No, We Don’t Need Austerity!
There’s nothing ‘pragmatic’ about repeating a social catastrophe.
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Jo Michell is associate professor of economics at the University of the West of England in Bristol.
There’s nothing ‘pragmatic’ about repeating a social catastrophe.
Right-wingers want to blame inflation on workers’ wage demands, but the real culprits are their own policies – and the failure to invest in the climate transition.
It was obvious from the start that Covid-19 would have longlasting impacts on the British economy, but Rishi Sunak has insisted on treating it as a temporary blip – and now fantasises about pulling support altogether.
Today Rishi Sunak told Tory conference that he “can’t protect every job.” But as Britain faces an unemployment crisis, there are thousands of jobs he could save and create – and is choosing not to.
Recent years have seen a growth in the idea that increasing taxes on the wealthy shouldn’t be a priority for the Left – but if we want the world’s resources put to better use, we need to rein in the rich.
This week, the Tories had the opportunity to lay the foundations for a recovery – instead they rolled out a series of gimmicks and short-term measures which will be redundant before the summer is out.
Boris Johnson is framing the Covid-19 debate as ‘health vs. the economy’ – but his government’s approach to this crisis has helped neither, and nor will recklessness in easing the lockdown.
A decade of austerity shredded public services and left millions of workers on the brink. It would be hard to imagine a policy more destructive to our capacity to respond to the coronavirus crisis.