Austerity

[Tangled up in Blue]

Austerity.What is it good for?
I'm tempted to reply absolutely nothing, but even if you believe it works, have a look at this short youtube video and see what you think.

http://youtu.be/FmsjGys-VqA

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Nothing new here really, well explained but the effects are seen everywhere with short drives down either York Road or Thorpe Hall Avenue being visible examples of what the lecturer is explaining. If there was an opposition party which could be believed and trusted then maybe politics and reform; fiscal and social, in the UK might be acceptable.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Nothing new here really, well explained but the effects are seen everywhere with short drives down either York Road or Thorpe Hall Avenue being visible examples of what the lecturer is explaining. If there was an opposition party which could be believed and trusted then maybe politics and reform; fiscal and social, in the UK might be acceptable.

Mark Blyth gives Miliband three pieces of advice here.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2013/may/24/austerity-history-dangerous-idea-video

Hopefully,Ed's listening.

 

[Neil_F]

This is desperately juvenile. It completely misses out the impact of monetary policy and the bond market conditions in 2008-2010.

I'm afraid the "professor" also doesn't understand the difference between debt and the deficit. He repeats that the point of austerity is to "pay down debt", yet it isn't at all. Debt is being increased at a rapid pace because the government continues to borrow about 15% of all spending every year. That is the deficit. The objective of eliminating the deficit is to stop borrowing any more not to "pay down debt".

No one is advocating re-directing spending to pay off government debt. That makes no sense anyway because the government would have to borrow more at interest to pay off debt.

I'm afraid the last minute betrays the "professor's" politics of big government, high spending and high taxation.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

I have tried to listen and understand Ed Balls idea of fiscal sense BUT it is just noise with no real answer or numbers. Balls is, in my opinion, a clone of Brown but less honest in clarity of purpose.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Some real austerity in Greece as they have shut down state broadcasting.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I think you can expect the present government to relax their current austerity policies a little, in order to engineer a mini- housing boom, just in time for the 2015 G/E.Help to buy (votes) indeed!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/jun/12/help-to-buy-second-homes-foreign-buyers

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Yes BarnaBlue, you are correct and the time is approaching for the Tories to start buying votes ahead of the election & also to really start point scoring off the Lib-Dems over policies and fudging issues. The manifestos might be interesting fibs.

 

[Cricko]

It's working In Brussles today this Austerity malarky. The home of the wonderful EU. :winking: http://rt.com/news/water-cannons-br...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

It's working In Brussles today this Austerity malarky. The home of the wonderful EU. :winking: http://rt.com/news/water-cannons-br...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

There was a lot of trouble in Madrid last weekend too.