"eat out to help out" Boris's latest idea.

[Jet Cash]

This is Boris's latest idea to help revive the high street. If you purchase a meal at participating restaurants, then the government will pay half of the bill, up to a max of £10. Alcohol is not included. I'm in the supermarket cafe for my early morning coffee ( normally £1.45 ), and today it only cost £0.50 (I know, that got me as well ). I didn't intend to stay for long, but I'm tempted to try poached eggs with smashed avocado at half price.

So what do you think? All of the McDonalds are participating, and we know that their ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks contribute to insulin resistance. Should we be encouraging people to eat more of these products, or should they be excluded for health reasons?

[BIT-BENDER]

With/without the idea by Boris people would still get what they crave for the warnings as to junks foods -health issue/hazard- are everywhere, but what the idea can to is pay more focus/attention to healthy foods.

[Juggy777]

This is Boris's latest idea to help revive the high street. If you purchase a meal at participating restaurants, then the government will pay half of the bill, up to a max of £10. Alcohol is not included. I'm in the supermarket cafe for my early morning coffee ( normally £1.45 ), and today it only cost £0.50 (I know, that got me as well ). I didn't intend to stay for long, but I'm tempted to try poached eggs with smashed avocado at half price.

So what do you think? All of the McDonalds are participating, and we know that their ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks contribute to insulin resistance. Should we be encouraging people to eat more of these products, or should they be excluded for health reasons?

With/without the idea by Boris people would still get what they crave for the warnings as to junks foods -health issue/hazard- are everywhere, but what the idea can to is pay more focus/attention to healthy foods.

@Jet Cash this is like the stick and the carrot method, basically to lure out people he’s giving them an incentive to step out, and spend money which in turn will help him revive the UK economy. Also this move can work for him because people will finally step out and spend more money, but then again this move can backfire too because people will become obese and will face more health issues in the long run.

Source:

https://www.healthexpress.co.uk/obesity/uk-statistics

[squatz1]

Hm, this is just a stimulus package of sorts but it is more direct and people understand how it works.

The US has some stimulus packages as well for businesses such as PPP (Paycheck Protection Loan) - Which directly pays for the employees of your company for (I think) 6 weeks, or a bit longer if you're a seasonal business.

Makes sense to be done though. But I doubt it's going to bring more people out to eat, or even bring costs down (though you'd know more into that) I'm guessing this is just going to end up with restaurants becoming reliant on government money for sometime and then trying to lobby for it to be extended when this is all done (The Pandemic)

[BADecker]

Boris? Sounds Russian. How about Borscht?     

[TECSHARE]

[suchmoon]

https://i.imgur.com/GmQ3xzk.png

What does this mean? The government will fix the pandemic with socialism?

[BADecker]

https://i.imgur.com/GmQ3xzk.png

What does this mean? The government will fix the pandemic with socialism?

Here's what it means:





 

[squatz1]

https://i.imgur.com/GmQ3xzk.png

What does this mean? The government will fix the pandemic with socialism?

Lol.

Not sure I agree with this way of providing stimulus to people (the plan that Boris is using) though I think we all know that just the usage of a plan that is out of the box, is going to lead to research into if this was an effective way on how to stimulate a particular industry.

I still think that the best and easiest way of stimulating the economy, is direct cash payments. While the price tag may be high at first glance, you cut out all of the bureaucracy of the other plans (as I assume Boris plan is going to require lots of paperwork, oversight, etc) and you just get hands into people at certain income limits. They'll use that money to keep the economy moving along. Plus you're giving it to the most vulnerable group of people (given that you pick their income group)

[franky1]

its boris's way of 'passing down' the benefits its giving to businesses by having customers benefit from it rather than businesses just reaping the benefits

also as jetcash just revealed instead of just ordering a coffee now and again he is now actually tempted to buy coffee more, and is even tempted to add a poached egg and avocado to his order.
which also stimulates restaurants to buy more produce from farms which stimulates farms to get going again

i think this is better than just paying mcdonalds/morrisons cafe to just stay open by subsidising 50% of the restaurants costs with no secondary benefits for customers/farmers

[Jet Cash]

There doesn't seem to be much of an overhead for the supermarket cafe. They already offer a discount to staff members, who show an ID card to claim it. They have just added another discount category, and there is a printed bar code by the till. scanning this applies the discount. The limit is £10 per person per transaction, but there is no limit to the number of transactions per person. If you want £30 worth of food, then you just split it into 3 visits. I'm not sure if the £10 limit is per transaction,or per discount, maybe I should check that.There isn't much that the government can do to check on claims, so I suspect they probably just pay the cafe on submission of a claim. Maybe C&E will check when they do a VAT inspection.

Since the cafe reopened I've been buying big breakfasts, as that was a good deal ( even better at half the price ). That's sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, hash browns, fried bread, and probably something else that I have forgotten. All that is £4.25 with a free cup of coffee, and at half price, I've noticed a couple of people buying two of them. I was shocked to discover that I has assed over 2 Kg to my weight, so I've switched to a couple of poached eggs on a smashed avocado base with an organic peppermint tea. I'm enjoying the change.

