British Conservative's austerity Policies Bring Double Dip Recession

[palemale]

The New York Times is reporting that Britain has fallen back into a recession under the austerity policies of the British Conservative Party led government.

Britain slid back into recession in the first quarter of the year, according to official figures released Wednesday, undercutting the government’s argument that its austerity program was working.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/b...conomy-slips-back-into-recession.html?_r=1&hp

Of course, Romney and his fellow right-wing Republicans are pushing for an austerity budget, including slashing social programs, budget cutting and tax breaks for the super rich. What is it with conservatives? No matter how many times their economic policies fail, they keep slogging the same failed policies.

 

[CowboyBob]

If Romney would ever become President he plans on enacting legislation what would cause another depression. He doesn't care about that tho as he already has his millions stashed away. We can't afford another republican in the White House.

 

[rareboy]

It serves Britain right.

And the US will fall into the same trap after November if the retrogressive tea partiers get their way again in this election.

 

[EastMed]

Yet another EU country having austerity imposed on its people by a conservative led government. This kind of austerity is in effect a form of wealth redistribution from the poor and middle classes to the rich.

A collective madness seems to have descended on our policymakers. Too few understand that what besets capitalism is unknowable risk – the risk of transformative new technologies, the risk of making epic business mistakes, or the risk of there being no demand for the goods and services a business produces. The task of government is to mitigate those risks – funding new technologies and actively using the tools of financial, fiscal and monetary policy to ensure there are rewards from innovation and investing. The paradox of successful capitalism is that, one way or another, risk has to be socialised. The US uses its defence budget and an active fiscal and monetary policy to do the job; Germany its banking and welfare system.

Britain in 2012 has to find ways of doing the same – but Osborne and the Treasury, supported by the governor of the Bank of England, remain implacably opposed. Vince Cable, the business secretary, has ideas about promoting lending on the infrastructure to innovative small business, or even curbing short-termism in the financial markets. David Willetts, the university minister, has given intriguing speeches about the need to promote a British innovation ecosystem. Inside government they have no listeners. A leaked letter from Cable to David Cameron pleaded for some sense of economic vision and direction over and above deficit reduction. There is none.

At bottom Cameron, like Osborne, has a primitive view of what makes capitalism tick. He does not understand the complexity of the inter-relationships between business, business risk, innovation and the state. He buys wholeheartedly the mantra that what mainly obstructs business is red tape, public sector debt and labour market regulation. Like two druids, Cameron and Osborne are offering blood sacrifices to re-create the boom – and failure does not make them question what they are doing, but rather reaffirms their belief in the sacrifice. Of course events in Europe hardly help matters – but cannot alone explain the profundity of Britain's plight. This stagnation is firmly made at home

George Osborne, the kamikaze chancellor | Will Hutton | Comment is free | The Guardian

 

[broadshoulder]

It serves Britain right.

.

Thats out of order. You should be ashamed.

People are having a rough time over here. Jobs are scarce, there is too much competition for those that are there. Schooleavers are facing a bleak future.

The problem is the wrong people are in power. Labour was voted out but there was no real enthusiasm for the Tories. They did not get the majority vote. They had to form a coalition with the lib dems who seem to be going along with their policies. And they seem more interested in paying off the national debt then reducing unemployment.

Some of us suspect that they are implementing their freemarket ideology under the guise of "its for your own good, we have to do it for the good of the nation" which means thousands have been thrown out of work. The economy has flatlined for two years and there has been no initiatives from the Chancellor to spark it back to life. He has just trusted to luck and the freemarket.

Its now become evident that this is not working.

But to say "serves them right" when the vast majority of people did not vote for them and they did not get a mandate to rule is not gentlemanly" Some of us guessed they would be like this.

On another not - Question Time should be good tonight. They will probably get a kicking from the audience.

 

[Kulindahr]

Oh, but it will work in the U.S. -- we're different!

 

[pat grimshaw]

I think Britons should be posting here.