Some items that I heard on the radio driving home – excuse any imprecision, I had my hands on the wheel and did not take notes:
- In the past year, the top 1% incomes have risen by around 35%, everyone else has risen by around 0.5%. Economists are debating whether this signifies and economic recovery.
- Quantitative easing puts money into the hands of the already very rich, in the hope that it will trickle down to the rest of the population. So far we have seen an increase in the number of houses exchanged for over £1million, and the highest price ever paid for a work of art.
- No central bank is likely to be bold enough to stop quantitative easing in the future.
I struggle to understand how, in a supposed democracy, this fits with austerity working. The poorer are getting poorer and the richer are getting richer. How can a civilized world accept this?
See the following for more. This is a global problem.
https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/austerity-is-working/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWSxzjyMNpU
And some alternatives:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKCvf8E7V1g
https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/basic-economics/
See also:
https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/austerity-is-working-iii/
Don’t forget to ‘follow’ to hear more…
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Why don’t you start your own company then you can pay yourself and your employees what they should be paid?
Put your money where your mouth is.
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Thank you Ian for providing a good example of the mindset that needs to change, that I refer to in https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/austerity-is-working-iii/
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If you’re going to be patronizing, at least provide an argument instead of a non sequitur reference..
I can’t think why you think that developing wealth by way of creating jobs for others is a bad thing.
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Hello Ian, I guess it was a little unfriendly as a response – perhaps as your original comment? I don’t immediately have time to explain my comment, but I hope that my next post on the topic will do so. I won’t have time to do that for a few days, so in the meantime I’ll ask for your patience.
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OK, I look forward to that. To re-phrase: your point is about redistribution duties of other people, mine about the opposite – job creation, which can only be done by able individuals. You cite South Africa – having visited 3 times in 2013 it seems a more unequal place than ever, just that the rich are a different group to before, 40% unemployment, endemic entitlement mentality including laziness, victim mentality, bitterness that redistribution has not brought what the poor expected, a plunging economy (see the Rand, hear the boos for Zuma).
Socialists know how other people should cut the cake, but never seem to have the ability or balls to make it.
On a more serious level, the entire premise of your blog, that the economy is somehow responding to austerity and there is recovery, is the opposite of the truth. Between the coalition coming to power and later this year, national debt will double to about 600% of GDP (and that excluding hidden liabilities) – 3 times as bad as the situation in Greece. The British economy WILL collapse in time. Redistribution? Deck chairs. Titanic.
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My primary point is that the present system is not working justly, and I’m using the data to demonstrate that – the data are the symptoms. And whilst I’m claiming that the social effect of austerity means that it is not ‘working’ I’m interested that you say that even from the economic effect it is not working. I had no opinion on that as I’ve not explored the data. We can both see crisis coming and are desperate for a solution.
Job creation is brilliant – don’t take it that I have anything against that. When I work with the young people at the youth club I’d love to be able to employ them all, so if that’s what you do then that is great. But I recognize that it would not be best use of my energy to try to start a company – it is not where my skills lie. Humanity is made up of many different people with many different skills – everyone has something to contribute. We must find a way of encouraging that to happen.
As I said, it will take a little while before my next post as there are lots of jigsaw pieces that I am trying to fit into the picture. But I think your comment about “laziness, victim mentality, bitterness” is getting towards the heart of it.
Happy to hear more of your thoughts!
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