Wednesday 9th November 2022

[refitman]

Morning all.

[frog222]

Morning refit
Signalled by AK last night --
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... dies-at-98

I checked on a couple of my uni lecturers, dropping like flies-- Anthony King on politics, TonyAtkinson on Econ & Inequality, both died Jan 2017.

Interesting the BBC talks of that 'Fiscal Black Hole' as though it is a real thing, rather than a theoretical construct...

[frog222]

This story from last night just got far worse --

[refitman]

A little bit of good news, from the States

[frog222]

A little bit of good news, from the States

Good, one less of the real Crazies but the really dangerous ones still there, Florida aaagh !

Addition to above, Herts police again --

[frog222]

thread ...

[frog222]

[refitman]

thread ...

If she doesn't like it and isn't going to be there, I guess I'm in

[Willow904]

thread ...

There's not much point staying on twitter, though, if any old body can buy a blue tick and pretend to be somebody even when they're not:


https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... ounts-blue

[gilsey]

A little bit of good news, from the States

Quite a difference between the G and the BBC commenting on the elections, all over bar the shouting according to the Beeb, re Dems losing control of the House.

According to the G an hour ago:

Democrats have showed surprising strength in key races, defying what was broadly expected to be a Republican sweep amid high inflation and low approval rating for Joe Biden.

[gilsey]

There's not much point staying on twitter, though, if any old body can buy a blue tick and pretend to be somebody even when they're not:

Lots of people will stay on twitter just to see Elno thrashing about trying to get out of the pit he's dug for himself. Schadenfreude.

[gilsey]

Bearing in mind that Giles Wilkes is a former LD/tory spad, this on the fiscal black hole is good.

He concludes that we're stuck with austerity after the next GE, which I don't agree with, but Starmer & Reeves probably won't mind.
This is the last few paras.

What do I think?

I think “fiscal black hole” is terrible language, and can indeed represent an attempt to close down debate about the choices we still face. It is part of an understandable effort on the part of the government to reframe the terrible things they need to do as an regrettable, objective fact that they stumbled upon. “We found a fiscal hole, and alas we must fill it, like a grown up”.

But my verdict is that the UK is in that hole, and opponents of the language are missing out on the imperative to be properly, justifiably furious at how we have been driven into this hole. Don’t go around denying that governments for the next 5-10 years have a helluva mess to clean up – because they do! Focus on whose fault it is!

Perhaps another government could take more of a risk with the future fiscal situation until the great uncertainties of late 2022 have cleared up somewhat. We are in volatile economic times. Gas prices, the Fed, something may change. Bond markets will calm down, and realise we are not all crazed destroyers of institutions (see my piece). Maybe it would emerge that our situation is better than we (or rather the OBR) now reckons.

But it could be much worse, too, and because of the multiple risks the government took with the economy, it may not be rational for this government to take any more risks now. Conservatives may see it this way: restore stability at the cost of worse public services, and they may face the loss of 200 seats in 2024. Repeat the gigantic screwup of this autumn, and they could lose 300, and disappearing from politics altogether. Rediscovering the tough-choices politics of 2010 is maybe the best they can hope for.

Let none of this obscure the extraordinary scale of economic failure that reaching this point represents. The UK government is acting like it is running a developing market economy in the late 1990s, the kind with an immature financial system and untrusted currency, ordered by the Washington institutions to tighten both monetary and fiscal policy at once. What a dismal position for Britain to be in.

That we are in that position is the clearest failure of economic statesmanship in the UK’s modern history. Nothing comes close. It is not just the Truss episode but everything that led up to it. Allowing public services to be run on such a shoe-string for so long (see Stephen Bush’s favourite chart here). Blithely pushing for a Brexit deal that so damaged our long-term growth. Kidding the Party that it can always ask for tax cuts and be granted them. Encouraging a Trump-lite disrespect for good economic institutions.

You may ask: what should the opposition’s policy be? I haven’t the space, but I don’t think they should deny that there is a gigantic mess to clean up. There is one. Looking at the steaming wreck of what the other side has left them to deal with, they can have confidence that the passengers would now much prefer a different driver, whatever the route.

https://freethinkecon.wordpress.com/202 ... ternative/

[AnatolyKasparov]

Actually the US results are *far* less good for the GOP than generally expected.

They have almost certainly fallen short in the Senate, and in the House it looks increasingly like they will only have a tiny majority.

[gilsey]

Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been elected as governor of Arkansas, making her the first women to govern the state.

Democrat Becca Balint became the first woman and the first openly gay person to represent the state of Vermont in Congress. Vermont has the distinction of being the last state to send a woman to Congress.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Sunak says he is sorry for appointing Williamson, so why did he do it then?

As an online wag put it this morning, Gavin lasted 0.37 Kwartengs.

[refitman]

[refitman]

Seems like the BBC article about abuse directed to MPs, might not be up to snuff

[AnatolyKasparov]

Yet another byelection in a NW Labour seat ahoy - Bev Hughes is standing down as deputy GM mayor and Kate Green taking over.

(which will mean a vacancy in the latter's Stretford and Urmston seat)

[refitman]

Streeting's an odious little turd, isn't he.

[frog222]

I hear no disagreement on "Wes" the Rising Star and new hero of the fight against the Tories ?

Never had the slightest idea that Foxconn and other 'Chinese' giants were actually Taiwanese companies ?

And that they are relocating OUT of China ?