I think this could have been a great chance to tackle the obesity issue, and sugar and energy drinks could have been excluded, or possibly subject to an extra tax. Ultra-processed foods like burgers and fake chicken could also have been excluded.

There is now a small sign that explains the 50% discount, but the cafe is still pretty empty, as is the supermarket. It's about 0830 hours on a Tuesday, and I would have expect more customers to be here.

[squatz1]

its boris's way of 'passing down' the benefits its giving to businesses by having customers benefit from it rather than businesses just reaping the benefits

also as jetcash just revealed instead of just ordering a coffee now and again he is now actually tempted to buy coffee more, and is even tempted to add a poached egg and avocado to his order.
which also stimulates restaurants to buy more produce from farms which stimulates farms to get going again

i think this is better than just paying mcdonalds/morrisons cafe to just stay open by subsidising 50% of the restaurants costs with no secondary benefits for customers/farmers

Oh yeah, I know that Jet Cash is saying that it is working in tempting him to go buy more. I'm more curious on if research on the topic will be able to show the same results. As one persons anecdotal evidence isn't true evidence that can be supported.

Would much rather see consumers directly receiving benefit. Though some critics of this may say - Why are you only helping a particular industry instead of giving people the choice on what to spend money on? That's why I support direct cash payments to Americans instead of just propping up particular industries.

I'm sure if you were to look at the amount of funds that Boris' party has received from restaurant lobbying groups, it'll probably be a good amount compared to other orgs.

[PrimeNumber7]

I clicked on this thread thinking it would be about an entirely different kind of stimulus program. 

I am not sure about the UK and Europe, but in the US, most of the GDP decline was due to consumer spending tanking. An efficient stimulas program will need to get consumers to actually spend their stimulus money instead of using it to pay down debt, or put it in the bank.

It would probably be better if this program had limits to prevent people from abusing it, and to prevent subsidizing spending that would have happened regardless of the stimulus program.

[squatz1]

I clicked on this thread thinking it would be about an entirely different kind of stimulus program. 

I am not sure about the UK and Europe, but in the US, most of the GDP decline was due to consumer spending tanking. An efficient stimulas program will need to get consumers to actually spend their stimulus money instead of using it to pay down debt, or put it in the bank.

It would probably be better if this program had limits to prevent people from abusing it, and to prevent subsidizing spending that would have happened regardless of the stimulus program.

I assume that it is hard to separate those two. As you'd have an issue saying what sales (for this particular program) were going to happen regardless, and what sales are happening b/c of the additional money.

This is one of the big reasons that I favor a direct cash payment. Put the hands into people and let them use it, they're going to use it on things that they need (or even save it), and if they use it on things that they need (or want) they're going to stimulate the economy.

This plan doesn't pick a particular industry and elevate it to getting more money from the government coffers. And it isn't susceptible to a large amount of lobbying from interest groups trying to get money for their particular industry.

Plain and simple, give the group money and give them the freedom to use it as they see fit. That's it.

[PrimeNumber7]

This is one of the big reasons that I favor a direct cash payment. Put the hands into people and let them use it, they're going to use it on things that they need (or even save it), and if they use it on things that they need (or want) they're going to stimulate the economy.

In the US, the savings rate has spiked, to the point that the stimulus money is not being spent, aka is not stimulating the economy. Credit card debt is down ~10% from prior to the start of the lockdowns, which is great for those who are paying down debt, but this is not really the purpose of the stimulus payments.

The industries that are subsidized can be the hardest hit, so it would not be so much as picking winners and losers, but rather helping some of the losers become winners, who are only losers because of bad government policy (lockdowns).

I would also note that this type of stimulus will not only help industries being subsidized, it will help get people to go out of their houses, which will lead to people patrionizing businesses that are not being subsizied. This will also make the lockdowns less popular. If people are being paid enough to cover rent, necessities plus some to save, they will of course favor the lockdowns, even without a pandemic, but if they are being encouraged to go out, they will not favor the lockdowns, and will be more willing to return to work.

[Mauser]

So what do you think? All of the McDonalds are participating, and we know that their ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks contribute to insulin resistance. Should we be encouraging people to eat more of these products, or should they be excluded for health reasons?

Would be nice if pubs and inns were a part of that initiative and I’d like to see such "discounts" in my country, too. I lived for two years  in UK (Liverpool and Edinburgh) about 15 years ago  and have a fond memory of their cooking at small pubs and inns. All  McDonald's meals are not for my health.

Most countries reduced sales taxes during corona pandemic so in the end everything including food should have gotten a little cheaper in the last month. But the service industry is definitely hit very hard in the corona time and needs some more relief. And making such support only for healthy restaurants would leave out a lot of people in the meantime. Every restaurant needs some sort of assistance during this crisis.

