Tory cuts could be mighty unpleasant

Spiv_2

Jim O'Neill the Chief Economist from Goldman Sachs said the following today:-

“To be obsessively focused on getting the deficit down as quickly as possible is not the right thing to do.”

“It’s suddenly become very trendy to be the toughest person around, whether you’re in the private sector, or in government, or opposition, as to what we’re going to do about the deficit,” O’Neill said. “We need to get growth back, and then we can have a more sensible look at what the true fiscal position is.”

O’Neill said people should “chill out” about the Bank of England’s emergency asset-purchase program. The Bank of England last week stuck to its plan to buy 175 billion pounds ($277 billion) of bonds with newly-created money to cement Britain’s recovery from the worst recession in a generation.
“There’s a ridiculous stigma with the whole thing in this country,” O’Neill said. “There’s lots of other countries doing unconventional monetary policy things and people should chill out a bit about it.”
O’Neill also said that people get too focused on seeing lower bond yields as a measure of the success of the bank’s asset purchases.
“Actually, gilt yields ultimately going up, so long as financial conditions are still friendly, is probably a really good sign of it working even more,” he said. “People need to be a bit more focused on reality and not be so emotional.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=afVxdR_ZTlN4

whathavewedone

Well they are being a lot more honest than Labour, Gordon Brown didn't even talk about the deficit in his speech. They are telling people that there will have to be cuts, not buying votes by offering more goodies. On that basis, their poll lead is pretty good going. I really don't see how telling people they're going to have to retire a year early or not get a pay rise is somehow manipulating the electorate.

I don't think the tories want to get in if they're going to be a one term wonder. I think they are looking at the election after next and if they are to win that they will need a mandate to make the cuts necessary to get the country back on it's feet. Better to lose this election, leave no one in any doubt as to Labour's incompetence and then win the next 4 elections.

I'm not a conservative party member and I don't often come on this board to discuss politics (given that it's meant to be for house prices and the economy) but there have been a number of anti tory threads on here over the last few days and since they're here I think I'm just as entitled to air my views on them as anyone else.

thescouselander

I was going to vote tory until the conference - now I am convinced that a tory government will mean the end for the economy. There is no question public finances need a radical overhaul but suddenly chopping government spending will be damaging to all parts of the economy - they just dont seem to have thought things through.

Say what you like about Labour (who I wont be voting for either) - they may have messed the economy up but I'm certainly not going to vote for someone who'll make things worse.

carolt

But realistically, whoever gets in is going to "make things worse", because the only way things have been allowed to stay at current levels ir propped up is by borrowing from the future. Labour's doing it now because there's an eection coming up - but realistically, it can't keep that level of spending up for ever... Interest rates can't stay at current historical lows for long, QE can't keep going indefinitely...there are lots of short term measures in place, but as soon as they stop, the cracks'll show.

whathavewedone

Well I think Scouselander's just proved my point. The tories' honesty about what they are going to do is going to scare some people off voting for them. It could easily have been the case that they went down in the polls after the conference rather than up. That's why I don't agree with Stevie J and Sir Humphrey that they were making stuff up. I'm sure they'd prefer to be in a position to offer more positve policies.

I agree with Carol. Things are going to be pretty rubbish for a while whoever gets in. I'd prefer to take the medicine sooner rather than later but that's just me.

thescouselander

I agree spending certainly has to be cut. What I'd have prefered to see is limited action to stop the deficit getting worse in the first instance with further action to reduce the national debt once a proper recovery is under way.

chaostheory

whathavewedone wrote: »

Well I think Scouselander's just proved my point. The tories' honesty about what they are going to do is going to scare some people off voting for them.

Yes because what they are planning to do is just dumb:cool:

chaostheory

whathavewedone wrote: »

I'd prefer to take the medicine sooner rather than later but that's just me.

But - taking your medicine sooner rather than later is going to make your illness worse so why would you do that?

Cat695

Well I've just seen on BBC news website that GB has to pay back £12.415 quid in expenses!!!

Labour are truely f*cked because the media are gonna love it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8303312.stm

Cat695

chaostheory wrote: »

Pathetic! What sort of country asks it's Prime Minister for £12,000 quid back. The shame of it.

Next he will be going to the high courts to make himself above the law!!