Is austerity working- and will it ever end?

Since when have fat arsed politicians had to worry about making ends meet, austerity is for the little people.

Is comparing public spending to GDP a good way to measure it, since GDP can go from growth to decline, back to growth again, within 2 years.

 

It wasn't a politician that used that measure, by any chance

It's an international measure which allows comparison with other countries. No measure is perfect, but other measures would also have faults. Which measure do you think we should use instead?

Fantastic, that's such great news! I'm so happy for you!

 

Congratulations!

 

What are you going to spend it on?

It nearly pays for my water bill for the year for starters.

It is great news for many many people in the country. What is wrong with giving money back to the pockets of the people exactly?

---------- Post added 30-10-2018 at 23:25 ----------

Is comparing public spending to GDP a good way to measure it, since GDP can go from growth to decline, back to growth again, within 2 years.

 

It wasn't a politician that used that measure, by any chance

It is an excellent measure as it gives an indicator to whether a government is spending within its means, since GDP correlates closely with government revenue. Also, you are correct that GDP can be quite volatile, so shouldn’t government therefore adjust their spending accordingly?

It is an excellent measure as it gives an indicator to whether a government is spending within its means, since GDP correlates closely with government revenue. Also, you are correct that GDP can be quite volatile, so shouldn’t government therefore adjust their spending accordingly?

United Kingdom Dec/17 41.5% 51.2%(high) 35.4%(low)

https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/government-spending-to-gdp

In the above graph, the lowest UK spending is 35.4% to the highest of 51.2%

Are the Governments that spend a larger percentage than the UK doing poorly, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, I think not.

Your argument presupposes that £100 is the perfect level of spending. It could well be argued that £100 per week is living beyond our means, and that we should be aiming to cut back to £85 per week, a rate we can afford and which discourages waste. After all, do we really need those packs of donuts and that wasteful monthly iphone payment?

It doesn't. It just presupposes that it was the non-austerity level.

---------- Post added 31-10-2018 at 08:29 ----------

In 2007-2008 (pre crisis) the public spending as a share of GDP was 39%.

 

In 2017, it was 41.1%.

 

We are returning to the pre austerity levels.

I don't think that's a particularly useful measure.

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/government-spending-to-gdp

It actually continued rising to 2010, because the economy was shrinking. That despite the "austerity" spending having started 2 years before.

They were normal for the 70's of course. But austerity started from late 2008. What happened in 2008 were a number of cuts, some immediate, some imposed over the next decade.

Austerity hasn't ended because in late 2018 no FURTHER cuts have been made for 1 budget!

Austerity continues until spending goes back to pre austerity level. Define that level how you like.

 

Let's try an analogy to explain.

You have a household food budget of £100/month, it's been this way for a while, give or take.

in Jan you declare "austerity" due to reasons.

Feb £75

Mar £74

Apr £70

May £69

Jun £67.50

Jul £65

Aug £65

 

In August you tell your family that because you didn't cut it any further, "austerity" has ended.

They still have only £65 for food. Not £100.

 

Austerity ends when the spending budget is returned to the long term average spending of £100.

No, austerity ends when that £65 goes up to £67, £69 and so on.

No, austerity ends when that £65 goes up to £67, £69 and so on.

And since that is not the case ....

NHS staff agreed to a ‘complex’ NHS pay deal that has disappointed staff.

While 6.5 per cent sounds good, it is barely a pay rise at all. If inflation matches OBR forecasts, the real-terms pay rise would be just a third of one per cent by 2020/21.

October 2017 inflation was above 3%, the OBR forecast was 2.4%, for 2019 the inflation prediction of the OBR for 2019 is 1.8%, it is currently running at 2.4%

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/inflation-cpi

No, austerity ends when that £65 goes up to £67, £69 and so on.

No it doesn't. A tiny increase against a massive cut is not an end to austerity...

The vast majority of the cut is still in place, austerity is a policy of cuts and/or tax rises designed to reduce public expenditure.

---------- Post added 31-10-2018 at 11:02 ----------

And since that is not the case ....

 

NHS staff agreed to a ‘complex’ NHS pay deal that has disappointed staff.

 

While 6.5 per cent sounds good, it is barely a pay rise at all. If inflation matches OBR forecasts, the real-terms pay rise would be just a third of one per cent by 2020/21.

 

October 2017 inflation was above 3%, the OBR forecast was 2.4%, for 2019 the inflation prediction of the OBR for 2019 is 1.8%, it is currently running at 2.4%

 

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/inflation-cpi

And it's not even about pay really. It's about funding overall to the service, and not just that service, every other public service.

---------- Post added 06-11-2018 at 11:30 ----------

Amusing short video on the end of austerity

The UN poverty envoy has reported on his findings about austerity in the UK.

He says "callous policies driven by political desire for social re-engineering".

That's a devastating indictment. More about this is reported here:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/16/uk-austerity-has-inflicted-great-misery-on-citizens-un-says

Its amazing how much he supposedly uncovered from just a 12 day whistle stop tour around the UK at selected small locations of deprivation, and concluded that its national.

Its also interesting to hear that he himself claims his work is not reviewed or checked before it is published.

He also uses figures from Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, both of which have misled with statistics in the past and discussed on here.

The UN poverty envoy has reported on his findings about austerity in the UK.

He says "callous policies driven by political desire for social re-engineering".

That's a devastating indictment. More about this is reported here:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/16/uk-austerity-has-inflicted-great-misery-on-citizens-un-says

I'm not saying he's wrong, but it sticks in my craw a bit that we've got some Aussie rocking up to our shores telling us how crap we are when huge numbers of the aboriginal population are living in far far far worse poverty. Sort your own house out first.

Its amazing how much he supposedly uncovered from just a 12 day whistle stop tour around the UK at selected small locations of deprivation, and concluded that its national.

 

Its also interesting to hear that he himself claims his work is not reviewed or checked before it is published.

 

He also uses figures from Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, both of which have misled with statistics in the past and discussed on here.

He says the government is in denial. As, it seems, are you.