'The truth is that both the UK and the US have to cut living standards. People and governments have spent too much and borrowed to do so. Now the world's markets are saying enough is enough. Living standards in both the public and private sector have to be brought down. The private sector has to sell more abroad and consume less at home. The government sector has to get closer to just spending what it can collect in taxes.'
I can see that emblazoned on the next Tory manifesto cover: 'Vote Conservative - bring your living standards down!' And before anyone suggests he has a point. I agree that consumerism has got out of hand, and that consumption will inevitably fall during a recession (which is a good thing on several fronts, including environmentally), but that doesn't necessarily mean that living standards have to fall. Decent living standards and mass consumption are not the same thing, at all.
28 comments:
Living standards under NEW LABOUR
Yes, mass consumption is precisely what a massive bureaucracy does. Of course there'll be few cuts there - you wouldn't want to annoy all those voters you bought.
And now for the actual context of the remarks
http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/12/02/sterling-is-warning-the-government-and-the-mpc/
If I may, really cheap of you.
You can borrow some stuff from my blog if you like Kerry.
I beg to differ Kerry. Chavs on benefit will have to put off purchasing an even bigger flat screen TV or upgrading their Sky package. They will find this an intolerable drop in their living standards and, cannon-like, pop out another sprog to get extra on the social.
SAOT - you don't think I actually READ John Redwood's blog, do you?
OMGLIVINGSTANDARDSUNDERZANULIEBORE!!!eleven!
Ahem.
John redwood template as follows:
"The markets say that people have to _______."
A nice attempt to take us off the topics that matter, but we all know what matters right now; Harriet ripped apart by Paxman last night over the Green affair .. The EU actually doing something useful today by saying f*** you to ripper smith. The one-eyed gorgon is doing his best to bribe your client state with mortgage protection and savings incentives (as long as you’ve wasted your money by not saving anything to date of course) but it won’t work with middle England, and you ned us to be re-elected.
Kerry your party is going down the tubes, jeez, even Benn thinks you’re a bunch of tossers; only a few years ago, you’d have been worshipping him.
You don’t get how much people HATE you, but you will ..
Bring on the election, c’mon Brown you f***ing coward ..
Good point well made - I think we have another Oscar Wilde on our hands.
Although I think it's been a while since Labour worshipped Benn
NL, yeah, you lot change allegiances very easily don't you ..
No need to have ago at Oscar BTW, he was in a minority that you lot would champion today, and he swore a lot too
'he who has never changed his mind has never made a mistake'
Well that may be true in your case NL, try having some convictions!
I have lots of convictions thanks :)
Another one I like is: he who has never changed his mind has never learned anything ;)
Hmm, yes, you loved Benn until Blair came along with New labour?
"he who has never changed his mind has never learned anything"
Wasn't that Churchill's? You lot hated him didn't you;)
Not me I'm afraid - I was never a big fan of Benn
Kerry, you are a member of New Labour, a clique that hijacked the Labour party and turned it into a combination of the SDP and rabid Thatcherism.
Consumerism and keeping the masses quiet is what you are all about.
If you are so ethical perhaps you can tell us how you would have voted on Iraq and what your views are on replacing Trident?
Cant wait for the ethical vegan to enlighten us on that....
If you are so ethical perhaps you can tell us how you would have voted on Iraq
I think we can probably guess, given her shameful voting "very strongly against an investigation into the Iraq war."
and what your views are on replacing Trident?
Kerry "Voted very strongly for replacing Trident."
source here
On top of the 'credit crunch' (started in the US tm), which had some origins in the UK, things look difficult.
Adding on the Climate Change Bill (Act) the lights could go out.
Unless we adopt Monbiot's plan then the lights will go out.
1.7 Mil in fuel poverty according to turner.
People from top to bottom are going to lose their jobs - even those managers and execs who never thought it possible.
A drop in living standards is very much on the cards whichever way you look at it, isn't it?
Thats the great free market that Kerry loves so much for you. She says shes a 'socialist', which is quite a joke as she is a disciple of New Labour and Thatcherite Brown and co.
I see she visited Formula 1 team or something today. Would that be the same Formula 1 industry thats about as environmentally friendly as George Bush and which has a long association with the porn industry, tobacco, booze companies and which peddles the kind of crap, materialist, sexist nonsense which is against everything progressive minded people (not to mention vegans given the exploitation which F1 represents) should be supporting.....
Oh dear, You haven't got the Jonah touch too have you Kerry?
You were there on Monday!
Honda set to announce F1 withdrawal.
Kerry said "SAOT - you don't think I actually READ John Redwood's blog, do you?"
Apparently the PM does so perhaps it will become required reading.
'Decent living standards and mass consumption are not the same thing, at all.'
Well said Kerry!
If we continue with mass consumption on our finite planet our living standards will decrease and a wide range of problems will mount.
I'm glad we agree Glenn, but how do you discourage it? Taxation/ tariffs? Regulation? Or relying on a better informed public making better choices?
How about not voting for free market fanatics who pretend to be socialists and who pretend to be progressives but are just thatcherites really. How about the Labour party being the party of socialism once again rather than the SDP/Tory alliance which it is these days and which Kerry loves so much..
Yup, we've really been displaying our dogmatic adherence to unbridled free-market economics over the last couple of months haven't we?
"If we continue with mass consumption on our finite planet our living standards will decrease and a wide range of problems will mount."
*sigh*
Economic growth does not mean increased use of resources; the measure that we use -- GDP -- measures increase in economic value, not resource use.
Let me give you a very simple analogy (plucking figures out of the air, but you will understand that they are in the right ball park).
I make glasses (make from silicon), which sell for £1 a piece. I sell 500 of these and make £500, but I have used half a tonne of silicon.
I make a computer chip. I sell one of these for £500, but I have used only half a gramme of silicon.
Do you see? Both activities have increased GDP by £500, but one has used orders of magnitude more raw material than the other.
And which technology is more advanced? Making glasses or microchips?
I am not trying to be patronising here, by the way; I am just trying to show you that this is not a purely theoretical argument.
DK
Post a Comment