This is not just that old joke about how many Tories does it take to change a lightbulb? (Answer: none – they prefer gas lighting). This is about the private industry who, they actually tell us, that by paying their taxes create the money to pay for ‘our’ NHS. Mr Gove said on Marr: “Make… Read more
Category:
Economics
Economics Theory
So that’s what rating agencies are for…
In this case it was Moody’s, which, in downgrading UK debt, according to the FT : The agency also specifically pointed to what it called “the weakening in the UK’s institutions and governance”. “While still high, the quality of the UKʼs legislative and executive institutions has diminished in recent years,” it said. Now we know… Read more
Is Nye Bevan right?
So the Australia type deal that Britain will flourish under, according to Johnson, is a trade deal that, in fact, Australia is trying to actually improve in the already existing trade talks with the EU, where both sides have agreed that: The discussions confirmed a shared commitment to rules-based trade as well as to helping… Read more
Now no money left
At last, are we getting to the realisation that money is created by government will – or as currently, whim? I admire Andy Burnham’s stand. As he says ‘please remember: GM-based businesses have been under these restrictions for 10 weeks with no support.’ So he admits his realisation has come rather late. It looks as… Read more
Johnson’s ongoing strategic partner
Without a properly functioning Find, test, trace and isolate system Britain will for ever be struggling from lockdown to lockdown to keep the Covid-19 pandemic from accelerating. We now know that Serco’s tracing system traces only about two thirds of contacts and also often takes longer than 48 hours to communicate results. In my view… Read more
Fatima – dancing in cyber
This was some of the government advice on retraining: And this (apologies for the language) a spoof: and this, a wonderful poem, which I’m sure we can all appreciate: Steve Pottinger tweets here…. Read more
MMT and Tax : a new narrative – A guest post by Jim Osborne
I have been arguing within the Scottish Currency Group recently, through a number of OPs and comments, that the MMT narrative about taxation is incomplete and presents a serious weakness in the MMT proposition. I want to explain why this weakness needs to be addressed. MMT is a description of what actually happens in the… Read more
Angels to lose their American share
I was fascinated that there is an American startup called Bespoken Spirits that aims to “to precisely tailor spirits for aroma, color, and taste in just days.“ This relies on analysing the oak flavours required to flavour the spirit and thus compress the normal ageing process – and hence also the angels’ share – from… Read more
Is rebellion imminent?
This moving piece from Channel 4 news and from a real small employer (rather than a grasping rentier capitalist) correctly explains why so many are completely adrift in the government’s occasional, random and unscientific lockdowns. For sure the science is uncertain – but the money creation to ensure both the lady in the interview and… Read more
Religious change..
Rishi Sunak is supposed to be a ‘proud Hindu’, but that unfortunately, is not his only religion. We are often now told we have to strike a balance between the economy and controlling the pandemic – it is supposed to be either the economy or health, as though the economy is as much a natural… Read more