The Truth About the Government’s Fiscal Position

Yesterday saw the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, make some fairly extravagant claims. So why let the truth get in the way of a good story? Well, Jeremy Warner, for one, doesn't think that this would be good economics. And I wholeheartedly agree with him.

Warner's piece is so good that it balances a clear rebuttal of the Chancellor's position, acknowledgement of the fact that his rhetoric doesn't match up to the economic facts since 2010 and even goes as far as to suggest that the current 'recovery', such as it is, might owe relatively little to the Chancellor's economic policy.

However, it also suggests that the reality of the fiscal position, whilst not quite as the Chancellor would like to portray it, does conceal some interesting insights about the nature of fiscal policy, not least the fact that the government has actually cut taxes but that much still remains to be done, not least with regard to the provision of universal benefits.

The article itself is here:

Jeremy Warner on Osborne's Rhetoric

This is a really well-balanced piece, and, for the Telegraph, remarkably balanced in its assessment of the economic reality, although you might disagree with the idea that there really was 'no alternative' to some of the measures adopted. It's well worth a read: for both students and teachers, and, one suspects, for the Chancellor himself. So get reading...