? The highly respected Guido-Fawkes blog – regularly followed and praised by UK politicians of all colours – describes him as a “left-wing tax hypocrite” (http://tinyurl.com/taxhypocrisy) and there’s far worse descriptions out there .
Guernsey is able to show good growth prospects based on low taxation and low regulatory burdens on business, but Murphy’s lore says that if you’re a tax haven, then you’re in the same league as people traffickers, drugs barons, organised crime, major fraudsters, corrupt insider dealing, financiers of terrorism, counterfeiters, pirates and extortionists! If Guernsey’s in trouble, look at the figures today on UK national debt (the Treasury has finally come clean on that one and admitted the debt is actually twice the original £40,000 per head) or anywhere in the Eurozone …. then ask why the Far East low tax economies are also doing well……. but of course this question doesn’t meet the left-wing socio-economic agenda of Murphy’s lore.
In my view, the description on Idle Pen Pusher (see http://tinyurl.com/idiotic-economics-by-murphy) is spot on. An accountant who believes that (other) people should pay tax at the headline rate and not claim any exemptions even if laid down by parliament.
Hypocrite? I’m definitely with Guido Fawkes on this one. Let’s keep those who read tax reports which are neutral to the Channel Islands but irresponsibly portray them as anti-Channel Islands where they belong … in the sewer of the left-wing tax gutter and not on the Island’s papers … and certainly not portraying him as an expert on what is best for tax havens.
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Oh dear! Richard Murphy of wishful thinking fame ..but if taxes are required to fund the Islands then so be it……….but lets have a and a higher rate of income tax- 25% is tolerable but no sales taxes…..
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Me
Call me old fashioned but I always thought we were a low tax jurisdiction rather than in the business of helping people to avoid paying tax in their own country.That is something THEY choose to do if that is their intention
When I buy a car made in the UK which can exceed our 35MPH speed limit I can’t blame the car manufacturer if I choose to break that speed limit
Just saying
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Time to go independent and do what we like.
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Richard is a journalist’s dream. Always on hand with a string of inarticulate headline making quotes.
But as much as his inaccurate predisposed comments may grate they do serve to undo some of the recent damage done by politicians from all three jurisdictions.
A little too much noise was made in recent years regarding the success of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. A few Westminster noses were severely put out of joint in the face of the UK sinking economy by comments made by politicians. Very publicly so at a few events prompting the inevitable review of the Isle of Man VAT agreement and focus on zero ten. Richard is the perfect antidote. Let’s not get away that there are tough times ahead but now that all three jurisdictions the verge of Richard’s proclaimed bankruptcy attention will be shifted elsewhere.
A more modest approach to self publication in future years will pay dividends.
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@pbfalla
As always a source of amusement (or should that be irritation?) You seem to have such a dislike of the island yet you can’t resist getting involved in every aspect of island life.
Just suppose jealousy gets the better of you now and again.
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Why dosen’t everyone just ignore him?.
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Nick Lockett
Always fun to see Guido Fawkes cited as a voice of reason!!!
There is more political bile (and frankly, envy at Murphy’s success) in your post than in anything Murphy writes.
He’s called it right about the Crown Dependencies for a long time.
I agree that Guernsey’s position is better than Jsy or the IoM, but frothing swivel-eyed with right-wing bigotry at someone who crunches the numbers and says it how it is, rather than follow finance industry PR machines and vested interest legal firms, is just childishness.
For the record, he runs one blog, which he uses as a media outlet rather than a forum for tittle tattle. I think you will find that most media outlets have a moderation policy. Like this one for instance. And you hit the reason square in the face: why should he accept full on attacks on his person, which is all there is, no counter arguments, just pathetic name calling and repition (constant boring repitition) of inane and disproved theory.
Carry on protecting the laws that allow free movement of criminality (a quick google of corruption and transparency will open a whole raft of reports from around the world by different organisations that show illicit capital flow can only operate through the networks the CDs are part of), but don’t expect anyone that does a modicum of research to carry on agreeing with you.
Get transparent or take the flak.
