The abiding sin of the Thatcherite Tories and the post-Reagan Republicans is the belief that government has a purely parisitical upon the private sector. This, of course, ignores the essential social infrastructure provided by government. Right neo-liberalism seems to have enjoyed a longer run in the UK, than in the US. This may explain why the US has not yet experienced absolute decline. However, give the Republicans another shot at control and we may get there.
You on Tooze: I assume that "reverse austerity" just means the other tax and invest points. If it means not narrowing the fiscal deficit, I dissent. I would add land use polices that I hear are even worse in UK than in US urban centers.
I took austerity in this context to be the lack of investment in and through the state in particular - the continual squeeze on every part of the machinery government which has manifested in fragile, over-stretched public services.
This has been combined with a strong desire to exert direct control over expenditure which has funnelled more and more decision-making and resources through central government institutions to the detriment of local government, exacerbating the existing inequalities between regions. And there's something very unbalanced about a progressive council tax system which then funds councils primarily through that local tax income - areas with rich citizens have a lot more money available to spend on local services, and it shows.
Jorge Castaneda was a PAN government official and for years he has misinformed through newspapers and his appearances on television. For example, despite the fact that the minimum wage lost 75% of its purchasing power between 1970 and 2010 in Mexico, he was always in favor of not raising it because it would impact inflation and cause job losses. Two errors evidenced by the increases in the minimum wage by the current government.
The abiding sin of the Thatcherite Tories and the post-Reagan Republicans is the belief that government has a purely parisitical upon the private sector. This, of course, ignores the essential social infrastructure provided by government. Right neo-liberalism seems to have enjoyed a longer run in the UK, than in the US. This may explain why the US has not yet experienced absolute decline. However, give the Republicans another shot at control and we may get there.
You on Tooze: I assume that "reverse austerity" just means the other tax and invest points. If it means not narrowing the fiscal deficit, I dissent. I would add land use polices that I hear are even worse in UK than in US urban centers.
I took austerity in this context to be the lack of investment in and through the state in particular - the continual squeeze on every part of the machinery government which has manifested in fragile, over-stretched public services.
This has been combined with a strong desire to exert direct control over expenditure which has funnelled more and more decision-making and resources through central government institutions to the detriment of local government, exacerbating the existing inequalities between regions. And there's something very unbalanced about a progressive council tax system which then funds councils primarily through that local tax income - areas with rich citizens have a lot more money available to spend on local services, and it shows.
Absolutely agree on land use policies, though.
Thanks for the education about UK central government funding of local services. The US does not have that perfected either
Jorge Castaneda's comment contrasts with the most accurate article in The Economist https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/12/18/2022s-unlikely-economic-winners
Jorge Castaneda was a PAN government official and for years he has misinformed through newspapers and his appearances on television. For example, despite the fact that the minimum wage lost 75% of its purchasing power between 1970 and 2010 in Mexico, he was always in favor of not raising it because it would impact inflation and cause job losses. Two errors evidenced by the increases in the minimum wage by the current government.