23 June 2010
The Coalition Budget: neither unavoidable not fair -
There is no question that difficult choices had to be made in yesterday’s Budget. But George Osborne made the wrong ones.
Conservative / Lib Dem claims that the rich will bear most of the pain are shallow. It is people on low and modest incomes who will suffer most. Those on the lowest incomes will gain least from the increase in the income tax personal allowance and will suffer most from the cuts in public spending. The VAT increase will also have most impact on those with the least money. David Miliband was right to describe the Tory / Lib Dem Budget as “give with one hand, punch with the other”.
What's more, this Budget is even economically reckless, threatening to snuff out the recovery it claims to foster. As Jonathan Freedland writes in today’s Guardian: “It's economics-for-dummies that cutting spending and raising taxes reduces demand – someone who's just been laid off can't buy much – and could choke off recovery before it has begun.”
This Budget was neither “unavoidable” nor “fair”.
Read more about the Budget online here.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon