8 ms·

Crazy times it wasn't long ago that a pound bought over $2. The interesting thing this week is that the most fragile and indebted country that the EU has baile

by rr808 4y ago

Crazy times it wasn't long ago that a pound bought over $2. The interesting thing this week is that the most fragile and indebted country that the EU has bailed out for 30 years straight (Italy) has elected a govt that doesn't like the EU. Good times ahead.

nanidin 4y ago
Indeed, a great time to vacation in the UK!
- Mountain_Skies 4y ago
  Many of my friends who regularly made trips to Europe pre-pandemic have been lured into making their first trips since 2019 due to the strength of the dollar against the Euro. Probably will be many similarly attracted to the UK by the weak Pound. Guess that's good news for the travel industry even if so much else is going wrong.
  - pavlov 4y ago
    I lived in London for some years and wouldn’t choose to go to the UK as a tourist in the winter. It’s bleak and damp. If the UK travel industry does benefit from the cheap pound, it probably won’t have any effect until next summer.
    - blitzar 4y ago
      I lived in London for some years and wouldn’t choose to go to the UK as a tourist in the summer. There is a reason everyone in the UK goes to Europe in summer - it is much nicer.
      - helij 4y ago
        I live in London and would choose to go to the UK as a tourist at pretty much any time of the year. Plenty to see and do. London weather gets bad rep but I find it pretty good. Rarely goes below zero degrees Celsius and is rarely so hot that you struggle. I actually prefer London weather to central/south European one for example. More consistent, pleasant all year round. This is all personal though...
        theironhammer 4y ago
        I would agree. Perhaps if it got more sunny days, but temps wise it's not at all. When I was in Paris a local informed me that Paris gets more rain than London. I suspect though London rain is more spread out throughout the year.
      - mFixman 4y ago
        The tragedy of the UK is that its many spots with world-class beauty such as the Lake District, Snowdonia, or the breath of Scottish Highlands aren't as popular internationally as they should be since they are pricy. Maybe it's for the best: hiking trails not being extremely crowded during the warm seasons makes tourism more enjoyable.
    - Symbiote 4y ago
      Take a tip from the Danish tourist board and advertise it as "cosy" (i.e. hygge).
- KerrAvon 4y ago
  just don’t require any medical attention while you’re there, or, like, heat….
  - xuki 4y ago
    Travel insurance is cheap.
    - scott_w 4y ago
      Doesn’t make a difference because you’ll not get a hospital bed
      - checker659 4y ago
        Why?
        chanc3e 4y ago
        Nearly all A&E (ER) rooms are managed by the NHS. Private ones are few and far between so it’s likely that a tourist with insurance will end up in a standard A&E - which can have very long wait times[1]. The NHS is also using private clinics to help clear backlogs - so even private insurance can lead to a long time to see a consultant. Ambulances also do not have good response times. [1]https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/urgent-emergency-care/urgent-and-emergency-care-mythbusters https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/urgent-emergency-care/...
        echelon 4y ago
        I hate to chime in with an ask, but does someone have a good read on healthcare in developed nations and mind commenting? I always hear and read complaints that the US doesn't have a single player public option for health insurance, and that it makes our country one of the worst. Other nations with "good health care" seem to pay their workers less, have higher taxes, have long wait times at the ER, weak militaries, etc. Something always seems to give. How would you rank and quantify the various medical systems of the world? Where does the US fall? Why, and how could we make it better? I'd like to be better informed about healthcare as a matter of policy and how it fits into the bigger scope of government spending.
onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
Greece was more fragile and indebted for sure...
- Amfy 4y ago
  but Italy is far more important (size) to the EU than Greece
- picsao 4y ago
  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=404IeUzGNZ4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=404IeUzGNZ4 Best explanation I ever heard for that phenomenon
currenciessfe 4y ago
It's not that simple. Germany wanted a country like Italy in the Euro so it would pull the currency down and not allow it to appreciate too much (like the Deutsche Mark did). That would would be very bad for German exports.
- wsc981 4y ago
  Yes, Germany benefitted hugely from southern European countries joining the Euro as it made it much easier for Germany to export goods to southern Europe. At the same time it was made much easier (at lower interest rates) for southern European countries to borrow money from northern European countries and other markets, as creditors would feel more secure that they'd get their money back. Creditors would assume the northern European countries would bail-out southern European countries in case of problems. And that caused southern European countries to lend more which might benefit a country like Germany again. These countries could lend more easily to buy luxury cars, for example.
  - rich_sasha 4y ago
    This narrative is kind of correct, but it irks me when people somehow blame northern Europe for southern Europe's debt. No one forced them to overborrow, especially since it mostly happened in times prosperity. Generally speaking, access to cheap debt is seen as a uniformly good thing.
    - random_kris 4y ago
      Well the northern European will blame southern for not being frugal enough. But this is the same as drug dealer saying their dead customer was not responsible enough. Yeah it true, but some people just are not responsible for their own actions and the dealer was happily benefiting all the time from him
      - rich_sasha 4y ago
        When dealing with the public, sure I agree. But not at all when dealing with (supposedly) professional bodies such as national governments, I don't buy it. I'm not pointing the "overspending" finger either, just saying, countries should take responsibility for their actions, not complain at the enablers.
BerislavLopac 4y ago
When was that exactly? The highest I can see in the last 10 years was $1.7 in 2014... [0] [0] https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=GBP&to=USD&view=10Y https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=GBP&to=USD&view=10Y
Nitrolo 4y ago
I'd just like to point out that Italy has been a net contributor to the EU budget for 20 years straight, and was the third biggest net contributor as of 2020. If someone has more up-to-date numbers I'd like to read them, but I don't think describing Italy as getting "bailed out for 30 years straight" is accurate unless I'm missing something here.
theGnuMe 4y ago
Piketty has studied this stuff extensively and thinks that Europe needs to move towards a USA style Federalist system or it is otherwise doomed. I'm pretty sure we are in a phase where corporations and authoritarians have coopted the political engagement of lower socioeconomic classes thru identity and economic issues vs the traditional labor base of unions which is a threat to personal safety and democracy world wide.