[franky1]

its boris's way of 'passing down' the benefits its giving to businesses by having customers benefit from it rather than businesses just reaping the benefits

also as jetcash just revealed instead of just ordering a coffee now and again he is now actually tempted to buy coffee more, and is even tempted to add a poached egg and avocado to his order.
which also stimulates restaurants to buy more produce from farms which stimulates farms to get going again

i think this is better than just paying mcdonalds/morrisons cafe to just stay open by subsidising 50% of the restaurants costs with no secondary benefits for customers/farmers

Oh yeah, I know that Jet Cash is saying that it is working in tempting him to go buy more. I'm more curious on if research on the topic will be able to show the same results. As one persons anecdotal evidence isn't true evidence that can be supported.

Would much rather see consumers directly receiving benefit. Though some critics of this may say - Why are you only helping a particular industry instead of giving people the choice on what to spend money on? That's why I support direct cash payments to Americans instead of just propping up particular industries.

I'm sure if you were to look at the amount of funds that Boris' party has received from restaurant lobbying groups, it'll probably be a good amount compared to other orgs.

the UK unemployed gets an extra £90 a month ontop of the usual minimum social security benefits.
the UK employed, that cant work are given 80% of their pay instead of ~30% pay under normal statutory sickness

so UK people are getting paid direct better than america's version. and ontop of that the UK is getting the food industry back into action by way of something that does also benefit people yet again

to me id let the movie industry just take a break. TV stores can just stay switched off
but food/drink/housing are the real essentials of life
not getting money to then buy a flatscreen TV

we should not be wasting taxes on peoples luxuries or the rich to get richer while poorer get poorer
but this scheme actually is the right balance and on the right sector

[squatz1]

This is one of the big reasons that I favor a direct cash payment. Put the hands into people and let them use it, they're going to use it on things that they need (or even save it), and if they use it on things that they need (or want) they're going to stimulate the economy.

In the US, the savings rate has spiked, to the point that the stimulus money is not being spent, aka is not stimulating the economy. Credit card debt is down ~10% from prior to the start of the lockdowns, which is great for those who are paying down debt, but this is not really the purpose of the stimulus payments.

The industries that are subsidized can be the hardest hit, so it would not be so much as picking winners and losers, but rather helping some of the losers become winners, who are only losers because of bad government policy (lockdowns).

I would also note that this type of stimulus will not only help industries being subsidized, it will help get people to go out of their houses, which will lead to people patrionizing businesses that are not being subsizied. This will also make the lockdowns less popular. If people are being paid enough to cover rent, necessities plus some to save, they will of course favor the lockdowns, even without a pandemic, but if they are being encouraged to go out, they will not favor the lockdowns, and will be more willing to return to work.

I mean the savings rate spiking does make sense though given that this is an incident like no other in American history. This isn't like 2008 when people lost their jobs, investments and so on and had an issue of not having the funds. Now people are saving money because they were scared of leaving their homes and potentially getting a virus. That's the reason that the savings rate balloned.

Not sure I'd call lockdowns bad government policy, as I do think it does truly help in making sure an area can just reopen at some point -- instead of just waiting around for the next surge and then doing rolling lockdowns.

[Jet Cash]

The lockdowns are not designed to improve general health, but to stop the spread of immunity, and to give "them" time to release an inadequately tested vaccine. This will enable more people to be placed under the artificial health control of the money Pharmas. It is also being used to destroy small businesses and food producers, and force people to buy ultra-processed foods from the global producers.

[squatz1]

The lockdowns are not designed to improve general health, but to stop the spread of immunity, and to give "them" time to release an inadequately tested vaccine. This will enable more people to be placed under the artificial health control of the money Pharmas. It is also being used to destroy small businesses and food producers, and force people to buy ultra-processed foods from the global producers.

.........

Any sources on any of those outlandish claims?

Like I don't understand big conspiracy theories like this because it would require SO MANY PEOPLE to be on board and no one leaking. Like as of right now science is showing that the only way to get the 'herd immunity' (without a vaccine) is by having 70-80% of the population get COVID. That seems OKAY at first glance, but allowing the number to get that high means that we're going to experience a HUGE amount of deaths and hospitalizations.

Mass amounts of people are going to die from both COVID and hospitals being too crowded to be able to effectively handle the pandemic and regular hospital needs. Imagine having a heart attack or something horrible like that in a time when the hospital is full? You're doomed to die b/c of it.

Plz sources JETTY.

The lockdowns are not designed to improve general health, but to stop the spread of immunity, and to give "them" time to release an inadequately tested vaccine.

How do you know that? AFAIK,  immunity is not spreading but acquired. Immune response depends on the kind of virus. Unfortunately COVID survivors have short-term response.  Or you have other scientifically proved data. The desirable most often does not coincide with the reality.

P sure Jet Cash doesn't care about all of that. He just likes spreading a lot of bullshit conspiracy theories.