#8 The “National Debt” …in two minutes.
“Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge”. W. S. Churchill. Imagine that you personally own, outright, Britain’s largest bank, and you are legally entitled to put any credit figure you choose in your own account. Would you really go out and actually borrow any money from anyone? Of course not. But, you are aware that […]
#7 Paying for the Covid Economic Crisis?
At the present moment, when it’s clear that the imminent economic crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, will need a massive financial intervention by the UK government to avert a catastrophe, a lot of people are worried about how the cost of this will be met. And, what long-term effects that will have. So, it […]
#6 Austerity: A choice,not a necessity.
Photo: Pixabay.com Imagine a doctor, who is treating a patient for anaemia, deciding to reduce the person’s food intake. Pretending this will be good for him, and will allow him to recover. Accusing his previous doctor of reckless mis-treatment, wasting the hospital’s resources. Think that would never happen? The year is 2010. Following the […]
#5 The rigged housing market
It has been reported that if the rise in the cost of housing over the last 30 or so years was the same for everything, a loaf of bread would be £10, a litre of petrol £13, an oven ready chicken £50. Imagine the outcry, rioting… but many seen to just accept with resignation the […]
4. “Who’s afraid of the Big Bad National Debt?” The reality of deficit and debt.
We hear TV news, the papers, and politicians bleating on about “the National Debt” and “The Budget Deficit” a lot, don’t we? And, as we all know what it’s like to have debts to pay, we worry about it. We think, “how is the country going to pay for…..?” “Our children will be burdened with […]
3. Let’s talk about taxes
#3 Let’s look at Tax-why is the economy like a washbasin? In #2, we looked at how we have all been led to believe that Governments spend “taxpayer’s money”, and can only afford to spend what they receive in tax receipts, because it’s convenient to justify political agendas. “There’s no magic money tree, dear”, Theresa […]
2. What is “taxpayers’ money?”
From the early 80s, the idea that Governments can only spend what they receive in tax, was heavily promoted, especially by Mrs Thatcher. The concept of “no magic money tree” was created, and it sounded quite convincing. Because we all understand “budgeting”. But let’s think about it. Almost all of us have an average income […]
1. “But how will you pay for it?”
Long ago, most people believed that the sun revolved around planet Earth, instead of the other way around. Today, most people still believe that a government gathers up all the money paid in taxes, and then uses that to pay for all the things that governments provide. It’s actually the other way around-people pay tax […]
