I honestly could not believe it. The UK is (economically) in the toilet

This is fucking GREAT BRITAIN

Not Where-the-fuckistan, but the FUCKING UK

Deep shit, my friends, deep muthafucking shit

I take 24 hours off and the Queen goes down like the Titantic?

...propped up by the tacit agreement that we will all close our eyes and pretend it's real -- while the rich and the super rich game the system to everyone else's detriment. Only this time they went too far, and some of us are having a hard time granting "reality" to a system that is based on math games played with multiples of thousands of times any real wealth that exists in the world.

Face it. The system is imploding before our very eyes, and there isn't much we can do about it. It needed to happen. There are two very important questions we need to ask ourselves, each other, and our political "leaders":

1 - how are we going to help one another through it. Not, how can the banks get more worthless money so they can keep playing their shell game; and not, how can we hoard supplies and buy guns so we can create another kind of hell; but how are we, the people going to step forward and help one another survive and prosper?

2 - what is the new economic structure going to be? Not, how can we re-create the structure that just failed -- that periodically fails -- that is a failure at its heart since it depends on dog-eat-dog as the very basis of its existence? -- but what better structure can we devise that will encourage sustainable systems rather than a system that (among other flaws) spews out waste like there's no tomorrow, not to mention that encourages the growth of a wealthy criminal ruling class?

I am simply at a loss. I seriously don't know if I'll be able to pay my bills and have food on the table.

It didn't have to happen

The underpinnings of our system did not have to rot into the corrupted state we have today

We could have listened to FDR, IKE, Carter...

...and yes, if, 30 or 50 years ago, we had made different decisions, it could have evolved into something sustainable. But I'd say those chances were long since blown, and it was only a matter of time before it imploded due to (a) its inherent falsity and (b) the truly breathtaking greed of those who are running it like a gigantic plaything.

In any case, the imperatives of corporate capitalism are what they are, i.e. the "greed is good" ethos; and coupled with the advent of computerized financial systems that allowed the games to be played at lightning speed, together these forces have brought us to a perfect storm. So our job is to weather the storm together, and create something better on the other side of it, IMO.

Include the Global Economy when expanding markets

a tiny few exorbitant fees to "lend" us what they don't own and have no claim to. If you or I did what the banks do as normal business, the state would, quite correctly, throw us in jail for a long time.

the sooner we can shake off this confidence scheme and get back to work.

We don't need the parasites, it's time to rid ourselves of them.

broke the world. I hope people will wake up and smell the coffee! George was horrible but Tony was an enable supreme.

I would look at the physical, real world first & freeze out the banks & carefully put the values on actual, real houses & businesses. A model of modest spread & then infill, not an explosion/endless expansion, that puts a value on services provided & not merely numbers on paper. Really old school, like Sumerian-old school, economic model.

IN THE WORLD, and we're in the toilet.

IN THE WORLD, and we're in the toilet.

Banks have downgraded to the proverbial blacklist

Merrill Lynch had to be taken over, Bank of America's share price had plunged, AIG needed a massive bailout, etc. American financial groups are in big shit too.

The difference is that the financial sector is a larger part of the British economy; and the dollar is still the most important currency in the world, which allows the US government more leeway in borrowing money to get out of the hole.

thanks to tony ,great britain has become orwell`s vision.

will the queen sell off her baubles and beads?

I am afraid 'New' Labour has shot its wad...