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Now you may have heard from the Tories endlessly that they have cut the deficit (government expenditure take away income) by 25%. Osborne and the rest of his lot have repeated the figure endlessly.

Great eh? Thank God we have a government sorting out Labour's mess. So the raison d'etre for this government is actually being met. Fantastico. At least all those 100s of thousands of public sector workers who have lost their jobs can see that it has been for some purpose.

Err not quite. The reason the figures look so good on the deficit are :

Firstly, the Government assessment depends on using ?net borrowing? data rather than ?current budget? data. But the current budget data is a measure of the difference between government expenditure and income, and therefore arguably a better measure of the state of the public finances, while the net borrowing data includes cuts to investment spending - money not yet spent so it is neither income nor expenditure.

Secondly the government has ignored the most recent data for the current financial year which is really bad as you would expect given that we have had no growth and are in a double dip recession.

The independent Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that in the latest rolling 12-month period, covering the months September 2011 to August 2012, the deficit by this measure has crept back up to nearly ?108 billion. This is only ?2.7 billion lower than borrowing (again using ?current budget? data) for the financial year 2009/10 (the date that the Government has used for the starting point of its analysis). By this assessment (to repeat, using the most recent data, and looking at the current budget rather than net borrowing data), the deficit has only fallen by 2% since the financial year 2009/10.

This is the actual quote from the ONS. "Taking the current budget balance, the latest figures suggest that the deficit is rising again. Having peaked at more than ?110 billion in 2009-10, the current budget deficit fell to ?95 billion in the 2011-12 financial year. However in the latest rolling 12-
month period, covering the period September 2011 to August 2012, the deficit has crept back up to nearly ?108 billion".

Yeah I know load of boring stats.

But after 2 and half years of pain, hundreds of thousands of people sacked, billions taken from the welfare budget, squeezed middle class, frozen salaries at a time of rocketing fuel and heating costs, grannie tax, pasty tax (forgot that was a U turn) etc etc, the result of all of this pain is a reduction in the deficit of ?2.7 billion or 2% of the deficit.

Great eh? At this rate, the 21st century is going to see a lot of austerity!

You really do need to get out more.

At least it has gone down, imagine if we had not introduced all these cuts, just how large would the deficit now be?

Zorro wrote:

> At least it has gone down, imagine if we had not introduced all
> these cuts, just how large would the deficit now be?

Stand by for David Johnson, using smoke and mirrors, to show how under Labour, we could have had absolutely NO cuts whatsoever, increased benefits, lowered taxes for all, given 50% of our GDP for World Aid and now be the World's No 1 industrial powerhouse, with China seething with rage in second place and America in 3rd!

All through the magic of the Royal Mint's printing press and some ?50 note printing blocks!

"If you'd voted Labour you fools, all this could have been yours! GUARANTEED!!!

[img]http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/cbsnews/20 ... 885030.jpg[/img]

Poor Jim. So little understanding, so quick to humiliate yourself. No understanding so all you have left is a little picture off the Internet. Diddums!

"All through the magic of the Royal Mint's printing press and some ?50 note printing blocks!"

For your homework Jim, work out how many billions have been printed in quantitative easing by the Bank under this coalition, since Boy George announced in opposition that "quantitative easing was the last, desperate step of a desperate government" and after Diamond Dave told us that we were out of a recession?

"At least it has gone down, imagine if we had not introduced all these cuts, just how large would the deficit now be?"

Is this a joke?

You appear to have missed completely the point. The deficit was ?110 billion under Labour in 2009/2010. Under the coalition in the last rolling 12 month period, the deficit is ?108 billion.

Why do you think the deficit has gone down so little despite hundreds of thousands being thrown out of work and billions taken out of welfare etc etc?

It is because the economy has crashed from the position it was in in autumn 2010 when Cameron announced we were out of the recession. As a result of that crash caused by Cameron and Osborne's economic policy we have had no growth whatsoever so irrespective of the cuts, the deficit is now growing because government income is slumping e.g. drop in income tax, national insurance and corporation tax receipts.

The huge rise in the deficit under Labour after 2008 was down to their incompetence in regulating the banks and the resulting global collapse in which the British government bailed out the banks to keep people's life savings from going down the drain.

The recession under the Coalition is down mainly to their non-stop terrorising of the British people, saying we are on the brink of collapse and crushing demand as a result so everyone basically is hunkering down and cutting back spending.

This is the same scenario that Spain and Greece are in - endless cuts crush demand, there is no growth and the deficit increases. In short a vicious circle.

David, it's a mystery to me why you're not working as a political columnist for Mirror Group Newspapers and explaining to a readership of millions the wonders of the Labour Party (not forgetting the evils of the Tories and the duplicitousness of the LibDems of course).

After all, come 2015 your sage input could, I'm sure, prove crucial to the Two Eds in at least 20 swing seats as you win over all those floating voters.

Surely you'd find that far more fulfilling than constantly banging your political drum to a miniscule audience in this seedy, obscure corner of the interweb? Especially in view of the fact that so many of us on here are such clueless thickos who clearly know nothing about owt, and constantly "humiliate" ourselves in the face of your vastly superior intellect and knowledge.

Doesn't hanging around on here all the time, day in day out, get frustrating for you?

Isn't your life just one never-ending round of !idontbelieveit! !idontbelieveit! !idontbelieveit! when you read some of the idiotic, ill-informed tripe that we post?

Or is it that you see us as charity cases who need to be "enlightened" and shown the way? To be persuaded / bullied / cajoled / ridiculed until we see the error of our ways?

Please explain, Oh Great All-Knowing One - because my brain cell is having trouble fathoming it all out.

Thank you! !bow! !bow! !bow!

- Eric

DJ to replace Millibore.
Discuss.

"Especially in view of the fact that so many of us on here are such clueless thickos who clearly know nothing about owt"

Now, now Eric, none of that please. You may have a good point as you often do, but as our great leader, the Blessed Dave Cam said "It's all about strivers, not duckers and divers".

"Doesn't hanging around on here all the time, day in day out, get frustrating for you? Isn't your life just one never-ending round of when you read some of the idiotic, ill-informed tripe that we post?"

Nah I get paid on a care in the community project to help the endlessly confused. If I didn't get paid I couldn't be arsed at all.

"Please explain, Oh Great All-Knowing One - because my brain cell is having trouble fathoming it all out."

Hang on Eric, hang on, my forthcoming bestseller "The Thoughts of Chairman DJ" is out on sale at all good bookshops a week on Monday. ?19.99 or buy 2 copies and get the third free. It's a cracker!

David Johnson wrote:

> Hang on Eric, hang on, my forthcoming bestseller "The Thoughts
> of Chairman DJ" is out on sale at all good bookshops a week on
> Monday. ?19.99 or buy 2 copies and get the third free. It's
> a cracker!


Remind me to stay out of town that day. It will be pandemonium. Where can I get a signed one without having to queue up outside Waterstones with all the fanboys?

[img]http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/xx19 ... book-2.jpg[/img]

- Eric