There is a consensus in support of immediate and deep cuts
<Across the UK and beyond a growing number of authoritative voices from academia and civic society are highlighting the devastating economic and social impact of the June 2010 Budget
ConDem Ministers and their supporters are scathing about those who oppose cuts. Anyone who refuses to buy the coalition’s arguments are ‘not serious’ or ‘in denial’ about the scale of the problem. They rely on the superficial plausibility of their economic stance: tough times require tough measures. Seriously tough Ministers are obviously required to design and implement the cuts strategy.
But cutting in the face of a depressed economy, high unemployment and a large output gap is exactly the wrong thing to do; economic history confirms this is true. Yes, a strategy that includes Government investment to fill the output gap will be counter-intuitive for many people. But it is the right thing to do if we want to avoid prolonged stagnation, high unemployment and further deterioration in the public finances.
And it is not just the ConDem’s political opponents who question current economic strategy. Across the UK and beyond a growing number of authoritative voices from academia and civic society are highlighting the devastating economic and social impact of the June 2010 Budget.
Don’t take our word for it!
Read the research, blogs and articles published over the last couple of years by economists such as Paul Krugman, Martin Wolf, Joseph Stiglitz, Brad Delong, Danny Blanchflower, Robert Skidelsky, William Keegan and others…and then ask yourself why these voices are so rarely heard in mainstream Scottish media.