economic plan b
Keynes’s ghost continues to haunt George Osborne
That George Osborne should hail the loss of the UK’s AAA credit rating as evidence that yet more of the same cuts and austerity are needed is an alarming example of Orwellian “doublethink.” What is needed is Keynesian government pump priming, to fill the potholes, build houses, improve local rail networks (not HS2), invest in renewable energy sources etc, and so create employment, restore growth, increase tax revenues, eliminate the current deficit and bequeath to future generations a spanking economic infrastructure and a healthy society.
There is no disguising the fact: these are disastrous figures for the chancellor
Today’s figures from the ONS confirm that GDP fell by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2012. Whilst the upward revision is obviously good news, there is no disguising the fact that these are disastrous figures.
FT pulls apart austerity economics
The Financial Times has this morning produced a blinding set of graphs which highlight how fiscal austerity has negatively impacted on the GDP of various European economies.
The human face of austerity: Coalition presides over shocking food bank rise
Figures obtained by Left Foot Forward show the coalition has presided over a shocking growth in the number of people using food banks to feed themselves and their families.
Comment: Ed Balls should not fall on his sword
Historian Anthony Seldon has called for Ed Balls to 'fall on his sword' for the good of the Labour Party. On the contrary, Balls is a political powerhouse who has been proven correct about austerity.
Osborne under increasing pressure to move to the right
The chancellor George Osborne is coming under increasing pressure from tory back benchers and the governor of the bank of England to pursue a more right wing agenda.