Tuesday, 15 November 2022

Fiscal Black Hole

We've seemingly been led into the belief that there's a Black Hole in the economy and that this is the reason the government is preparing to pare back public spending. 

However, according to many economists, this is because the accounting rules and the manner in which forecasts are produced has been changed and that the Black Hole is entirely illusory, being based on right-wing ideology, which is opposed to public spending in the first place. The reasoning is described here and here. While there are many similar stories in the media, they don't seem to be gaining traction in interviews with politicians.


The voices suggesting austerity is needed include Matthew Lesh of the Institute of Economic Affairs, which is funded with Dark Money and supported Truss' disastrous Trussonomics, and Tim Pitt of the right wing think tank Onward UK.

If we've learned anything from previous austerity measures it's that they make the situation infinitely worse. Germany learned this and quickly reversed its austerity measures of 2012. With the stranglehold on government policy of these right-wing ideologues, it's no surprise than the UK is alone in Europe in having an economy smaller than pre-Pandemic levels.

We're sleep walking into public service decimation with the eventual objective of a sell-off. According to many, the definition of madness is repeating the same thing over, and over again, in the hope of a different result. It's also the mark of the ideologue who ignores evidence. Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.


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