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Pete
Like it or not he’s becoming more and more influential in the UK, and the Tax Justice Network, which he founded, is a global entity now. His research is being used all over the place, and recently Senator Carl Levin has introduced a motion to the Senate calling for Country by Country reporting, a recognition of a proposal written by Murphy a while back.
http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/summary-of-the-stop-tax-haven-abuse-act-of-2011/?section=alltypes
The US Senate will be debating it. They’re not ignoring ‘him’ (or do you mean that the we should ignore what he’s saying?)
By rubbishing him, people like Lockett are ignoring a trend. And acting like spoilt brats, to boot.
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Donkey Doo and Pete
Its called democracy or do you wish to curb this also.
Small islands small minds rings a bell.
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This Chap really is funny. His comments could not be more self indulgent. It is fair to say that all three Islands have issues, serious issues, however when compared to the mess that the UK and certain Eurozone countries are in all three economies don’t look so bad.
The UK and others could learn a lot from these small innovative and engaging jurisdictions. Rather than “fighting a foe” why can they not see the value that these territories bring to their damaged economies?
The “old speak” of Richard is so outdated they probably don’t make reference to it any more in higher education. What is required is a rethink about how we in the Western world make things happen. How ever you look at it tax will always be an emotive matter it is not about “not paying their fair share” as some would have you believe but more about how it is used.
Just look at Greece, Spain etal and ask yourself why have the Countries fallen on such hard times, then look at the social structuring and you will find the answer.
The days of the UK/European and USA controlling world destiny have long gone and they don’t like it! China, Russia, India and the Middle East are the new centers for all prosperity.
So what do we in the UK do? Do we look at these countries and ask ourselves Why are the doing so well and how can we replicate the success here? No we look for someone to blame and create more regulation to stifle our already overly burden business and make them less competitive!
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Regardless of the issue behind the story i am disappointed by the way the Guernsey press has produced the story. It seems to centre once again on sensationalising the most negative parts of the scenario. I realise headlines sell papers and not niceties however, this strongly dark view propelled blindly into the public seems little more than scaremongering. Yes, there is an issue and it will be debated and duely taken care of. Scaring the general public who have no real understanding of the complexities of economics is not in my view a responsible thing to do.
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In the extended article in the paper he mentioned that if the islands went bankrupt the UK would have to bail us out.
Is this true? I always thought we were seperate financially.
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Damo
I totally agree.
I think the Press should produce a summary of the States’ latest audited accounts and ask Richard Murphy to specifically comment on how they can in any way be used to reach a conclusion that Guernsey is facing bankruptcy. That should keep him quiet for the next few years.
The guy is an idiot and a menace and it is ridiculous that the Guernsey Press even bothers to publish his comments. He doesn’t even understand or acknowledge our Crown Dependency status which just about says it all. He should be asked to justify his stance on that as part of his credibility test for commenting publicly on our financial affairs. If he cannot get that bit right then it completely underlines everything he says.
Mind you, he seems to have a big fan in Arnald -they do say that everybody has a double…
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Dani
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/13/british-tax-havens-need-bailouts
“Offshore expert Michael Foot will next month set out a number of options to government ministers in the report as anxiety grows within Whitehall over the health of Britain’s overseas territories and crown dependencies.
Senior insiders say early drafts of Foot’s report suggest that the government may need to make provisions for the financial failure of British tax havens. Experts suggest the failure of a major tax haven could potentially cost the UK tens, if not hundreds, of millions of pounds.”
This followed a Cayman bankruptcy scare.
Note it is the Michael Foot that wrote the much heralded report.
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@Paul Le Page
Paul – Good post, I’d share your optimism if you didn’t have Captain Mainwaring as Chief Minister.
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Me and pbfalla
a token of support from coyote for your posts which have been harshly criticised. I keep ‘just asking’ too. Little points.
Like WHY do Guerns always decide that things are worse in the UK and rest their case. Please will a Guern explain to me exactly what the state of things in the UK has to do with anything cos Guerns will always point out that anything in the UK is nothing to do with them.
The UK doesn’t look at other countries, decide that they are infinitely superior and do nothing.
Le Andrew
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do go independent and do what you like. The sooner the better.
Damo
If the Guernsey Press simply reported a couple of facts as a one liner it would be accused of not giving the public necessary information and not doing its job. The press on Guernsey has enough censorship problems as it is.
