Some people are complaining that the government tried to spend their way out of a recession, others are complaining that they aren't spending enough, and by cutting back they are going to produce another collapse, like that which happened a hundred years ago with the last Conservative/Lib Dem coalition.
To be honest, I think the whole economy is so massively complicated, that I don't think I'll ever begin to understand it. And there's so much rage about how people are acting from both sides. I can't get annoyed when I can't even figure out who's right -- maybe the truth is that everyone is wrong.
There are a lot of contradictory claims out there. Some people think we can just increase tax on the rich and that will work without problems, others think that doing so will cease pulling in new money fairly swiftly. Some people think that we can continue to spend more than we bring in until growth sorts us out, others think that we need to drastically cut spending even further than we are at the moment.
Some people think we have to cut our spending to match our income so that we pay less in debt. Others think that doing so will push us into recession by dumping people into unemployment. Which one would cause more damage to the economy in the long run?
Some people think that the government shouldn't cut jobs from the civil service, because that would make people unemployed, others think that the civil service shouldn't be employing people that aren't vital.
And the quality of debate is pretty appalling, because a lot of the loudest people think that the people with the opposite views are evil bastards. So you won't see someone fact-checking Johann Hari and engaging with him about facts and possibilities, just a bunch of screaming people in the comments.
Similarly on any posts from people with the opposite viewpoint. Instead you'll just see people talking to enclaves.
My own view is that a) I don't understand economics and b) none of the three major parties offered any significantly different policies in this regard. Given that, and the fact that nothing I can do will significantly affect the general picture anyway, I've decided it's probably best to look at what the two or three most obviously unfair things are and campaign to get those changed while leaving the big picture unchanged, and to stick with the party I'm already a member of (the Lib Dems in my case) because they have the best policies in other areas.
The headline on London fares is about as misleading as it can get. The one on the blog itself is even worse, because it omits the word some. Don't you just love shoddy journalism.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
andrewducker) wrote2010-10-21 12:01 pm
no subject
Some people are complaining that the government tried to spend their way out of a recession, others are complaining that they aren't spending enough, and by cutting back they are going to produce another collapse, like that which happened a hundred years ago with the last Conservative/Lib Dem coalition.
To be honest, I think the whole economy is so massively complicated, that I don't think I'll ever begin to understand it. And there's so much rage about how people are acting from both sides. I can't get annoyed when I can't even figure out who's right -- maybe the truth is that everyone is wrong.
no subject
Some people think we have to cut our spending to match our income so that we pay less in debt. Others think that doing so will push us into recession by dumping people into unemployment. Which one would cause more damage to the economy in the long run?
Some people think that the government shouldn't cut jobs from the civil service, because that would make people unemployed, others think that the civil service shouldn't be employing people that aren't vital.
And the quality of debate is pretty appalling, because a lot of the loudest people think that the people with the opposite views are evil bastards. So you won't see someone fact-checking Johann Hari and engaging with him about facts and possibilities, just a bunch of screaming people in the comments.
Similarly on any posts from people with the opposite viewpoint. Instead you'll just see people talking to enclaves.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11598617
Turns out that the 2-6 zone cards are used by less than 6,000 people a day.
no subject
Most Excellent!