Sunday 30 December 2012

Cameron can’t count




David Cameron, the millionaire is exhorting the rest of us to ‘look to the future with realism and optimism’ – hard to see how those two are outlooks are compatible under current circumstances.

Realism tells us that jobs are down and unemployment is rising. How can that encourage optimism? Those of us in work are overworked and the out of work stand very little chance of finding work. Work stress related illness is rising. The number of stress related absences from work in 2010/11 was 400,000 – in 2011/12 it was 428,000 despite overall absences being reduced.
 
Government policies aren’t helping either. Look at the jobs lost in the insulation industry – a green industry – because of government dithering over vital energy saving schemes.

Government attempts to get more unemployed people back in work are truly pathetic.  Their use of the private sector has backfired with money being paid to private providers under fraudulent claims.

Now the government is trying to ‘nudge people off the dole’ and is taking a minute sample: a selection of the clients of a single job centre as a pilot on which to base future Job centre policy.

The only way to get more people into jobs is to invigorate the economy. The only way to invigorate the economy is to increase the flow of wealth. 

Wages - become spending and taxes – which become investment - which creates more wages i.e. more jobs.

Giving people on lower incomes more money increases their spending. Giving people on already high incomes can lead to some additional spending on luxury items (although it may simply drive up their prices) but generally leads to additional savings or to capital flight aboard. 

So who would you give more money to if you wanted the economy to thrive? Yes, I know, the answer is obvious, but Cameron doesn’t get it.

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