Category Archives: Economy

No price on a life

by maxattacks

Gordon Brown today pledged to offer free, one-to-one home care by specialist nurses to those suffering from Cancer. This in turn would save £2.5 billion a year by reducing hospital admissions. However, some people seem to not get the message, Andrew Lansley the Shadow health secretary said that “Gordon Brown needs to make clear to patients which other schemes he plans to cut” and claims that this will in fact cost £100m. I’m sorry, but so much for “I’ll cut the deficit, not the NHS” and also, I personally think that if it leaves £100 million more in debt but saves lives (which it will) it is money well spent.

Max

“Iron Lady” to “Flip-flop” Dave…Oh dear, oh dear

by maxattacks

It was announced on the 15th January, George Osborne was telling us that the Tories would bring in an emergency budget within 50 days of taking office. Now this was all very fine (except for of course, it is the wrong measure to take), but Dave himself today said that a Conservative government would not make “swingeing cuts” to public spending during its first year.

Now, in all due fairness, credit has to be given to Dave, he’s finally beginning to see sense, but this is a far flung shot from the Tory’s “Glory Days” under Maggie herself with the famous, “You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning”. Pity for Cameron he somewhat fails to live up to her.

Max

My fellow Americans…

by maxattacks

Barack Obama delivers speech

Last night saw President Obama give his first State of the Union speech to Congress. His main emphasis was upon tackling the unemployment figures which have now reached around 10% (at least 2.5% higher than here in the UK), but, three sentences some up to me personally Obama’s first year in Office and the condition of the financial crisis worldwide, “If we had allowed the meltdown of the financial system, unemployment might be double what it is today. More businesses would certainly have closed. More homes would have surely been lost.”.

 One area that certainly caught my attention was that of Obama saying “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.”. It is such a shame that a law discriminative has been able to stay in force in country that is prided on its tolerance and now progressivism will hopefully win through against conservative dogma.

 Max

Welcome news

by maxattacks

Unemployment recently fell by 7000, making this recession the quickest to see a rise in employment. Correct me if I’m wrong but this seems to be something the Tories are skimming over…..who are we to judge. This has now left unemployment figures back under 2.46 million. Yes there is the good chance it may start to increase again, but it is forecast (albeit not by the Met office) to peak at a mere 2.8 million which 1. is half a million lower than the previous two recessions and due to population growth, far proportionally lower than either of the past two recessions. There is also the interesting fact that we are dealing with long term unemployment, rather than leaving a generation on the dole with over the past year, 70% of claimants have come off benefits within six months, compared with 63% in the downturn of the early 1990s and 60% in the recession of the early 1980s.

Money well spent don’t you think?

Max

Ironic…

by maxattacks

In the wake of Obama proposing new curbs on banks, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, (Boy) George Osbourne has quickly followed suit. Now this is all very…very…..nice, correct me if I’m wrong though, but around about 3 years ago didn’t (Boy) George call for greater deregulation? He also recently stated that “This is a welcome move by President Obama that accords very much with our thinking,”….well, despite that Obama supported helping the economy when it was in dire trouble, but surprisingly enough, he didn’t. It seems…just seems that (Boy) George is trying to cuddle up to “Mr President” (don’t believe me, check the BUC”F”s blog on the “special relationship” between Britain and America at the moment)…..just a thought.

Max

2009 economics summed up, quite brilliantly

by maxattacks

I was reading through the Observer today and found an article from Will Hutton, that essentially summed up 2009 economically (find the main article here http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/03/uk-economic-recovery). The main points being if you can’t be bothered reading:

  • A booming stock market at the end of the year
  • The quickest ever unemployment fall in post-war history
  • Unemployment half a million less than it would’ve been under the Conservatives
  • Labour giving £5bn to Jobcentre Plus Network meaning 10,000 vacancies were found per day
  • The bank bail out and subsequent deficit being the only choice available at the time
  • With a potential Bank collapse had the Tory’s been in power

Max

No 3 million mark for this recession

by maxattacks

Job centre in Glasgow

According to the latest forecast from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, unemployment will rise to 2.8 million in 2010, Dr John Philpott, chief economic adviser to the CIPD, said it was a “remarkable outcome” that unemployment had not taken off further, given the scale of the downturn.

