"UK settles WWII debts to allies"

[Apeking]

This made me chuckle, because I've only just finished paying off my student loan. Little did I know that some of my tax monies were going towards the upkeep of the poor, deprived USA:

"Britain will settle its World War II debts to the US and Canada when it pays two final instalments before the close of 2006, the Treasury has said.

The payments of $83.25m (£42.5m) to the US and US$22.7m (£11.6m) to Canada are the last of 50 instalments since 1950. The amount paid back is nearly double that loaned in 1945 and 1946.

"This week we finally honour in full our commitments to the US and Canada for the support they gave us 60 years ago," said Treasury Minister Ed Balls.

"It was vital support which helped Britain defeat Nazi Germany and secure peace and prosperity in the post-war period. We honour our commitments to them now as they honoured their commitments to us all those years ago," he added.

The last payments will be made on Friday, the final working day of the year. Under the lend-lease programme, which began in March 1941, the then neutral US could provide countries fighting Adolf Hitler with war material.The US joined the war soon after - in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbour - and the programme ended in 1945. Equipment left over in Britain at the end of hostilities and still needed had to be paid for.

The US loaned $4.33bn (£2.2bn) to Britain in 1945, while Canada loaned US$1.19 bn (£607m) in 1946, at a rate of 2% annual interest. Upon the final payments, the UK will have paid back a total of $7.5bn (£3.8bn) to the US and US$2 bn (£1bn) to Canada.

Despite the favourable rates there were six years in which Britain deferred payment because of economic or political crises. There are still World War I debts owed to and by Britain. Since a moratorium on all debts from that conflict was agreed at the height of the Great Depression, no repayments have been made to or received from other nations since 1934."

I think where the report mentions "equipment left over in Britain" it actually means to say "equipment that was borrowed by spivs or that went missing, if you know what we mean".

Yes, Ed Balls is a real person. He came up with the phrase "post neoclassical endogenous growth theory".

[Ball]

but "they saved us"... you mean we had to buy legitimately all of the equipment they supplied so we could fight off the forces of evil and have our guys getting killed while they sat watching for years?

[Apeking]

I distance myself from this person.

[storch]

well it's about damn time.  lousy lay abouts.

[LePaul]

Originally posted by Apeking
I distance myself from this person.

Best answer yet.

Geez, Apeking, you guys got very reduced rates and all.

[Viking]

I wonder what rates Adolf would have gotten if not for the RN blockade.

[Shaky]

See Rule #4

[Elfie]

Originally posted by Ball
but "they saved us"... you mean we had to buy legitimately all of the equipment they supplied so we could fight off the forces of evil and have our guys getting killed while they sat watching for years?

Yeah, you have to pay for stuff. It's just the way things work. No Gov't gets war material for free, even from their own people.

America was on the sidelines of WWII for 2 years. The war in Europe wasn't our war until Hitler declared war on us after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Or.....was it the Germans that bombed Pearl Harbor.....I can never remember.

[Kurt]

Originally posted by Apeking
said Treasury Minister Ed Balls.

BuWAHAHAHAHAAAHHAHAHAHAHAH

OMG, was there something more to this story?

[sluggish]

The payments of $83.25m (£42.5m) to the US and US$22.7m (£11.6m) to Canada are the last of 50 instalments since 1950. The amount paid back is nearly double that loaned in 1945 and 1946.

I wish I could get an interest rate like that...

[dmf]

Originally posted by Elfie
Yeah, you have to pay for stuff. It's just the way things work. No Gov't gets war material for free, even from their own people.

America was on the sidelines of WWII for 2 years. The war in Europe wasn't our war until Hitler declared war on us after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Or.....was it the Germans that bombed Pearl Harbor.....I can never remember.

Japan Bomber Pearl harbor, We declared War on japan, Germany declared war on us, we declared war on Germany, we saved England, and all of Europe from saying hail Hitler. It may be 60 year late, but at least England is paying it back, Another country that shall remain nameless still owes us big time, an we saved them form Germany twice, once in WW1 and again in WW2. Remember I said they'are nameless, so nobody say France ok?

