There are, as I have often said on this blog, just four ways to restore the economic\u00a0activity\u00a0needed to create full employment in the UK.<\/p>\n
One is for consumers to\u00a0spend\u00a0more, and they aren't; they're saving instead and\u00a0understandably\u00a0so in the climate of fear the\u00a0government\u00a0has created.<\/p>\n
The second is for business to invest and we know they're not doing so and why should they when the\u00a0government\u00a0is cutting spending and consumers are saving?<\/p>\n
Third there is a net increase in\u00a0exports\u00a0which increases domestic economic activity.<\/p>\n
And last there is an\u00a0increase\u00a0in\u00a0government\u00a0spending.<\/p>\n
This is an accounting\u00a0identity: other options do not exist.<\/p>\n
The third - an increase in exports - could counteract the first two where we know the downside is persistent at present. But as the FT notes of\u00a0yesterday's\u00a0trade\u00a0figures<\/a>:<\/p>\n An economic rebalancing away from a reliance on imports continues to elude the economy as Britain\u2019s current account deficit \u2014 which measures trade \u2014\u00a0rose to its highest level in almost 25 years last year.<\/p>\n The data, released on Wednesday, were met with grim acceptance by UK manufacturing companies, which have not been impressed by the government\u2019s attempts to help the sector rebound.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So that's options one to three out of the window. Our only hope is of increased\u00a0government\u00a0activity and that the\u00a0government\u00a0is refusing to do.<\/p>\n That means this recession has been adopted by choice and is the result\u00a0of\u00a0deliberate\u00a0government\u00a0policy\u00a0when\u00a0borrowing at almost no cost to create the\u00a0investment\u00a0in the future that this economy needs is possible.<\/p>\n Why isn't Labour saying that?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"