by rr808 4y ago

nanidin 4y ago

Indeed, a great time to vacation in the UK!

Mountain_Skies 4y ago
Many of my friends who regularly made trips to Europe pre-pandemic have been lured into making their first trips since 2019 due to the strength of the dollar against the Euro. Probably will be many similarly attracted to the UK by the weak Pound. Guess that's good news for the travel industry even if so much else is going wrong.
- pavlov 4y ago
  I lived in London for some years and wouldn’t choose to go to the UK as a tourist in the winter. It’s bleak and damp. If the UK travel industry does benefit from the cheap pound, it probably won’t have any effect until next summer.
  - blitzar 4y ago
    I lived in London for some years and wouldn’t choose to go to the UK as a tourist in the summer. There is a reason everyone in the UK goes to Europe in summer - it is much nicer.
    - helij 4y ago
      I live in London and would choose to go to the UK as a tourist at pretty much any time of the year. Plenty to see and do. London weather gets bad rep but I find it pretty good. Rarely goes below zero degrees Celsius and is rarely so hot that you struggle. I actually prefer London weather to central/south European one for example. More consistent, pleasant all year round. This is all personal though...
      - theironhammer 4y ago
        I would agree. Perhaps if it got more sunny days, but temps wise it's not at all. When I was in Paris a local informed me that Paris gets more rain than London. I suspect though London rain is more spread out throughout the year.
    - mFixman 4y ago
      The tragedy of the UK is that its many spots with world-class beauty such as the Lake District, Snowdonia, or the breath of Scottish Highlands aren't as popular internationally as they should be since they are pricy. Maybe it's for the best: hiking trails not being extremely crowded during the warm seasons makes tourism more enjoyable.
  - Symbiote 4y ago
    Take a tip from the Danish tourist board and advertise it as "cosy" (i.e. hygge).
KerrAvon 4y ago
just don’t require any medical attention while you’re there, or, like, heat….
- xuki 4y ago
  Travel insurance is cheap.
  - scott_w 4y ago
    Doesn’t make a difference because you’ll not get a hospital bed
    - checker659 4y ago
      Why?
      - chanc3e 4y ago
        Nearly all A&E (ER) rooms are managed by the NHS. Private ones are few and far between so it’s likely that a tourist with insurance will end up in a standard A&E - which can have very long wait times[1]. The NHS is also using private clinics to help clear backlogs - so even private insurance can lead to a long time to see a consultant. Ambulances also do not have good response times. [1]https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/urgent-emergency-care/urgent-and-emergency-care-mythbusters https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/urgent-emergency-care/...
        echelon 4y ago
        I hate to chime in with an ask, but does someone have a good read on healthcare in developed nations and mind commenting? I always hear and read complaints that the US doesn't have a single player public option for health insurance, and that it makes our country one of the worst. Other nations with "good health care" seem to pay their workers less, have higher taxes, have long wait times at the ER, weak militaries, etc. Something always seems to give. How would you rank and quantify the various medical systems of the world? Where does the US fall? Why, and how could we make it better? I'd like to be better informed about healthcare as a matter of policy and how it fits into the bigger scope of government spending.

onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago

Greece was more fragile and indebted for sure...

Amfy 4y ago
but Italy is far more important (size) to the EU than Greece
picsao 4y ago
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=404IeUzGNZ4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=404IeUzGNZ4 Best explanation I ever heard for that phenomenon

currenciessfe 4y ago

It's not that simple. Germany wanted a country like Italy in the Euro so it would pull the currency down and not allow it to appreciate too much (like the Deutsche Mark did). That would would be very bad for German exports.

wsc981 4y ago
Yes, Germany benefitted hugely from southern European countries joining the Euro as it made it much easier for Germany to export goods to southern Europe. At the same time it was made much easier (at lower interest rates) for southern European countries to borrow money from northern European countries and other markets, as creditors would feel more secure that they'd get their money back. Creditors would assume the northern European countries would bail-out southern European countries in case of problems. And that caused southern European countries to lend more which might benefit a country like Germany again. These countries could lend more easily to buy luxury cars, for example.
- rich_sasha 4y ago
  This narrative is kind of correct, but it irks me when people somehow blame northern Europe for southern Europe's debt. No one forced them to overborrow, especially since it mostly happened in times prosperity. Generally speaking, access to cheap debt is seen as a uniformly good thing.
  - random_kris 4y ago
    Well the northern European will blame southern for not being frugal enough. But this is the same as drug dealer saying their dead customer was not responsible enough. Yeah it true, but some people just are not responsible for their own actions and the dealer was happily benefiting all the time from him
    - rich_sasha 4y ago
      When dealing with the public, sure I agree. But not at all when dealing with (supposedly) professional bodies such as national governments, I don't buy it. I'm not pointing the "overspending" finger either, just saying, countries should take responsibility for their actions, not complain at the enablers.

BerislavLopac 4y ago

When was that exactly? The highest I can see in the last 10 years was $1.7 in 2014... [0] [0] https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=GBP&to=USD&view=10Y https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=GBP&to=USD&view=10Y

Nitrolo 4y ago

I'd just like to point out that Italy has been a net contributor to the EU budget for 20 years straight, and was the third biggest net contributor as of 2020. If someone has more up-to-date numbers I'd like to read them, but I don't think describing Italy as getting "bailed out for 30 years straight" is accurate unless I'm missing something here.

theGnuMe 4y ago

Piketty has studied this stuff extensively and thinks that Europe needs to move towards a USA style Federalist system or it is otherwise doomed. I'm pretty sure we are in a phase where corporations and authoritarians have coopted the political engagement of lower socioeconomic classes thru identity and economic issues vs the traditional labor base of unions which is a threat to personal safety and democracy world wide.