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Arnald – do you actually critically analyse these links that you post? That Guardian article is shockingly poor journalism. Financial problems with Cayman, and then suddenly all overeseas territories need a bail out? I don’t think so. As stated above, Guernsey’s balance sheet is much more healthy than the UK’s.
The article implies (no, in fact it states) that we have suffered terribly from the financial crisis. In fact, our economy is weathering the storm better than most of Europe. Tax receipts are lower than expected under zero-10 but we will be resolving that in due course. No room for complacency, but no reason to be overly concerned either.
And then the article says that Guernsey may suffer financially due to the collapse of Landsbanki. And how does that work? There is no obligation on the States to provide compensation and it has shown no inclination to do so. So where is the financial hit? The collapse hasn’t even resulted in a net loss of business, as retail banking is largely irrelevant to the economy.
That journalist has tried to knit a jumper by throwing balls of wool in a box.
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I’m afraid simply dismissing Mr Murphy with whatever crude adjectives one might wish to deploy is not only grossly discourteous… it is also sadly misjudged.
Even countering his assertions with our own overstated hubris is probably of limited benefit. Similarly, merely deflecting our critics by reference to Delaware, Caymen, etc. is unlikely to suffice.
Modest Mouse offers a more nuanced and a more credible alternative. It seems to me that a policy of working to inform key political and financial decison-makers of Guernsey’s real strengths (including our willingness to meet such reasonable transparency safeguards as are required of any other jurisdiction) is more likely to secure the reasoned support of those who would otherwise be in a position to damage our economy. In addition, our economic advisors might seek to furnish financial journalists and those in higher education institutions with a carefully reasoned counter to Mr Murphy’s contentions.
To the extent that our representatives and advisors are able to continue doing that, they are likely to command the support of most local people… including our politicians.
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Arnald
That article is nearly two years old. Any bankruptcy’s yet?
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I can’t understand why Murphy gets any column inches. His arguments are laughable but malicious and he is economically illiterate. For instance he thinks Guernsey is going bankrupt but the UK is in great shape!!!(http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2011/07/14/right-now-uk-government-debt-may-be-just-about-the-best-bet-in-town-so-lets-exploit-the-fact/comment-page-1/#comment-601194)
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Arnold
Thank you for taking the time for a response.
Im not too sure about this article, it also says:
Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: “Britain obviously has some responsibility towards these small number of territories and that’s clearly right, but we can’t get into an open-ended bailout that would reward financial mismanagement.
“It would be extraordinary to bail out these tax havens, especially as additional money that went to them would come out of aid budgets to the detriment of poorer countries that have managed themselves properly.”
It is talking about many different territories so is quite vague, such as Cayman, BVI, Bermuda, CI, IOM. Also this is somewhat contradictory:
The Treasury insisted that it was not in “the business of bailing out tax havens”, while Foreign Office officials said overseas territories were responsible for their own finances.
It also says:
“Guernsey could also face similar issues after the collapse of a Channel Island subsidiary of Landsbanki”
Im not 100% sure but at the time of collapse there was no protection scheme or re-imbursement scheme in place, although there is now.
We don’t have to pay anything out, so I’m not sure what the article is going on about.
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Sean
You clearly have no experience or knowledge of dealing with Richard Murphy – probably the most arrogant, discourteous, self-proclaimed “tax and economics expert” that you might ever come across. Take a look at his blogs and see how he deals with people – you won’t even see a lot of comments re Jersey, IoM or Guernsey as he always blocks posters when he is being proved wrong!
The man is a menace and is so thick-skinned that he will take that as a compliment.
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The article was one of many from a quick google to demonstrate that there is a line of thought that the CIs would need to be ‘bailed out’ if in trouble.
I recognised it was an old piece.
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@Arnald
This Michael Foot?
http://www.guernseyfinance.com/news_room/foot-guernsey-well-placed-meet-future-challenges
“Mr Foot authored the HM Treasury commissioned report into the British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories that was published in late October last year.
He told the 130 delegates at last Thursday’s Guernsey Fiduciary Forum 2010 in London that the global financial crisis had resulted in greater scrutiny of so-called ‘offshore’ centres but Guernsey had responded positively and is well positioned for the future.”
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MA
Yes, I agree. The article was merely a reflection of a time when Cayman, another UK territory, was may be needing a ‘bail out’.