[Vudak]

Originally posted by dmf
Japan Bomber Pearl harbor, We declared War on japan, Germany declared war on us, we declared war on Germany, we saved England, and all of Europe from saying hail Hitler. It may be 60 year late, but at least England is paying it back, Another country that shall remain nameless still owes us big time, an we saved them form Germany twice, once in WW1 and again in WW2. Remember I said they'are nameless, so nobody say France ok?

I would argue that England saved us.  Historically accurate but not very patriotic, I know.

Funny how we get all the credit when it was the British who stood painfully alone, after losing nearly everything, but refused to surrender.  

All while we stayed on the sidelines taking bets as to how long they'd last.  Or, better yet, while we stuck our heads in the sand like we continously do until we absolutely had to do something.

After Dunkirk there were plenty of respectable people in England calling for a truce with Germany.  Churchill managed to rally them and that didn't happen.

If it had, and we didn't have a nice, huge, unsinkable aircraft carrier base of England to muster supplies in, Europe might read "Grossdeutschland" on the map today.

Overlord was a fairly tight-run thing as it was.  Imagine if we didn't have England as a base, and had to invade from Boston or Norfolk...  Kinda a logistical nightmare there, to put it lightly.

Sorry, but I get annoyed when people say "we saved England."  They're one of our only allies, and a nation that is certainly deserving of the utmost respect and gratitude for their assistance today, and their fortitude of yesterday.

---

That said, pay you're bill

[Meatwad]

Originally posted by dmf
Japan Bomber Pearl harbor, We declared War on japan, Germany declared war on us, we declared war on Germany, we saved England, and all of Europe from saying hail Hitler. It may be 60 year late, but at least England is paying it back, Another country that shall remain nameless still owes us big time, an we saved them form Germany twice, once in WW1 and again in WW2. Remember I said they'are nameless, so nobody say France ok?

I sure wish I paid attention in History class. I think the country your talking about is Mesopotamia

[ROC]

The payments of $83.25m (£42.5m) to the US and US$22.7m (£11.6m) to Canada are the last of 50 instalments since 1950. The amount paid back is nearly double that loaned in 1945 and 1946.

And when you take a mortgage out to buy a house, a 30 year loan will pay back 3 times the original amount.

Was there a point to this post?  Sounds like a heck of a deal over 60 years.  Repayment terms like That means the US actually LOST in that venture, but hey, our allies are worth it....even the clueless ones.

Little did I know that some of my tax monies were going towards the upkeep of the poor, deprived USA:

Just because the lender doesn't need the money does not mean the debt should not be repaid.

You repaid a student loan, curious, did you major in landscape design?  Your financial insights seem a tad unusual.

[Rino]

Originally posted by Vudak
I would argue that England saved us.  Historically accurate but not very patriotic, I know.

Funny how we get all the credit when it was the British who stood painfully alone, after losing nearly everything, but refused to surrender.  

All while we stayed on the sidelines taking bets as to how long they'd last.  Or, better yet, while we stuck our heads in the sand like we continously do until we absolutely had to do something.

After Dunkirk there were plenty of respectable people in England calling for a truce with Germany.  Churchill managed to rally them and that didn't happen.

If it had, and we didn't have a nice, huge, unsinkable aircraft carrier base of England to muster supplies in, Europe might read "Grossdeutschland" on the map today.

Overlord was a fairly tight-run thing as it was.  Imagine if we didn't have England as a base, and had to invade from Boston or Norfolk...  Kinda a logistical nightmare there, to put it lightly.

Sorry, but I get annoyed when people say "we saved England."  They're one of our only allies, and a nation that is certainly deserving of the utmost respect and gratitude for their assistance today, and their fortitude of yesterday.

---

That said, pay you're bill

     Amazing, Germany couldn't even invade across the channel, yet would
apparently be able to support an invasion across 300 times as much ocean.

     It may be very PC to say the US didn't turn the tide, but it's also BS.