The economy is tanking, the confidence fairy has flown. It's not too late for the coalition to heed Keynes's famous dictum

[ttosca]

George Osborne ? if the facts change, it's OK to change your mind

The economy is tanking, the confidence fairy has flown. It's not too late for the coalition to heed Keynes's famous dictum

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/01/george-osborne-economy-tanking-keynes

Ooh right, thank you. It doesn't look like Stretford though!

jackstarb - I dont know what her A level was in but Wikipedia says she did drop out of Oxford after 18 months.

The Keynes vs Hayek video is great and really quite informative and fun.

For similar reasons I also enjoy this video extract from Question Time where they discuss her Italian villa.

Fantastic clip. Littlejohn, Daily Mail columnist and voice of the people, exposes the progressives over their climate change agenda.

So good I had to watch the clip twice

So good I had to save that clip to Favourites

MoreBeta - I heard (on Twitter - so who knows?) that when Polly was a journalist at the BBC her nickname was 'The Eternal Flame'. Because she refused to go out [and chase stories].

No wonder the liberal media intelligentsia don't invite Littlejohn onto TV much. They don't like the truth, as that Dad's Army character used to say, "they don't like it up 'em"

love the idea that socialists spend other people's money. Where does the wealth come from, then? The sky?

The wealth comes from the graft and sweat of the people. The socialists tax the people and appropriate the money, which they then choose to spend as they see fit.

'Where does the wealth come from, then? The sky?'

Some seem to think heat it grows on trees. But a more pertinent question to ask is "where does teh wealth go to?" Why did the socialists leave a note saying "there's no money left". What did they do with the nation's wealth?

Alice & claig - you guys should watch the video I linked to see where the left (at least those who kinda understand Keynes) think the money comes from.

Nobody appreciates public money - not the spenders or recipients. Everyone wants more, so long as it's somebody else's money.

Claig - they wasted billions on a mediocre education system. Billions and billions, and the future economic cost of the failed generation that resulted will be billions more. Of course much more was wasted on a lot of other stuff too, but education is my favourite, favourite wasted opportunity that makes me want to set fire to Labour HQ.

'The socialists tax the people and appropriate the money'

Kings and Queens used to tax the peasants, and the nobles lorded it over them. Now it's the socialists.

They wasted money on a mediocre education system and on much else. Then they said "there's no money left" and left the country bereft. But now the nightmare is over, the people voted them out, they found a conservative four-leaf clover.

The socialists tax the people and appropriate the money, which they then choose to spend as they see fit.

Exactly and the assumption is that THEY know how to spend MY money better than I do. Something I take exception to. I don't mind at all paying my share of tax to pay for nurses, doctors, firemen, police, teachers etc.

But I DO mind paying an inordinate amount of tax for all those so called "non jobs" like equal opportunity diversity football cheerleading coaches!

And if the state does know better than me, why when we need to cut back are we losing frontline staff whilst the thousands of backoffice nonjob staff seem to be escaping scot free???

'Confused' can't even begin to describe you, Niceguy2.

Oh ttosca - you are back. Are you going to join in the debate and defend your OP, perhaps?

I'd like to hear your opinions on the relevance of Keynes in 2011 Britain and why Ms Toynbee is suddenly an authority on economics.

Perhaps you could outline an alternate economic strategy for Ed's M & B to adopt during this 'time of austerity'?

And you are welcome (I know you meant to thank me for helping you with the link .)

"The wealth comes from the graft and sweat of the people."

"Kings and Queens used to tax the peasants, and the nob-les lorded it over them" - living the high life while quite often the people starved (and hence reducing the output of the country). That is the definition of wasting tax money.

Modern, effective governments re-invest taxes into making a stronger, wiser, more effective country. - nurses, doctors, firemen, police, teachers etc.

Its not 'someone else's money'. Its OUR money. Shared, collective. For collective goods like decent roads, services, etc.

HH - to quote prettybird's well argued (despite being a leftie) earlier post.

"Now is the time that we should be investing in major infrastructure and projects for the common good - but we don't have the resources to do so. Which is absolutely and totally Labour's fault."

Actually quite a bit of it is my money.

Yes and quite a bit is my money too! I want it spent on useful things not bloody bankers bonuses!

FFS its not a difficult concept at all. Amazing how ideology completely blinds people to the facts right in front of their face.

Here are some good explanations. There are several nobel prize winning economists, economists from the Tory party, from America and the US government. Quite a balanced and knowledgeable selection:

falseeconomy.org.uk/cure/what-do-the-experts-say

I don't feel like it's been spent well in 20 years of voting ++ hence the resentment.

Labour wasted billions and billions and billions.

Please don't say FFS to me, I am not stupid. Except that I did vote Labour for most of my life so far. Maybe that counts.

1% of the income tax payers pay 25% of the income tax. 5% pay about 50%.

Of course at this stage - any Keynsian 'investment' would need to use borrowed money ('our money' isn't close to covering the basic running costs).

Interesting link HH - although it does kinda illustrate that if you ask 10 economists the same question (what's the coalition doing wrong?) you get 10 (slightly) different answers. And the ones warning of a 'double dip' look a bit off.

The False Economy alternative strategy is a bit predictable. More tax (close loopholes & Robin Hood tax) borrow more (cos it really is 'our' money) & spend more. But I'll wait and see what the Ed's come up with .