Sharpe's Opinion
Tuesday, 18th Nov, 2008
‘Sharing the Burdens of Recession’ Meme Picking Up Steam
Matthew Elliot on CentreRight considers ‘Sharing the Burdens of Recession’ as a possible strategy for the conservatives. Reminds me of something I wrote, back in the day:
The underlying thinking behind [sharing the proceeds of growth/costs of recession], though, is frugality; reducing the speed at which the public sector grows. This is an admirable attitude to bring into a recession. It is not the idea that requires defenestration, it’s just the soundbite.
At the time I didn’t think ‘sharing the costs of recession’ made a very good soundbite, but I’m revising my opinion on that now…
Comments
If you’ve never read the 10 men go for a beer allegory for the tax system, now is the moment to do so.
UPDATE: (Just added a link to it on the blog, too…)
I don’t like the phrase, but it all comes down to fairness. How is it fair that those who contributed nothing to the nation’s wealth and well-being are being shielded from the downturn? Why should non-working households be showered with money which will be taken from middle-income families when the debt has to be repaid? Why should public sector workers have their pensions guaranteed while private employees have to pay for them while their own pensions are being destroyed?
Blue Eyes
November 18, 2008 at 1:39 pm