TL
It’s clear in MoJ literature that if the CDs ended in financial problems then the UK taxpayer may have to front up, or at least the UK gov would have to intervene if CD actions were detrimental to the UK.
Thankfully, we are not in the IoM’s position.
GM
There is a difference between offering facts as proof that Murphy is wrong and endless repetition of PR guff.
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MA
Also remember that Foot is not an objective voice on these matters. Take a look at his CV.
Old boys, an’ that.
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Arnald
How about Murphy providing some sort of evidence to his assertion that “Guernsey is going bankrupt”?
He started the discussion after all with that ridiculous comment.
I’d say that the ball is firmly in his court to prove that he is neither a loony nor a malicious bigot against us. It seems crystal clear that he is both and that he will be pushing water uphill to disprove either.
Your blind loyalty to defending him seems to place you firmly in the same category I would suggest.
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Hang on Arnald
In your 11.49 post on 15th July you use Foot’s comments to support your views. Now in your 6.26pm post of the same day you are discrediting his views.
Which is it then? Is he credible or not? Which of the two posts should we be ignoring?
Quite a turnaround within 7 hours wouldn’t you say?
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Same old same old. Guerns always resort to personal slagging off when they don’t agree with someone’s opinion.
There are many things with which I don’t agree but I respect freedom of speech for others to voice their opinions.
However, reading all the threads, it is clear that freedom of speech, expression, opinions, etc is something with which Guernsey has a problem.
All that aside. The West has serious financial issues. There will be a lot of knock-on effects. People in ALL Western countries would do well to be aware of the global situation, to accept that the unthinkable could happen anywhere, and to be prepared.
I know that Guernsey prides itself on not being part of the UK or the EU. It may pride itself on not being part of the world as well. If so, then just carry on being good little ostriches. If not, then sit up and listen and at least consider what economists fear might happen as a result of the irresponsible financiers and the greed for money which seems to be everywhere.
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GM
Here’s the timeline of this thread
1 A question was asked whether or not the CDs would need a UK bail out if the worse came to the worse.
2 I picked an article at random that quoted Foot saying just that.
3 I, indeed no-one, has specified that Guernsey is ‘bankrupt’, only that the idea of 0% without the IoM’s VAT scam, will lead to financial problems. Remember that 0% was only introduces because of the IoM.
4 I don’t think anyone would excuse any commentator of wondering how long a jurisdiction can last using its reserves to shore up an economy in sore need of major capital investment.
There is no contradiction, only a repetition that by charging an industry next to nothing, while it effectively dictates the rest of the governments spending will lead the Guernsey people to an undeserved share of any funding shortfall.
As it is, Guernsey has made the right noises at the right time, so fair play to those involved in the rpocess for listening to the mood.
Do you think this more humble approach would have happened if there weren’t people like Murphy, and the rest of the global NGOs, putting pressure on the system? Certainly when I first started engaging various Guernsey finance types six years ago, their hubris was tangible. So much so they decried such arguments as ‘impossible – just watch’.
Oh how naive they were.
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@GM Citizen Arnold Smith regularly gets ‘owned’ on this forum. It’s very funny.
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Coyote
Freedom of speech yes, but not reckless, malicious, unfounded nonsense of the type spouted by Murphy, which will cause many islanders to wrongly panic about their jobs. That’s exactly what he wants – that’s the sort of person he is.
He may call himself an “economist” but that’s very questionable based on the ridiculous conclusions that he has drawn.
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@le Andrew
Do please expand on your theory that we should ‘go independant’ – if we did we would be without so many vital arteries that some of us take for granted, in place. Would you want our taxes to be trebled in order to fund a state of the art university, or hospital facilities, and that is just for starters.
I hope your post was not just a throw away, because you wanted to join in, and that you have some real additional thoughts/experience to back it up.
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I agree Coyote. The smugness and bigotry displayed by some of these descendants of Normans, as some like to describe themselves, is nothing short of frightening.
Guernsey exists solely for the benefit of wealthy non residents and business plus the lawyers, auditors and associated ‘professionals’ who service them. The ordinary person in the street is starved of rights.
