£500 voucher from the government

Sounds crazy to me but others might be able explain why it could be a good idea.
 
I think I understand the intention but it's just something else that'll need to be paid back through taxes later... [emoji848]
Assuming the total "bill" would be the value of the redeemed vouchers only, that would keep the cost down.
 
A think tank has suggested it and the government hasn't got round to rejecting the idea yet.......

It's not a terrible idea - it's basically borrowing money from future tax revenue created by boosting the economy to magic into existence some money that causes the boost in the first place. This is the kind of thing economists love and could well work. It's just like when the government decides to spend money it doesn't have on "public works" so that builders etc get a load of money and start spending it and suddenly generate the money you needed in the first place.

But I bet it doesn't happen.
 
I think people will end up taking the p*** with it and just spending it on friends businesses
 
KitsuneAndy said:
and just spending it on friends businesses
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That could well be what the proposal is intended to achieve.

"Money" has no value. It's a promissory note, the clue being the words: "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of "x" pounds" that are printed on each British note. The "pounds" used to refer to a weight of gold residing in a vault. The theory that you could walk into a bank, hand over the note and walk out with the specified weight of gold was always a nonsense. Hence, from the outset, paper money was a confidence trick. Today, most money is just magnetic areas on a disk somwhere.

Governments have always tried to spend their way out of a problem by inflating the money supply. Often enough it works but it can go horribly wrong, as in Germany in the 1930s or Venezuela today, where hyperinflation hit 53,798,500% between 2016 and April 2019.

Money Ixus 70 0877.JPG
 
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AndrewFlannigan said:
That could well be what the proposal is intended to achieve.
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I highly doubt it.. For example, my friend could buy some photography from me for £500, which I never do and never deliver. And I buy some carpentry from him, which he never does. And we both just walk away with £500 in our pockets without actually getting the economy moving.
 
I believe it is intended to be vouchers rather than cash, redeemable by retailers presumably - but since that £500 is actually more like £417 + VAT, it's a win-win for HMG politically because they will get not only VAT but any tax on profits back out of it, so it's costing them somewhat less than the headline figure.
 
KitsuneAndy said:
and we both just walk away with £500 in our pockets without actually getting the economy moving.
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Your assumption is both entirely correct and entirely wrong. How much money do you currently have? The answer is probably not what you think, unless you have a stash of pure gold under your bed.

What you have is "credit" in the form of those promissory notes. Therefor, if the government gives you more credit and the system keeps working, you and your friend are both richer and will have "spent" the money, one way or another. The mere fact of giving you the money has increased the overall wealth of the nation in the only way that matters: by making those promises.

I repeat: money is and always has been a confidence trick. Even when converted into real objects, such as a house or a car, the money represented by those objects depends entirely on what someone will exchange for the real object. This is why financial bubbles like the Tulip Frenzy or the South Sea Company happen.
 
This has been done before, and has worked very well. I have a daughter who emigrated to Australia and she told me that their government gave every adult 10,000 dollars in cash to boost the economy. She simply left hers in her bank account, but most people spent it on new cars and other consumer items, and this boosted the economy.
AndrewFlannigan said:
Your assumption is both entirely correct and entirely wrong. How much money do you currently have? The answer is probably not what you think, unless you have a stash of pure gold under your bed.

What you have is "credit" in the form of those promissory notes. Therefor, if the government gives you more credit and the system keeps working, you and your friend are both richer and will have "spent" the money, one way or another. The mere fact of giving you the money has increased the overall wealth of the nation in the only way that matters: by making those promises.

I repeat: money is and always has been a confidence trick. Even when converted into real objects, such as a house or a car, the money represented by those objects depends entirely on what someone will exchange for the real object. This is why financial bubbles like the Tulip Frenzy or the South Sea Company happen.
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I agree, the money isn't real, just as loans made by banks comes from money that they don't actually have - just some numbers that go from one computer to another. The banks profit from the only real part of the transaction, the interest.
 
Looks like it will be aimed at hospitality, leisure and tourism, so new new cameras this year chaps ;)
 
That's a cue for GAS satisfaction then!
 
If they had any sense it would be issued as a chip+pin/contactless only card, no card number printed on it so it had to be spent in store. Then again if I couldn't spend it fast enough I could run it through my card machine and spend the remainder online.

Knowing the government's track record it will probably cost £1200 per £500 voucher produced, 30% won't work and the first ones issued would be to people who died of Covid.
 
Garry Edwards said:
This has been done before, and has worked very well. I have a daughter who emigrated to Australia and she told me that their government gave every adult 10,000 dollars in cash to boost the economy.
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I lived there when the govt gave us AU$900 each - wasn't aware of the 10k offering :)
 
It's been tried many times - often it works, sometimes it doesn't. On average, people tend to spend more than they receive as a voucher so it kick starts things with little actual cost.