However, it is in fact unremarkable, the action taken by this Government over the last year has ensured that unemployment would not rise above the 3 million mark unlike in the two previous recessions. He then warned unemployment could also rise higher if …the government imposed deeper spending cuts, blatantly showing that not only do the rest of the political world agrees with out actions, but so do most independant organisations, placing one particlar party in the corner, no guesses who.

Max

Correct me if I’m wrong…

by maxattacks

Chris Riddell

For once in David Cameron’s leadership of the Conservative and Unionist Party, it seems for once (well, for the time being anyway) that he hasn’t put on his favourite pair of flip-flops, as despite the majority of the polls showing a substantial reduction in the Tory lead (down 4 points on last month in an ICM poll in the Guardian) it seems that with a recent interview Cameron said that in the last 3 general elections “We did a core strategy for 12 years…It is a disaster” and that he will freeze pay for 80% of public sector pay and abolish tax credits for families earning over £50,000. Now correct me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t you regard that a little bit of a “core strategy”?

Max

Bankers bonus tax

by maxattacks

Chris Riddell comment cartoon 12.12.09

Recently it has been revealed that London Mayor, Boris Johnson, argued that the recent introduction of a 50% tax on all Bank bonuses over (I think) £20,000 would ”super-penalise” the city. However, today the shadow chancellor of the exchequer, George Osbourne, said “I’m not going to oppose it; I’m going to see whether it works in practice and we’ll judge it by its results.” and then said, Boris “is not opposed to this windfall tax, actually, as far as I understand it,”. Doesn’t this show a little lack of coherace from two of the most prominent figures of the Conservative Party? Also, then Osbourne (or boy george, watever take your fancy) then went onto say, “If people would have taken my advice, we would be in a better place than we are today,”, which is coming from someone who prior to last year’s financial crisis was saying the government was too regulatory on the banks, despite the recession being caused by too little regulation and over-speculation.

Max

The Pre-Budget Report

by maxattacks

Ok I got back earlier than I thought I would, so here are a few of the main provisions of the Pre-Budget Report:

  1. Budget deficit to be halved by 2013
  2. One-off 50% tax on bank bonuses of more than £25,000
  3. Inheritance tax to be frozen at £325,000 until 2011
  4. All national insurance rates to rise by 0.5% from April 2011
  5. Increase in corporation tax for small businesses to be deferred
  6. Under-24s to be guaranteed work or training after six months out of work
  7. Basic state pension will rise by 2.5% in April 2010
  8. Child and disability benefit to rise by 1.5% in 2010
  9. £160m investment in low-carbon and renewable projects
  10. £200m extra investment for Warm Front insulation scheme, helping 65,000 households
  11. Boiler scrappage scheme for 125,000 households
  12. Free school meals to an extra 500,000 low income families
  13. Growth of 1%-1.5% expected in 2010 and 3.5% in 2011 and 2012

Note an air of social justice and equality rather than in the case of 3. raising to £1million to help the top 2% of families. I know who I’m voting for.

And from the BBC website, Osbourne said ”the Tories would take action to reduce the deficit while protecting the poorest in society.”…the irony

Max

Pre-pre-Budget Report

by maxattacks

As I wont be here at the time of the Pre-Budget (12.30) I thought it’d be suitable to blog on what we know is coming up in the pre-Budget report. Well the only thing I can gather is that Banks may face a one-off 50% levy on bonuses above a level which could be as low as £10,000.

Obviously, I’ll blog this evening on the full pre-Budget report but until then what do you make of this proposal?

4 points closer

by maxattacks

2 new polls published a fortnight after the previously blogged upon Ipos-MORI poll in the Observer (which showed the Tories lead to be shrunk to 6 points), show that the Conservative party’s lead over Labour have in both polls shrunk by 4 points, leaving it at a 10 point lead. Is this the fight back mentioned at the conference in Brighton caused by Cameron’s incoherant policy over Europe? The economic optimism? Or merely a (big) blip?

