Is The IMF taking Over perhaps just what the country needs

[WaitingInForMyFoodShopping]

Ok bear with me. This sounds like an idiotic thing to say because if the IMF are involved it means the country is officially in a mess and the IMF will slash spending and enforce their own budgets and rules. So anyone on benefits might lose them, NHS funding will likely go down, same for the police force etc

It just occurred to me today that the country is in a complete mess and there isn't really any end in sight.

Headlines today - I didn't read the detail but I am just getting more angry, helpless feeling and frustrated and want 'somebody' who has some balls to step in and say enough. Things change from today. Todays headlines are rising taxes, 1/10 high school kids on benefits, families of migrants can claim benefits from day 1 even if they don't speak english.

Now i will caveat this by saying the housing market does need sorted but lets be honest that's not what they are trying to do here - it's just about raising taxes. I also say there is another articles claiming ' a crackdown on bring families into Britain' - something that made me snort with derision giving the whole small boats/protests going on just now.

I mean lets just get to the point. Does ANYONE think RR/KS are able to fix this mess. I know they didn't cause it. I know they have been in office less than a year but if we give them another year are they able to fix it. I personally don't think so. It is going to need someone very tough to brave the mess and take it in hand (Maggie Thatcher where are you now).
So what are we left with - voting Reform - which I have joked about doing but i don't actually think that is the way to go. That's borne out of desperation. So who is going to fix it then.

AIBU to think a complete reset, painful as it will be by the IMF is just what the country needs?

House prices drop unexpectedly amid property tax fears - latest updates

The ‘ludicrous’ migrant family rule pushing councils to breaking point

One in 10 secondary schoolchildren on disability benefits

Probably not even in the 70s, last IMF bailout things were tough. A few things since then pre covid.

No they promised not to raise taxes, but spend more which was a nice idea but they have raised taxes of course and borrowing, which means very high debt servicing.

if we’re spending on a large amount on debt it’s taking away from other things.

Yes, I’m not exactly sure when Labour are officially allowed to be held accountable. The party themselves simply deny there’s any issues with anything at all and just endlessly repeat some script with the supporters seemingly under the impression the Tories are still in charge. How can you live in the U.K. right now and not be worried about what Labour are doing to the country?

When you are imitating an ostrich

What is "education tax and jobs tax"
? The taxes on education and jobs

Reeves has just carried on the income tax th freezes from the Tories.... you were strangely quiet about these?
I really am not quiet about these, but you have to understand that the Tories aren’t in Government .

I’m not exactly sure when Labour are officially allowed to be held accountable.

I presume it depends on if you voted for them or not and what expectations you may have had. Do I think they have made mistakes? 100% Do i think in 3 yrs time we will be celebrating an economic boom? No. But I have already said it will take years if there even is a solution and require cross party consensus so obviously I have a different viewpoint to you @ThatWaryOchreQuoter

I really am not quiet about these, but you have to understand that the Tories aren’t in Government

@ThatWaryOchreQuoter this is the thinking I don't understand. Just because a party isn't in power doesn't mean we aren't still dealing with ramifications eg Thatcher & privatisation & Blair & PFIs. How quickly would you expect a government to fix years of low growth?

How will higher debt servicing help growth? Or higher taxes for that matter

@EasternStandard when did I say it would?

Err all taxes have an effect on jobs, was the previous 13.2% employer NI a tax on jobs??
What tax on education? i just asked my niece if she pays any taxes to access the local primary school....

apparently there is none..... yet you say there is a tax on education....

No, when Sunak froze tax TH's very little traffic on here/anywhere else or do you think Reeves should have unfrozen them from this year? and how would you have paid for this?

Any suggestions for Reeves ?

@EasternStandard how can you have low taxes with low productivity? How can you have low taxes with an ageing population and services like the NHS?

What are we supposed to have a cross party consensus on though? A mismatch of spite policies from a class war from the 1800s and a land grab from the state to control more of peoples lives?

Yes there is VAT on 1 type of children's education. VAT is a tax on goods or services. The service being taxed is education hence it is rightly called an education tax.

UK is also only country in the world to now have an education tax

Liz Truss should never have removed Rishi's H&S care levy but I guess it was a vote sweetener.

I think Teresa May was on the right lines with her social care policy but obviously it was hated because no one wants to pay.

If you halved everyones commute - with proper childcare - you'd double productivity.

@ThatWaryOchreQuoter Wasn't the creation of the NHS a cross party solution?

A mismatch of spite policies from a class war from the 1800s and a land grab from the state to control more of peoples lives?

I don't know what the above means.

IMO what we have had/have isn't working but you can disagree.

Can you show me the maths to evidence that? If my commute now only takes 30 mins twice a day instead of 1 hour, I save 1 hour per day. How does that double my productivity?

LOL, this is just like this week’s Phillipson interviews. I’m guessing that the education and jobs tax are now calked a people’s liberation fund contribution or something?

If you halved everyone's commute - with proper childcare - you'd double productivity.

There's another reason for low productivity, far too much concentration of jobs in one area. Other countries have more than 1 city as an economic hub & much better nationwide infrastructure.

But better infrastructure and childcare will require higher taxes.

Taxes are not currently low. They were not low before Labour made the NI mistake either.

Plus counter to that is how can you have high taxes and high growth?

You need incentives not barriers.

Newspeak seems apt these days

@twistyizzy it's quite basic really

www.economicsobservatory.com/what-transport-policies-could-improve-the-uks-productivity

Like the "free" nursery places, that no nurseries can afford to provide because the government funding isn't sufficient? And the rate of nurseies closing is increasing?
Or the "free" breakfast clubs which very few schools can afford to run because 60p per pupil isn't enough to give them more than a slice of soggy toast and dilute juice?

And where does that say that by reducing commuting times it will double productivity?

@EasternStandard I'm not sure what you are misunderstanding. I haven't said taxes are low. I didn't say higher debt would create growth. But I did ask you how we can have low productivity and low taxes. Low productivity which we have leads to higher taxes, it's inevitable. So I am asking how you cut taxes against low productivity?

@twistyizzy that was just to help you understand the concept of how infrastructure correlates to productivity. Logically it would be very hard to measure every individual and some would gain more than others.