Especially when you realise the vouchers are taxed a number of times :)
 
I am not sure if a £500 bribe would get me back anytime soon to a pub, restaurant or the high street shops..... I would probably wait until we need a new household appliance (e.g. dishwasher) & spend it all in one go. Or put it towards servicing my Rolex watch.........
 
Al1944 said:
Looks like it will be aimed at hospitality, leisure and tourism, so new new cameras this year chaps ;)
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I would struggle to find anything out of that choice, i don't drink or eat out and stopped going on holiday
 
broc said:
I am not sure if a £500 bribe would get me back anytime soon to a pub, restaurant or the high street shops..... I would probably wait until we need a new household appliance (e.g. dishwasher) & spend it all in one go. Or put it towards servicing my Rolex watch.........
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Find a local watchmaker to do the job - far better value than the "main dealer" service!
 
Nod said:
Find a local watchmaker to do the job - far better value than the "main dealer" service!
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I get a 2 year warranty from Rolex & it helps maintain the value of the watch. The watch is returned 'as new' after Rolex strip it down, replace every worn part, renew the waterproof seals, reassemble, calibrate and restore the case & bracelet to 'as new' condition too.
 
Didn't with mine. Mine may be too old for them to do all that - it's a late '50s model.
 
So now we know, half price food Monday to Wednesday in August, VAT reductions for hospitality venues, some stamp duty cut until next year, help for young workers & 'green' grants for home owners.....

Not much incentive for me to venture out & 'splash the cash'...... I might look at the green grants in the Autumn.
 
Time for the "green grant" call centres to start operating again, fully government funded supply of product and staff with directors scraping in huge profits. That's one way to get people back to work, flood their home with cold calls they won't want to stay in anymore.
 
Al1944 said:
Looks like it will be aimed at hospitality, leisure and tourism, so new new cameras this year chaps ;)
Click to expand...

mikew said:
I would struggle to find anything out of that choice, i don't drink or eat out and stopped going on holiday
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We'd get on well, Mike..lol. Except I have no choice re holidays.. I have to go.

All a bit of an anticlimax. I never did think they'd give £500 to everyone. Had they done so mine was destined for a Rotel T11 tuner with £170 change. (internal AM antenna on the blink on the one I have) It would be like money laundering...lol. AND I was hoping to buy it with,maybe a 3% reduction in VAT. Neither happened.

Any excuse to get me to go out to a restaurant is jumped on by my wife so she thought that would motivate me..it doesn't but I enjoy a peaceful existence and intend to keep it that way. So..she has a carvery lined up and a visit to an excellent fish restaurant by the Severn. I have from now until August to psyche myself up :)
 
Steeps said:
Time for the "green grant" call centres to start operating again, fully government funded supply of product and staff with directors scraping in huge profits. That's one way to get people back to work, flood their home with cold calls they won't want to stay in anymore.
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Exactly. I immediately thought that the con men, the rogue traders, the scammers will already be acquainting themselves with the scheme and how best to con people.

2019 https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money...h-thousands-homeowners-left-saddled-debt.html
 
My phone deters cold callers, if they do persevere I ask them to hold foe moment and leave them for 1/2 an hour, cut price dining! Better bottle of wine for the same outlay! Winner winner chicken dinner. Probably not chicken though.
 
I wonder how much of the VAT reduction customers will see ? According to the BBC the Treasury believe the service provider should decide how much if any of the VAT saving will be passed on to the customer, not the Government.

www.bbc.co.uk

Coronavirus: Visitors may not see the thrill of VAT cut

Attractions and restaurants may not pass on the chancellor's VAT cut to visitors.
www.bbc.co.uk
 
The VAT saving shouldn't be passed on to customers in my opinion, most venues have either had no income or now running at a lower capacity it is directly affecting overheads. I'd rather the prices stay the same and the venue gets paid.
 
Steeps said:
The VAT saving shouldn't be passed on to customers in my opinion, most venues have either had no income or now running at a lower capacity it is directly affecting overheads. I'd rather the prices stay the same and the venue gets paid.
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Depends why the VAT is being reduced; if it is intended to stimulate customer spending then not passing all or some of it on to customers will fail .......
 
Nothing for me, dont imagine the tourism incentive will extend to Belgium, France or Germany.
Existing special offers at restaurants run from Sunday to Thursday, probably better value too
 
j crossley said:
Discount on restaurant meals in August
  • "Eat out to help out" scheme offers 50% discount for every diner, up to £10 a head, from Monday to Wednesday throughout August
  • Covers food and non-alcoholic drinks only
  • Applies at participating restaurants, pubs, cafes etc
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Yep, what I save on food will go on the wine upgrade, the bill remain the same.
 
free £1k for companies that keep there furloughed employees on though, that's me :)
 
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