Plan B Forum

David Cameron, that's who. He's been following the wrong policy for 4 years; the results have been bad and now he says the only thing to do is keep on with the same thing.

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Britain’s austerity is indefensible

Martin Wolf By Martin Wolf
Cameron’s arguments against fiscal policy flexibility are wrong


David Cameron’s “there is no alternative” speech last week on the UK economy has aroused much criticism. This is justified. The British prime minister’s arguments for sticking to the government’s programme of fiscal austerity were overwhelmingly wrong-headed.

It is easy to understand why he had to defend the government’s failing flagship policy. The incoming coalition embarked on a programme of austerity with the emergency Budget of June 2010. The economy, then showing signs of recovery, has since stagnated. Even the fiscal outcomes are poor. Indeed, according to the latest Green Budget, from the authoritative Institute for Fiscal Studies this fiscal year’s borrowing requirement may be bigger than last year’s. Only a productivity collapse saved the day – by keeping unemployment surprisingly low, ameliorating the social impact of the output disaster.
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Self-government is an ongoing experiment. I don't mind people trying things I don't think will work. I mind people ignoring the results when their theories are completely wrong-headed and don't work. If your theory generates predictions which are false it is your theory which has to go.


yrs,
rubato

You said we could guess! No fair.

You're right. I should have just put up a few clues.


"Which world leader is known for his big clock?"


yrs,
rubato

Ben

As anyone halfway familiar with the vernacular knows, "austerity" is largely a myth, particularly in Europe but also here. The countries that say they are "suffering" with it are spending just as much as they were before - in most cases more - but have slightly constrained the rate of grown in spending.

The politicians and career bureaucrats take great pains to curtail the most-public and most tear-inducing services of their agencies at the merest hint of a cutback (e.g., public tours of the White House, state parks, etc.), in the hope that the public outcry will result in the quick end of the nominal and often non-existent cutbacks.

Any manager in the private sector who projected major service cuts in the face of a couple percentage point reduction in next year's budget would summarily and deservedly be fired. But in the public sector this is expected and tolerated.

Consider how ridiculous is the discussion in which the two options of (1) keep spending mountains of money you don't have, knowing that future generations will likely be financially crippled by having to pay the debt service, and (2) keep spending within projected revenues, are considered equally plausible and tenable. And consider how ridiculous is the fool who believes that after six trillion dollars in "stimulus" spending and the economy still in actual - if not technical - recession, more "stimulus" is still called for.

Incredible.

Consider two options. Your house is on fire.

1.
You shouldn't waste water so let it burn.

2.
Put the fire out and then worry about saving water later on.


Only American Republicans (and David Cameron) are stupid enough to take option #1.

yrs,
rubato

Is it Jorge Mario Bergoglio?

rubato wrote:Consider two options. Your house is on fire.

1.
You shouldn't waste water so let it burn.

2.
Put the fire out and then worry about saving water later on.


Only American Republicans (and David Cameron) are stupid enough to take option #1.

yrs,
rubato

And I'm sure you have a graph to prove that.
I have been a volly firefighter (have you?) and from what I recall, more often than not, they have been right leaning. They care about their neighborhoods, they give back to their neighborhoods. The left leaning seem to think the gov should provide for them rather than help out themselves. Of course they have the best lawns and complain when their neighbors lawn doesn't measure up and want a law saying that everyones lawn should be 2.5inches high and Kentucky blue grass meanwhile they have the chemical people come and kill all weeds and anything they don't want.
My lawn is is a mixture of crabgrass, clover, whatever. Not one chemical has ever been used on it. It's green but it's not a golf course. I compost and all my family comes over in the springtime to get my dirt. I am signing up to be an EMT for the local fire department (I woudl do firefighting, but at 55, I don't know if I have the stamina)

As far as wasting water? I thought the left were the conservationists and repubs only cared about profits?
'Splain Lucy.