Make no mistake, yesterday’s increase in interest rates was a big deal. Painful as it might be for a good share of the population, the real point is that the Bank is signalling the end of a particular phase of monetary policy. Since 2010 the counterpart to self-defeating austerity policies has been expansionary monetary policies. […]
Posts under ‘Economy’
Brexit: some questions
Aug 29th, 2017 by Peter Rowlands.1) To what extent would a hard Brexit result in a substantial economic downturn from which no recovery would be likely in the short term? The answer depends on the deal/or none that is eventually concluded. It could be that the EU offers a free trade deal, on the grounds that not to do so […]
Share:
The neoliberal road to autocracy – a response to criticism
Aug 23rd, 2017 by Ann Pettifor.In an article “The neoliberal road to autocracy”, published in April 2017 on the website of International Politics and Society, I wrote this: Of all these promises, the one that globalisation’s advocates proclaim most strongly is the fall in poverty worldwide. But in fact the decline in absolute poverty is part of a longer trend […]
Share:
The NPF Economy, Business and Trade Report – some progress made, but a long way to go
Aug 21st, 2017 by John Penney.In contrast to most of the other NPF Policy Commission reports the Economy Report proposals are more reflective of the new “Corbynite” Left Keynesian agenda than the poor quality material it produced prior to the General Election. This is obviously good in itself, but peculiar in policy development process terms. Thus, this latest report “touches […]
Share:
On Labour’s “sexist” industrial strategy
Aug 20th, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.When Jess Phillips speaks it rarely ends well. On this occasion, seemingly determined to ruffle as many feathers as possible, she is reported as saying that “left-wing men are the absolute worst” when it comes to sexism, and that Labour’s industrial strategy is sexist. Challenged on this by Caroline Molloy, she said she really meant […]
Share:
Tories’ tribunal fees ruled unlawful
Jul 27th, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Unalloyed goodness is a rarity in politics, especially when it comes to labour movement politics. But the decision handed down by the Supreme Court this morning ruling that employment tribunal fees are unlawful is some of the best industrial news seen in years. Implemented by the Tories with Liberal Democrat support in 2013, it was […]
Share:
For eighteen months county Durham’s teaching assistants have stood bravely against injustice. Their struggle exposes the viciousness of austerity politics
Jul 11th, 2017 by Jack Hepworth.Some eighteen months have passed since the nightmare began for the teaching assistants of county Durham. In December 2015, Durham County Council (DCC) announced proposals to sack the county’s 2,700 teaching assistants (TAs) and re-employ the same staff on new contracts with pay cuts of up to 23 percent. Many Durham TAs had already suffered […]
Share:
The IFS: viewing the economy through wrong end of a telescope
Jun 1st, 2017 by Ann Pettifor.Government debt should not be measured in pounds; it should be measured in GDPs. When GDP is high, so are tax revenues, and so is the ability of the government to repay. – Prof. Roger Farmer, NIESR, November, 2016, Three Facts about Debt and Deficits Today the Institute for Fiscal Studies produced a review of political […]
Share:
Tories want to drive living standards lower. Corbyn wants to end austerity
May 31st, 2017 by Tom O Leary.This article first appeared on Socialist Economic Bulletin. During the current crisis the UK has experienced the longest-ever recorded fall in living standards. The biggest part of that fall is not the cuts to government spending, even though these have had severe effects. Instead the largest factor contributing to the fall in living standards is the […]
Share:
Postcapitalism: A belated review
Apr 6th, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Is capitalism coming to an end? Perhaps not its end, but it is facing a number of difficulties. These aren’t episodic issues that can simply be reformed away by enlightened politicians or ironed out by a spot of Keynesian demand management here and there. They are structural, fundamental, and would require a political struggle and […]
