William Keegan is right to say that Johnson must "act on the advice of the FT" and reject George Osborne`s claim to be the managing-director of the IMF (Business has very good reason to fear Boris Johnson, 14.07.19). Not only has the IMF, as Keegan says, had "second thoughts about short-sighted" austerity policies, the fund`s chief economist Olivier Blanchard over six years ago told the then chancellor of the need for a "reassessment of fiscal policy" less than two months before the March budget (Austerity plan is failing, IMF tells Osborne, 24/01/13). Recent work on fiscal multipliers had shown him the devastating effects tax and spending cuts have on the wider economy, but did the arrogant Osborne take any notice?
What we saw was the growth forecast for 2013 halved, and debt as a share of GDP to increase from 75.9% to 85.6%, whilst government department budgets were to see cuts by 1% in each of the following two years, £11.5bn further cuts earmarked for 2015-6, corporation tax cut to 20%, and the !% cap on public sector pay extended for another two years.
Is it any wonder so many people felt aggrieved when it came to the 2016 referendum? With the effects of Osborne`s callous policies still being felt in the UK today, heaven only knows what damage he would do across Europe, if given the chance!
No comments:
Post a Comment