It is my Friday Lay Day blog and it is going to be relatively quick. There was an article in the Wall Street Journal (December 23, 2015) – Economists Say ‘Bah! Humbug!’ to Christmas Presents – that says a lot about how my profession struggles to appreciate reality in all its dimensions. Every year, it…
Friday lay day
Its my Friday blog lay day which today means a short blog day. I am finalising the manuscript for my Europe book. I have a complete edited version now (348 pages) and am now checking all referencing etc. It will be sent to the publisher next week and I will breath a sigh of relief. Anyway, as a followup to yesterday’s blog – When you’ve got friends like this – Part 11 – the Guardian carried an article written by the Shadow UK Chancellor Ed Balls today (July 25, 2014) – Conservative complacency won’t help working people. It outlines a radical economic plan. Anticipation nearly got the better of me …
This is now deemed a radical economic plan in this age of neo-liberal Groupthink
After berating the Conservatives for failing to deliver rising living standards given that “working people are worse off with wages after inflation down by more than £1,600 a year since 2010” and “business investment is lagging behind our competitors, apprenticeships for young people are falling, and our export growth since 2010 is sixth in the G7”, Balls rejects what he calls the ‘trickle down’ tax cuts for the rich Tory strategy.
Balls concluded that:
While the Tories claim all we need is one more heave of the same old policies, Labour’s radical and credible economic plan is the only way to make Britain better off and fairer for the future.
Radical and credible!
Which means in his own words:
And we must also get the deficit down. Labour will balance the books and get the national debt falling as soon as possible in the next parliament … But we will do so in a fairer way …
Phew!
That’s what radical means in this day and age.
The moronic recital of the neo-liberal balanced budget mantra without any sign that he understands the problems he outlined earlier in the article (stagnant economy, fall real wages, lack of jobs growth etc) are all due to the fiscal deficit being too small.
What does he think will happen if he continues to cut the deficit? With no hope that the external sector will contribute to British growth, the only option then is for the private domestic sector to go even further into debt – the ‘back on the merry-go-round to crisis’ approach.
Further, so-called progressives are always on about fairness. Sure enough the composition of a particular fiscal position can be altered to benefit different income groups, which can deliver more net benefits to low income groups. Is that fair?
Well it all depends. If the level of the deficit is, however, inadequate to fill the spending gap left by the non-government sector then unemployment will remain high and growth in incomes will lag.
Who do you think is disproportionately represented in the unemployment queue? Not high income, well-educated cohorts, that is for sure.
The point is that changing the composition of government spending might be a desirable aim but the government has to initially ensure there is enough deficit spending overall.
And now what I am listening to right now
This is a great track from the 1965 Wailer’s first album – The Wailing Wailers, which was published as a compilation by – Clement Coxsone Dodd of Studio One fame in Kingston.
The compilation covered the Wailers best songs over 1964-65.
The band consisted of Neville ‘Bunny’ Livingston, Hubert Winston ‘Peter Tosh’ McIntosh, and Robert Nesta Marley.
They were supported by backing vocalists Franklin Delano Alexander ‘Junior’ Braithwaite (he did not sing on this track though), Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith.
Here it is – I’m Still Waiting
The tremelo guitar effect throughout was a sound that every aspiring young guitarist just loved when I was starting out. That sentiment doesn’t go away.
Short blogs are fun!
Back to checking references. A real fun day!
Saturday Quiz
The Saturday Quiz will be back again tomorrow. It will be of an appropriate order of difficulty (-:
That is enough for today!
(c) Copyright 2014 Bill Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.
Thanks for the music . I hope you find time to enjoy the Tour De France .
Good thing caution triumphed over hope in this case before it was too late. Balls’ position has consistently been that Labour will do the same as the Tories but just better and fairer. He has never noticed the idiocy of this position.
A pox on both their houses.
Thanks for the song. I like the old, early reggae.
I get your point on the economic situation, but and this is a big but, I think that you are not correct in your leaning or assumptions. There are more problems in this day and age than just increasing the deficit, this doesn’t mean it shouldn’t increase, it means we need a complete rethink over what is happening in the world economy. We live in a finite world and growth , this constantly lauded method for describing whether or not the world is successful or not is a complete anathema. Growth is not a measure of how well we are doing, its a measure of how quickly we are using up the resources of the planet. This is simple arithmetic described here as to the problem of “growth” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOykY2SMbZ0 <———–this tells you any growth at this time is unsustainable , WE DON'T NEED OR WANT GROWTH. What we need is a sustainable planet (when all the resources are used we are screwed) We need investment in a closed loop economy and to get away from this stupid idea that growth is a good thing, because it isn't. Next lets talk about money, yes money and how its creation causes growth. Money is created primarily by PRIVATE BANKS Not my opinion but a fact released by the Bank of England http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/news/2014/051.aspx <————this tells you that money is created every time private banks make loans, 97% of ALL money is created in this way in the modern economy, why is it important, because that is the driving force for the growth that is unsustainable (a planetary fact). Radical is to take away this power from the private banks i.e. get growth under control.
[BILL EDITED OUT SOME LINKS HERE – I DON’T WISH TO PROMOTE CERTAIN SITES HERE]
….
Next lets talk about democracy and the influence of business and finance, I dont think there are any greater dangers to our democracy than these two things, they "buy" what they cant influence and they influence for the gain of the few. To get business and finance out of the political agenda once again an important radical step, how? Get direct democracy to the people , everyone gets a say, in this day and age when banking is done on your phone why could democracy not work in the same way , I get my say by voting on things that interest or affect me on my phone or tablet DIRECT DEMOCRACY NOW.
Now at least we can get partial solutions to problems that are going to screw us sooner rather than later.
I have lots more references and links if you need clarification.