Brown’s Christmas Present to Britain

by maxattacks

As seen recently in the news, PM Gordan Brown, has vowed economic upturn by the end of the fourth financial quatre and this year and while yes there has been another quatre of contraction, this was only minor (0.4%). Consequently, there is an upbeat mood in the financial sector, unemployment growth is slowing and businesses are regaining their losses. Essentially, economic recovery is on its way.

However, let me ask a “What if?” question. What if in the sudden collapse of the banks last October had Brown, Darling, the Cabinet and the Labour government had taken a different choice? What if they had done what the Conservatives had been arguing only a fortnight later? A second great depression, waves upon wave of mass redundancy with unemployment reaching 3 million within a matter of months and the British people watching their money flow down the drain along with bankrupt banks.

This could have come to pass. A re-run of the mid-1930s.

Many Tories though like to forget about the first 10 days of that financial freefall. The days in which Cameron, leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party, supported the emergency bail-out of the banks from a Labour government. However, originally enough, Cameron on the 10th day of the crisis played his favourite game, “flip-flopping”, at this critical moment in British Politics, Cameron (who had been sidlelined by Brown’s jetting to different EU and US leaders to organise an international bail-out to help stabilize the crisis) called the wrong shot.

But why do that? He obviously knew that it was the right decision to support the package, as he himself did for a brief period, along with the fact that every other major political party and government in the world was following suit. Ultimatley, we will never quite know Cameron’s change of direction (again). But what we do know is that the decisions that were made by the Labour government, were the right ones, while not saving Britain from recession (as this was evidantly impossible) they clearly reduced its damaging effects and has helped Britain weather this financial storm.

By Max Ramsay, BULS member

Dave buys a new pair of flip flops

by Brigidjones

So I missed the budget, but ate my lunch to the dulcet tones of Dave Cameron slamming Gordon Brown. Now I know I’m not the brightest of bunnies but I did get a bit confused when he

  • Slammed the government for making cuts, then
  • Slammed the government for spending too much
  • Slammed the government for taxing the “everyman” too much, through booze and fuel duty, then
  • Slammed the government for tax cuts to the “everyman” through VAT reduction, and
  • Slammed the government for taxing very rich people to relieve the burden on the “everyman”

… Can someone please explain to me his point with the above? If you average it all out it seemed to be a rather say-nothing speech.

Budget Build Up

by Brigidjones

My housemate and I have come to the conclusion that Alaistair Darling has the worst job in the world right now. Although as she commented, at least he has one.

So, everyone holds their breath… then in a few hours time the Tories can lambast him for getting us into debt, the Liberals can say they’d have done everything so much better without justifying how, and the Greens can moan about us not having enough spare cash to cut carbon emissions by 300%, and students can weep about how unfair it was that the Government decided to try to sort out the economy and the unemployed millions rather than cancel their student debt.

I can’t take the excitement, so I’m escaping to outer space to find out how galaxies get made. See you in my next revision break!

“If I could say one thing to Prime Minister Brown, President Obama and the G20…”

by Eriic

If you haven’t seen this yet, here it is.  It’s all taken from www.labour.org.uk:

What would you say to Gordon Brown, Barack Obama and the G20?

On 2 April 2009, world leaders from the G20 countries – representing 85% of the world’s output – will meet in London. They will meet against the backdrop of the worst international banking crisis in generations.

The London Summit will take place against the backdrop of exceptionally challenging economic circumstances. But, just as after the Second World War visionary leaders laid the groundwork for 30 years of prosperity and growth, built on international economic cooperation, this crisis is also an opportunity.

The world’s leading economies can come together and lay the foundations not just for a sustainable economic recovery, but also for a genuinely new era of international economic partnership – a global deal, in which all countries have a part to play and all will see the benefits.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown says
“At the G20 we will be discussing ideas to lead the world from recession to recovery, and I want people to feel not just that they have a stake in those discussions, but that they also have a say”.

