That was such a damp squib it is hard to find the energy to discuss it. The usual New Labour con, built on wildly optimistic growth forecasts. Their budget growth forecast for 2009 proved in fact an astonishig 1.9% too optimistic.
Yes, we should be tackiling the budget deficit now.
The budget in fact did very little, and was much more notable for what it did not do. Nothing at all to split high street from casino banking, nothing to stop banks paying over 70% of their profits to their fatcats in good years and then expecting the taxpayer to fund them in bad years.
Tax information agreements with tax havens are a good thing, but would not normally merit a mention in the budget statement. The fact that the big government benches cheer came from an irrelevant attack on Lord Ashcroft – in what is meant to be the national budget, for God’s sake – reflected just how tawdry this government is and how cheap our politics have become.
What elese was tawdry? Announcement of £270 million to universities to fund “20,000 more students” when the universities were told a couple of weeks ago their budgets were cut £250 million for “efficiency savings”. Net result – universities are supposed somehow to educate 20,000 more students for nothing.
More tawdry gimmicks – announcement of £60 million to fund loans for renewable energy industry infrastructure development, especially wind turbines, when the government had just let the actual Vestas wind turbine plant go bust for lack of £20 million. Most tawdry of all? The plan to raise money and boost the government’s banker mates by selling the student loan portfolio to the private sector.
I could go on, but I can’t be bothered. Sickening.
” Police English” Larry..?
Interesting word that Larry…Police..
Why not Patrol? Or Monitor?
Most people would’ve just used Question..
But “Police” eh?
Interesting,though not necessarily a Freudian slip i’m quite sure Larry,eh?
Parky: The human rights concerns about Chinese goods are well placed, as should be the case in any third world sweatshop.
Suppose I got some kid to clean my house and grounds. I’d give them the most dirty, dangerous jobs, beat them if they weren’t working hard enough, possibly molest them and throw some bread and rice for a _very_ quick meal if they’d been productive. At the end of a very hard day, I’d give them £0.50 or so.
Sounds unreasonable? Then why are we utilising _slaves_ to perform under the same conditions as they made our products for us, so we can show off our new iPhone, watch a large TV, and buy our electrical goods at low, low prices.
“Out of sight, out of mind” never applies so much as when it comes to wars and slavery.
*
In case anyone is concerned that raising import tariffs will cause a trade war, first consider that a trade war is already well underway – and we’re losing it.
Hi Glenn, quite agree.
Quite ironic really that the flashy consumer goods produced in china, large tellys and i-phone nonsense, are the channels used for keeping the populace in the west entertained, distracted and ignorant of the plight of the sweat shop worker. Of course to many it is a case of out of sight out of mind.
As a techie, I am bemused by the take up of electronic gadgetry by the masses. At one time these things would have been the preserve of the nerd, geek, social cretin types and ridiculed by the masses and popular entertainers etc. Nowerdays they are common place and even fashionable. At one time radio amateurs were seen as odd because they chatted to people across the globe by radio. It is seen quite normal now by some groups to waste time and “chat” on social networks and other internet based distractions, maybe this blog being an example ?? (only kidding on that last point of course)
Jives – you caught me!
And congratulations on cleverly employing the level of logic that one typically finds on Craig Murray’s blog!
“And congratulations on cleverly employing the level of logic that one typically finds on Craig Murray’s blog!..”
Yet still you remain eh Larry..?
Just ticklin’ yer ribs man..just ticklin” yer ribs..