The UK has at last announced it's 'spending review'. Given that all countries have deficit problems, but also need to somehow keep what recovery there is alive, how they approach it has major significance for our societies, so something worth giving some first impression comments. The future will show how close/far off the mark they are!
From what I've read recently am sceptical and actually concerned about the depth and type of cuts. It seems a lot of economists think it a dangerous thing to do given the world economy,and this makes a lot of sense to me. The idea of the private sector magically stepping in to fill the breach sounds very optimistic given the private sector isn't exactly booming currently. And I also suspect the overall approach is really ideologically rather than pragmatiically driven. The idea of freeing the private sector so it can come to our rescue reminds me very much of the idea of 'trickle down' wealth, i.e. justifications of conservative policies that we might (rightly) suspect of just benefiting the well off, but that we're assurred are actually good for everyone!
The bottom line is I can't see how the loss of half a million jobs,and decimating what people get from the government can lead to anything but dampened economy....and a vicious cycle downward. So even just from a practical self serving point of view, think a very dangerous approach, and risks prolonging the crises, not just in the UK but everywhere through knock on effects (it is the 6th largest economy).
And morally, it seems even worse. Since the focus is on cuts and not tax rises, then obviously hits the less well off who receive most from the government, which is not just unprogressive, but particularly unfair since it was the upper echelons in society, the banks and the financiers that caused the problem (and also probably practically worse as well, since has more of an effect on their spending power since they would have less disposable income to start with)..
So for all the talk of 'in this together' and 'for our future' think while some measures needed, the extent show it is largely the conservatives seizing an opportunity to decimate the state for ideological reasons and justify it as 'necessary'. Am just amazed the libdems are sticking with it. It really makes them seem a pointless joke -at least the conservatives are doing what they believe in!
The irony is the UK, being such a large economy, and with it's own currency, surely has more options than say for example Ireland, which is really broke and in a fix. I really think this is going to be a disaster for them. I hope I'm wrong, and hope even more if I'm not that the consequences are contained there and don't spread to continental Europe (and Austria in particular!). Though I guess what the big eurozone countries do is much more relevant to my own selfish position. Still sad to see such conservative ideology with such a free hand in Britain.
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