So tell us what you want to say to the G20 world leaders before the summit and we’ll make sure we pass on as many of your comments as possible.

Credit crunches

by Brigidjones

Walking around the centre of my hometown yesterday, my friend points out to me two adjacent estate agents which have closed in the last few weeks. It’s all change in the Arndale Centre, too- gone not only is the independent bakery I used to work for, but also the art shop and the card shop. The independent record shop is under threat, and the independent bookshop is on its second “closing down” sale having twice survived the chop. New branches of Starbucks and HMV gleam in other units. Is this economy related?

Browsing the Guardian in the evening, it offers me tips on how to survive having a little less money in my pocket. Having been a student the last few years I suspect there is little they can teach me, and I appear to be right. “Food might still be ok to eat past its sell-by date”, it tells me. Other stating-the-bloody-obvious statements include the idea that I should buy in bulk to save. That’s all very nice, but I can’t afford a car, and don’t fancy carrying a three kilo bag of pasta home from the shops with the rest of my shopping.

This blog is really just a rant on all things loosely credit crunch related, so I’ll finish on to another Guardian publication that narked me off. A few weeks ago, they did a series of cut-out-and-keep guides to surviving the “crunch”- one was on raising children. They gave an astronomical figure for the cost of raising a child, followed by a break-down of what this included. It pointed out you could save money by switching to a state school. Was this really the Guardian I was reading? The grand total also included contributions to the child’s tuition fees at University, which is ridiculous as offspring are meant to pay them off themselves, and a full set of driving lessons with a first car thrown in for good measure. What the hell?! Easy way to survive the crunch- make your kids get a bloody part-time job to pay for lessons and cars themselves if they really want them, like most normal kids. Stop spoiling them.

End of rant. I’m off to the cinema to see Mama Mia. Wish me luck. :s

20p too far?

by Brigidjones

Now three Birmingham MPs, Sion Simon, Gisela Stewart and Lynne Jones, have declared the 20p starting rate on income tax a step too far… that’s a fair cross section of MPs, from regular rebel to usual loyalist.

While the theory goes that this will be offset by tax breaks, it is claimed the poorest will be badly hit… knowing sod all about economics, I’m not going to try to analyse it further.

Lords throws its two cents into the immigration debate

by mattreeves

The House of Lords has today suggested that the Government has exaggerated just how beneficial immigration is.

Inquiry chairman Lord Wakeham told Sky News: “We recognise that immigrants to this country do a good job, but there is no economic benefit to the resident population and it is damaging to low-paid workers.”

The minister for Immigration, incidentally also the minister for the West Midlands and Hodge Hill MP Liam Byrne, started his response to the report by clarifying that ‘the report doesnt demur…that migration added about £6 million to our economy in 2006′. I would consider those figures to be quite visual of the benefits of immigration to our economy. Byrne goes on to state the importance of gaining the right level of immigration, a notion that few would disagree with.

But of course the ‘right’ level is normative. In an era of globalisation such as we are in now, no one can conceivably say all immigration is negative. It is valuable beyond monetary terms in Culture, but has other economic value as well. If immigration were to be capped too high, then we would lose out to our European counterparts on valuable employees from abroad, lowering our status on the international scene. Also, it could see a decrease in the level of Foreign Investment. Being a culturally diverse, globalised economy has clear benefits, which attracts investment from abroad.

I cant see a clear answer to this problem. I dont agree with setting a maximum percentage or target, because as we all know, the economy is cyclical. We should be looking at immigration in terms of the status of the economic cycle, and not just filling a quota, and trying to keep within a maximum.

Memoirs of a bleeding-heart socialist

by John Ritchie

Finding myself in the middle of the season of goodwill, and perhaps having a little more free time on my hands than I do usually, I thought it only right that I should have a read of the BUCF blog. I’ve generally formed the opinion in the past that spending my time reading the inane semi-political ramblings of such has-beens (or never-will-bes) as Deirdre Alden and her team of little Monday-Clubbers is a waste of my time, but reading that the site has supposedly had over 8000 hits makes me wonder whether BUCF are doing something right.

