tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post383750725843955566..comments2023-10-24T01:46:47.151-07:00Comments on CynicusEconomicus: 2009 Budget Madness....Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-26296135511027485882010-01-01T01:36:00.030-08:002010-01-01T01:36:00.030-08:00I enjoy your blogs on economics. Are they better...I enjoy your blogs on economics. Are they better informed than your post on GW? I am a little concerned now that I am reading material driven by a subtle conspiracy based mindset and tot real "free" thinking? I hope not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-61599564612523757082009-04-24T11:56:00.000-07:002009-04-24T11:56:00.000-07:00Firstly, thanks for an extremely interesting blog....Firstly, thanks for an extremely interesting blog. For several years I have argued with friends that the world economy is based on creating, for the most part useless tat and selling it down through the supply chain for the consumer to buy. This consumption has enabled us to live longer and eat better aided by technology, doctors and farmers. Unfortunately the population is increasing, but what happens as natural resources start to run out? Will the slide be gradual as people loose their jobs shifting tat around, or will it reach a tipping point ending in civil unrest? Remember we have 60 million plus people in this country at the most we could feed 30 million as agriculture revets to a pre WW11 non chemical version, what of the other 30 million?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-31955460034161814312009-04-24T11:53:00.000-07:002009-04-24T11:53:00.000-07:00I read the reports of the budget with utter amazem...I read the reports of the budget with utter amazement at its stupidity. It ramped up debt for years to come and threw hundreds of millions of pounds away left right and centre at anything that looked vaguely fashionable, but with no coherent strategy (not even one I could disagree with!) and no meaningful chance of any return on investment.ChasHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-22322170203789945742009-04-24T11:26:00.000-07:002009-04-24T11:26:00.000-07:00This budget is a full-blown disaster. Looking at t...This budget is a full-blown disaster. Looking at the figures it is clear that the deficit will much more likely be around 15% this year with no improvement the following year, which means that unless taxes or raised or budget cuts implemented Britain will in all likelyhood lose the confidence of the bond market. <br />There is also no future improvement in sight for fundamental reasons discussed on this blog.<br />Whoever comes in next has the unenviable task of scaling the deficit down to a more sustainable level. A gap of around 150 billion will have to be closed.<br />Default or massive social unrest seem the only two options left.<br />Should the IMF have to step in it will face a daunting task considering the size of the deficit. <br />A country rich in reserves may seize this opportunity and buy itself favourable policy.<br /><br />If I knew where and how I would bet on a default. This budget is a disgrace to anyone who cares about Britain.Escaping Eastwards ~https://www.blogger.com/profile/16486215162247694155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-57346181629547683032009-04-24T08:58:00.000-07:002009-04-24T08:58:00.000-07:00Hi Cynicus
There will be more coverage of Gilts o...Hi Cynicus<br /><br />There will be more coverage of Gilts on Alphaville in the coming months as they think this is a very hot story:<br /><br />http://v2.ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/<br /><br />Death to Bubble AddictsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-48142405377383343902009-04-24T04:36:00.001-07:002009-04-24T04:36:00.001-07:00Sorry, the link to the article above:
http://busi...Sorry, the link to the article above:<br /><br />http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article6159893.eceMarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14983165364072918091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-33652832308205615742009-04-24T04:36:00.000-07:002009-04-24T04:36:00.000-07:00A quick update on the post. The Times reports the ...A quick update on the post. The Times reports the following:<br /><br />'The economy contracted by 1.9 per cent in the first three months of the year, at the fastest rate since 1979, when Margaret Thatcher came to power, as the country sank further into recession, official figures showed this morning.<br /><br />The dramatic fall in GDP, the total value of all goods and services produced by a country, is far higher than the 1.6 per cent contraction predicted by Alistair Darling in the Budget.'<br /><br />I would like to emphasise that this contraction is taking place whilst ever more printed money is being pumped into the economy, and as the government borrows ever larger amounts of money. <br /><br />At what point will these failing policies be halted?Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14983165364072918091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-43975043438420963722009-04-24T02:49:00.000-07:002009-04-24T02:49:00.000-07:00Darling read out the second longest suicide note i...Darling read out the second longest suicide note in history (the first being the 1983 Labour Party manifesto)and made it clear, as this blog has noted, that his brief was to get Labour re-elected at all costs.<br /><br />But it looks like George Osborne will be doing the next budget and if anybody thinks that that is the answer, then they clearly haven't understood the question.Nigelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-88049790818346626032009-04-24T01:54:00.000-07:002009-04-24T01:54:00.000-07:00Do you still think that the longer they maintain t...Do you still think that the longer they maintain the illusion, the bigger the eventual mess?pocmlocnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-56699292341612166112009-04-23T23:34:00.000-07:002009-04-23T23:34:00.000-07:00After a hiatus in the visible bad news, I get a se...After a hiatus in the visible bad news, I get a sense now that the mainstream media is going to 'uncover' the gore fest which is the reality of the UK economy.<br /><br />In contrast to those of us fortunate enough to discover this blog, I think the speed of descent will be an enormous shock to most.<br /><br />What with a pending credit rating downgrade and a vast borrowing requirement, swift & massive economic humiliation looms large for the UK.laganhttp://laganblog.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820485130017459619.post-57111660708556606962009-04-23T19:36:00.000-07:002009-04-23T19:36:00.000-07:00I just found this editorial in the Telegraph:
'Th...I just found this editorial in the Telegraph:<br /><br />'The crisis that confronts this country is on a scale almost unprecedented outside wartime. Only those who lived through the Great Depression have faced grimmer economic times.'<br /><br />http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/5203064/Britain-deserves-better-than-the-shabby-cynicism-of-this-Budget.html<br /><br />It reminded me of something I wrote a long while ago. This is what I said in 2007 (A Funny View of Wealth - link at top of the blog):<br /><br />'It will, in effect, be the most significant crisis to hit the UK since the World War II. The only way out of the crisis will be to alter the fundamentals of the UK economy back to producing more goods and services for export led growth, and away from debt based growth in services. It will be a long, and very painful adjustment that will see the UK lose its place as one of the worlds’ leading economies, and recovery from the crisis will take many years.' <br /><br />(the quote is from the conclusion)Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14983165364072918091noreply@blogger.com