Rishi Sunak's speech to the virtual Conservative Party conference was dire. To Describe it as vacuous and policy free would be too kind. Its economic incompetence can be best summarised in these three sentences:
And we will protect the public finances. Over the medium term getting our borrowing and debt back under control.
We have a sacred responsibility to future generations to leave the public finances strong, and through careful management of our economy, this Conservative government will always balance the books.
If instead we argue there is no limit on what we can spend, that we can simply borrow our way out of any hole, what is the point in us?
I would suggest that Rishi Sunak's sacred duty is to understand macroeconomics. I would also suggest that right now he's clueless on the issue. We are all going to pay an enormous price for that.
These were my comments on Twitter, best read from the bottom up:
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There was no ‘plan’ elucidated, this was nothing more than a sermon to the neoliberal faithful, to calm their nerves
Agreed
It as completely devoid of actual content
A Tory “blind leading the blind” Libertarian/Neoliberal sermon!
I think the party needs a new logo Britannia wearing a strait jacket. Woe Britannia!
yes well you can see why they think he our next PM.
“simply borrow our way out of any hole” – can he tell us who exactly the government has been borrowing *from* over the last 6 months? To whom is all of this additional so-called “debt” owed?
Net borrowing = 0 this year
“Now that we have so much debt, it doesn’t take a lot for suddenly ‘yikes’ – we have to come up with X billion pounds a year to pay for higher interest,” he said.
Sunak is clearly a very intelligent man. But anyone who uses ‘yikes’ as part of an explanation doesn’t fill me with confidence that they know what they are talking about.
And thus we can see how bullshit becomes sanctified.
‘Sacred duty’? What about the people in his care? What is his sacred duty to their lives?
I’m sorry but this gentleman is a bit of fuckwit I think, but this is the age of fuck-wittage after all.
Not a surprise. It would have been a surprise had he said anything different.
And will anyone in the MSM challenge this?
Craig
No…..
Surprisingly, yes!
Though its buried in the Guardian editorial, so wont be seen by the masses.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/05/the-guardian-view-on-rishi-sunak-back-to-the-future
Whilst I would generally agree that the MSM is pretty hopeless in challenging this.
Reporting Sunaks speech there was this buried in a business article in the Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/05/rishi-sunak-debt-covid-crisis-tax-spending-cuts
“However, economists have warned that cutting spending or raising taxes to tackle record debt levels would be counterproductive, because it would risk choking off Britain’s economic recovery, and would damage future income for the exchequer. Others have argued record levels of debt are of little concern because government borrowing costs are historically low, with support from the Bank of England’s multibillion pound quantitative easing bond-buying programme.
In contrast to the chancellor’s comments, the International Monetary Fund said in a report on Monday that governments of advanced economies should not worry about debt levels, and should instead ramp up public investment as the best response to the pandemic.”
Furthermore
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/05/the-guardian-view-on-rishi-sunak-back-to-the-future
‘If instead we argue there is no limit on what we can spend, that we can simply borrow our way out of any hole, what is the point in us?’
Wow! What an illuminating statement.
I am minded to ask who is ‘us’? The answer, obviously, is those with a Tory sentiment, it being delivered to Conference.
I also want to ask why he would need to say that at Conference? Are there dissenters within to the prevailing ideology re balancing the books? Being fiscally competent? Likening the national economy to that of a household?
Perhaps Richard the messages you and others are getting out there are getting through?
God, I hope so.
IMF & Guardian’s Editor 7Economics reporter all in 24 hours
Bit of optimism
Is the tide turning ?
or
Lets get ready for another tsunami !
“The chancellor said the divisive policy pursued by David Cameron was “absolutely the right thing to do” in response to the 2008 financial crisis, and meant the government was in a good position to respond to Covid-19.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/rishi-sunak-prime-minister-coronavirus_uk_5f7b11a5c5b64b480ab106c4
Nothing learnt by the Tories in nearly a 100 years when Churchill ordered the UK go back on the Gold Standard in 1925:-
https://spartacus-educational.com/Gold_Standard.htm
Voting for the Tories is like voting for Rip Van Winkle! Labour are no better!
Now having thought a little more my last comment is, I think, redundant. His speech is designed to outline his ambition to be the next Tory Party leader isn’t it. Ms Naive takes a bow.
Then there’s the IMF today calling for “big public infrastructure spending” to counteract the deflationary effects of the coronavirus pandemic:-
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/05/nows-the-time-for-big-infrastructure-projects-says-the-imf
Must be a Category 5 Cognitive Dissonance storm hurtling its way through Rishi Van Winkle’s brain!
What utter bullshit. What more should we expect from an ‘ex’ Goldman Sachs millionaire ‘banker’? The UK is well and truly f@cked if these criminals get there way.
It is obvious that Sunak is intent upon increasing austerity cuts with a vengeance and even increase some taxes thrown in. How else will he “balance the books”? The result will be even greater unemployment than we face now, a far bigger slump than we already face and his objective of book balancing decades, if not centuries hence – if at all.
At last this looks like a more enlightened comment from The Guardian, which appeared in the on line edition earlier this evening
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/05/the-guardian-view-on-rishi-sunak-back-to-the-future
This “speech” sounded more like a sermon to the faithful. If he is saying that the state cannot borrow its way out of a hole why has the state been facilitating loan schemes for private businesses to borrow their way out of a hole?
[…] have already commented on Rishi Sunak’s speech to the virtual Conservative Party conference yesterday, but feel it […]
Question Me Murphy – surely if your claims are possible the euro should be abandoned for the original currencies and everyone can print their way to Utopia.
There would be no poor in the world and mr Murphy there would be statues of you everywhere and probably a few palaces built in your name.
Absolutely no one says printing solves everything
But an absence of money that can be printed to let economically available resources be put to use makes sense
Please don’t make up absurd distortions which no one associated with MMT has ever said
People seem to think this is solely about printing money. It isn’t. It is about using redundant resources and in order to do so to use money to get those resources to be productively used. Your critics ignore the bringing into use resources that are currently idle.
Precisely
That is, in fact, all it is about
Nop one would print money for its own sake
[…] have already commented on Rishi Sunak’s speech to the virtual Conservative Party conference yesterday, but feel it […]