Is there an economic crisis?
October 13, 2010 – 4:50 pmI’ve not written anything about politics here in the past but I think that the onslaught on public services currently being launched by the coalition government has to be opposed as vociferously as possible. We are facing the wholesale dismantling of the welfare state by a government using the current ‘economic crisis’ as a justification for their ideologically driven policies.
There was an excellent letter from Professor Saville Kushner published in the Guardian on Monday asking why no-one is challenging the current narrative:
“There is no formal opposition in parliament to the flawed political narrative – that we are in economic crisis and in need of deep fiscal surgery. None of the leading political parties question it – Labour now actively suppresses its questioning – the BBC promotes it, the print media relish it, the citizenry didn’t vote for it but have no choice but to comply with it. Forget that economists from Martin Wolf to David Blanchflower, from Will Hutton to Joseph Stiglitz oppose it – and that “the markets” are not calling for it. Forget that our debt-to-GDP level is historically low, that our tax take is among the lowest in the OECD and that the calculation of “fiscal deficit” is crafted, not magically given. Forget that it is the duty of the opposition to oppose. Forget that the welfare state will disappear with no contestation, and that it is far easier to dismantle than to rebuild. Forget that we now risk recession on top of austerity with the poorest and most vulnerable in the firing line – and forget, not least, that the charge to this economic cliff is led by self-interested millionaire classes and suntanned, svelte politicians.”
Professor Kusher has compiled a presentation offering a different perspective which is very illuminating. You can read it for yourself here: http://www.slideshare.net/kushnerbarry/is-there-an-economic-crisis-v2