If Guernsey dragged itself into the 21st century the demands on the States finances would require tax increases. We are able to get by because public services are so underfunded by public money GP’s, Dentists, Social Services, Mental Health provision for example and public sector workers, who aren’t civil servants, are paid salaries on a par with the UK despite the disparity in the cost of living. No freedom of information, no statutory right to strike.
The good years encouraged frivolous spending by the States on consultants and the MSG for example. If the UK is so bad why are so many Grammar School teachers leaving for the UK or elsewhere for that matter, at the end of term.
Guernsey is a nice place and because of it’s geographical location is immune from some nasty things such as serious crime -no big cities nearby. However, how many of these contributors stroll carefree around St Peter Port on a Saturday evening. Unless you have lived in other places you don’t realise that Guernsey isn’t actually utopia. Unless you’re stinking rich of course.
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Mock ye not Neil. The TJN has almost as many followers as the Tooting Popular Front.
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Thought for the day – Guernsey is like a high class prostitute. Allowing itself to be used and abused by egotistical, testosterone fuelled men knowing that money is being taken from the family of the punter in order to fund her own lifestyle.
In that sense I actually sympathise with Guernsey people who dislike outsiders. Perhaps they do feel used and abused.
Let’s hope we’re not ultimately left in the gutter by the punter though, eh!
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Public Servant
How right you are. The “ordinary person in the street” as you put it, is obviously terribly off over here. Builders, taxi drivers, retail workers, those in the hospitality industry etc would undoubtedly be better off in the UK or Poland or Latvia or Madeira or wherever. I wonder why they choose to live and work here in the first place?
Thought for the day – you talk absolute nonsense.
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Public Servant
If you are a civil servant then I hope I’m not paying your salary. I’ve never heard such rubbish.
As far as Grammar School teachers and their mass exodus is concerned, I think you will find that expiry of housing licences was the driving factor – our ridiculous unwillingness to treat teachers differently from other workers means they are all turfed out after 7 years and start looking for their new jobs after :5 or 6 years. They had no choice about staying. But don’t let the facts get in the way.
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Another couple of thoughts for the day for Public Servant to ponder…
If Guernsey is ‘a high class prostitute’ what do think that makes you?
Where do you think your Public Servant’s salary comes from?
How does it feel to be living off a harlot’s earnings?
Answers on a postcard
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Some interesting stuff, among the bluster.
Nick Lockett brings an interesting point in saying that the UK is having to “cough” to a lot more national debt than was, well, otherwise evident. They’ve been fiddling it away in quangos for years, to dodge the EU rules on borowing limits, I believe. Someone else suggests we use the states accounts as some form of guide to our financial position. These are interestingly linked, as Guernsey may also have to similarly “cough” to various debts that are, well, not otherwise evident from the accounts, as we follow similar concealment policies to the UK, as it seems we are incapable of independent thought.
Arnald must find all this particularly ironic.
I too have posted comments on Murphy’s blogs and had them removed. As inconvenient, presumably, as I tend to disagree with the extreme language and posturing he tends to utilise, even on those rare occasion he has a valid point.
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I didn’t say gag him, just ignore him. Having read what’s been written in this thread since I posted that five days ago only brings home to me that I was right.
Think about what effect the present crisis’s over the Euro and the prospect of the USA going bankrupt will have on the world financial system and that should put what Richard Murphy says in to perspective.
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Public Servant.
You are quite correct that Guernsey is not Utopia. The Isles of Scilly hold that honour.
To other Guernsey posters.
The UK is probably not the place you need to be watching right now but so many of you are obsessed with it that you can’t see beyond it. The US may declare bankruptcy today. The EU has mishandled the toxic debt situation of the poorer European countries. That, plus the avaricious greed of the bankers [I do believe
Guernsey has quite a few of those], has broughtthe UK into deeply troubled waters. Chinas is a rich and powerful country; more so than the UK and even Guernsey [shock horror!]; and it is China who is now assuming the cloak of a very powerful financial mentor. Those are the facts and situations I’d be worrying about where-ever I was in the West.
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Pete, the more rubbish Murphy posts the more likely it is he will become ignored.
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Coyote, the US isn’t about to go bankrupt. Some political posturing means their debt ceiling has not been raised, but bankruptcy will not take place.
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@ Guernsey Press
GAME? – this is not a game it is our livelihood
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