The London Evening Standard had an interview with Boris Johnson yesterday. Presumably Johnson owed George Osborne, its editor, a favour. They opened their feature on it saying this:
Boris Johnson served a “very, very blunt” warning today that the furlough scheme keeping 9.3 million people in “suspended animation” at home with the Government paying most of their wages must be wound down.
In an exclusive interview with the Evening Standard, the Prime Minister said it was time to be “absolutely frank” and say to Britons that staying at home is “not, in the long-term, healthy either for the economy or for you”.
So, income support is to be removed from 11.7 million people currently receiving it in the UK, on the basis of which the government is concluding that our recovery from coronavirus is going really rather well.
And this is because the alternatives will be 'good for us'.
Maybe Boris Johnson has never looked at any of the research on the impact of long term unemployment. It's not hard to summarise it. The conclusion is that it is really not at all good for people.
But that unemployment what Johnson wants. And no doubt that is what Johnson will get. That point is, though, important. When there is record unemployment in the UK remember that this is what Johnson chose, because he has clearly done so.
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When there’s a surplus of supply, the price goes down. You would surely agree that we need a shortage of supply of labour – another way of saying full employment – so that the price – another way of saying wages – goes up.
I want full employment
The only historical figure that this buffoon emulates for me is Marie Antoinette ‘(Let them eat cake’). Except this time people will be lucky if they can afford that!!
Well let’s be absolutely frank Boris: You Tories are a bunch of absolute bastards – that’s what you are.
And I could say much worse.
You could also say “Let them eat Covid-19” given the world-beating infection and death rates due to government ineptitude!
I would say to the ‘reasonable’ Tory MPs – when you have a power to do good and don’t do it , you are the problem.
I guess Anthony Fauci in the US has managed to walk a very good line – being able to stay in position and still having some positive influence.
If only we had more like him.
Given that he was talking to George Osbourne, who has also been saying that all this borrowing must be paid back, ie taxes increased, spending reduced etc I suppose it is not surprising. What is surprising is that 2 total unempathetic individuals who are totally ignorant of how an economy works should ever have got into such powerful positions.
Supported by an ignorant electorate sadly.
How does he continue to get away with it, Where’s the press/media, why aren’t they doing their job ffs?
A German on the phone today said that each successive Prime Minister Cameron, May, Johnson had been worse than their predecessors and she was looking forward to the BoJo replacement. Good that we are at least providing entertainment to our neighbours.
That’s the last time we take calls from Merkel then 🙂
Samaritans’ research publication – Dying from Inequality – is pretty unequivocal about the impact of economic deprivation, and the risk of suicide that comes with it, linked to the absolute powerlessness that it brings. Loss of employment is like cutting off a diver’s air supply, and is a massive risk factor for suicide. We’ll see not only a massive initial increase in unemployment, but a second wave of it as barely surviving businesses fail due to the first wave of unemployment, and also an increase in suicides. The cruelty of the current incarnation of the Tories is breathtaking, however, what I find more breathtaking still is that the only barrier to full, good, meaningful work for all who wish for it, is what we are led to believe about money. Discovering that poverty and unemployment are political choices is both eye-opening and sickening. Add to that that we are taught to believe that they are the result of character flaws and poor choices, well, that leaves me saddened and disgusted.