{"id":28500,"date":"2014-07-25T12:30:36","date_gmt":"2014-07-25T02:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/billmitchell.org\/blog\/?p=28500"},"modified":"2014-07-25T12:30:36","modified_gmt":"2014-07-25T02:30:36","slug":"friday-lay-day-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billmitchell.org\/blog\/?p=28500","title":{"rendered":"Friday lay day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tIts 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<\/a> – the Guardian carried an article written by the Shadow UK Chancellor Ed Balls today (July 25, 2014) – Conservative complacency won’t help working people<\/a>. It outlines a radical economic plan. Anticipation nearly got the better of me …
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\nThis is now deemed a radical economic plan in this age of neo-liberal Groupthink<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 \u00a31,600 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.<\/p>\n

Balls concluded that:<\/p>\n

\nWhile 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.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Radical and credible!<\/p>\n

Which means in his own words:<\/p>\n

\nAnd 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 …\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Phew!<\/p>\n

That’s what radical means in this day and age.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Further, so-called progressives are always on about fairness. Sure enough the composition<\/strong> 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?<\/p>\n

Well it all depends. If the level<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

Who do you think is disproportionately represented in the unemployment queue? Not high income, well-educated cohorts, that is for sure.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> overall.<\/p>\n

And now what I am listening to right now<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a great track from the 1965 Wailer’s first album – The Wailing Wailers<\/a>, which was published as a compilation by – Clement Coxsone Dodd<\/a> of Studio One fame in Kingston.<\/p>\n

The compilation covered the Wailers best songs over 1964-65.<\/p>\n

The band consisted of Neville ‘Bunny’ Livingston, Hubert Winston ‘Peter Tosh’ McIntosh, and Robert Nesta Marley.<\/p>\n

They were supported by backing vocalists Franklin Delano Alexander ‘Junior’ Braithwaite (he did not sing on this track though), Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith.<\/p>\n

Here it is – I’m Still Waiting<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n