Top of the blog was an article written by my dear political adversary and ex-BUCF Chair, Mike O’Rourke. Mike’s article was an apparent attempt to attack Tony Blair’s “tough on the causes of crime” mantra – it ranted in a way that would make a Daily Mail editor proud (at least for content and selection). Mike starts by telling us of some stories of violent crimes that have touched him over the last few weeks, and I have to say that these stories touched me in a similar way. Where I thought we differed was in our apportionment of blame for this violent crime-ridden society that he portrayed and of which these crimes were apparently indicative. But reading more into the article made me realise I may be on a similar wavelength to my old adversary after all: it made me think of the story of my old friend, who I shall call Jim.

Jim was born in the early 1980s and brought up in a council estate in a strong mining area of Scotland. The people of that area were a proud and hardworking lot – crime was low, and there was a genuine respect for community in Jim’s town. It was similar to many such industrially-dependent areas across the country. Unfortunately, however, things conspired against poor Jim, his family and his fellow proud town people. The government of the day were doing a thoroughly poor job of managing the economy – it resulted in decimation of the mining industry and annihilated the community.Jim remembers the Prime Minister of the day saying there was no such thing as society, and he was beginning to agree, given what he saw happen around him. He also recalls a man called Mr Tebbit coming on TV and telling everyone how his own father “got on his bike and found a job” when he was unemployed. The following day, little Jim looked out of his window and saw all the unemployed people on their bikes (they didn’t have a limousine driving behind them to carry their briefcases), but the unemployed people just cycled and cycled and couldn’t find any jobs. Young Jim realised however, that the levels of unemployment being in excess of 3 million was probably due to the government’s disastrous economic management. Everyone around had no option but to claim benefits to keep their families alive. The sense of pride that sustained the community for decades disappeared over a matter of months – the sense of community had gone and with it came a noticeable erosion of respect.A few years on, just when everyone thought it couldn’t get any worse, Jim watched TV as a gentleman calling himself the Chancellor walked out with a young man called Cameron on a wet Wednesday in 1992 and told the country his government had again mismanaged the UK economy. No one was really sure what this would mean, until young Jim’s family and the people living around him were unable to pay their mortgages because of huge mortgage rates, which reached 15% during the late 80s and were consistently above 10% into the early 90s. People were losing their homes and being forced into derisory living conditions. This, combined with the terrible rates of unemployment, served only to intensify the problems in Jim’s community. The proud and happy community seemed to become increasingly desperate and the lowering in living standards was accompanied by an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour.

Jim will never forget what the policies of that government did to him and his family. He’ll never forget all the terrible people involved. He still remembers that young man called Cameron, who was on TV with the Chancellor in 1992, and helped write the Conservative party’s manifesto for the 2005 General Election. That manifesto listed lots of spending cuts, all of which would run Jim’s community into levels of deprivation he hadn’t seen since the last time the young man Cameron’s party were in power.

This annihilation of these communities seems to fit in nicely with many of Mike’s suggestions as reasons for the increase in violent crime – breakdown in family, drugs and solvent abuse, lowering educational attainment amongst sections of that community, etc. I cannot imagine Jim’s community is too different to (in fact, is probably better than) most inner-city areas whose character and respect is still deficient as a result of the Tory years – perhaps even comparable to the Moss Side Estate, which is the example Mike considers. Of course, and as ever, the argument given by Mike is based on such a pathetically selective use of statistics that it doesn’t stand up to much rigour of debate, but I shall be delighted to fight that in a future blog.

For the time being, take heed of the story of Jim (whose adventures I’m sure will be continued soon – you need to hear about what has improved under the Labour government in Jim’s area – goodness knows where his community would be if the Tories had continued, or if they return) – it serves to remind us that there is only one way to be tough on crime, and that still is to be tough on the causes of crime. The best way to stay tough on the causes of crime?

To keep the Tories out of power.

John Ritchie is Chair of BULS