RAPID RESPONSES July 26, 2012 Plans for growth [Re: It’s time for some genuine radicalism from George Osborne, yesterday] This article is spot on, but we need more emphasis on one of the main reasons for this country’s inability to quickly and efficiently increase its economic growth. National insurance is a tax on jobs that punishes owners and workers alike. It [...]
Stagnation Britain: Osborne has played his hand extremely badly July 25, 2012 THE statisticians will be arguing about the last quarter’s growth figures for years. Was it really a 0.7 per cent fall in national income, a 0.9 per cent fall or a 0.5 per cent fall? If it were not for the soggy weather and extra Bank Holidays, might we have managed just a 0.2 per [...]
Romney’s trip to Europe draws attention to Obama’s diplomatic blunders July 25, 2012 MITT Romney’s overseas schedule this week is not just about creating the optics of a statesman. In Britain, Poland and Israel, the Republican presidential nominee will seek to showcase what he says is the damage caused by Barack Obama to America’s principles and three of her most important strategic allies. As a marked contrast to [...]
Be mistrustful of the ONS data on economic growth July 25, 2012 BY THE time you read this, I will have been to see a play, The Doctor’s Dilemma. To enter into the atmosphere, I’ll have to embrace a willing suspension of disbelief. Inevitably, the fiction of the play will conflict with the reality of what I know – or, more precisely, of what I think I [...]
As Britain falls further in recession, does the Treasury need a change of direction? July 25, 2012 YES Sam Bowman With yesterday’s news that the economy shrunk by 0.7 per cent in the last quarter, George Osborne’s economic credibility is waning. But not for the reasons produced by Ed Balls. “Austerity” hasn’t failed because it hasn’t been tried. State spending has risen during this Parliament. The chancellor oversold a small cuts package [...]
RAPID RESPONSES July 25, 2012 Green fiasco [Re: UK energy policies are sabotaging industry’s global competitiveness, Tuesday] Tony Lodge gets right to the core of why we can’t climb out of recession. The Climate Change Act, passed as the economy tipped off a cliff, stands as one of the greatest acts of stupidity in living memory. Britain won’t grow if it’s [...]
The coalition must press reset and make a positive case for austerity July 24, 2012 GEORGE Osborne’s fiscal strategy increasingly resembles alphabet soup: Plan A for austerity, Plan A+ for magic bullets, Plan B for debt and Plan I for infrastructure. Flexible planning is not necessarily a bad thing. What is a problem, however, is if revisions do not reflect changing economic circumstances but a weakness in the Treasury’s approach. [...]
Japan shows we can’t rely on inflation to tame rampant government debt July 24, 2012 THE DEBT problem currently afflicting the UK and Europe is essentially a question of political economy. Basically, there is a lot of debt around and everybody is wondering who is going to pay for it. All the economic theory in the world fails to get around this fundamental issue. Traditionally, bondholders took the hit when [...]
Push students into maths subjects or watch industry fail July 24, 2012 THE HOUSE of Lords select committee on science and technology has just published an insightful report into higher education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. It rightly suggested that the jobs of the future will increasingly require people with the capabilities and skills that a STEM education provides. However, there is a mismatch [...]
As Spain nears a full bailout, will Germany accept fiscal union to save the Eurozone? July 24, 2012 YES Stephen Barber There is a good reason why markets have been unconvinced by the latest Eurozone intervention: policymakers continue to deal with symptoms while structural problems mount up. This is now the third summer in which investors have seen returns hit by a deepening euro crisis. Each time has resulted (eventually) in credible responses [...]