If we were to comment upon Italy’s debt exposure then it would be incumbent upon us, as the sort of responsible, no snark, people we are, to get it right about Italy’s debt exposure. Which is, of course, exactly what The Guardian manages not to do:
How much damage can the illusion of “taking back control” do to a country so dependent on international markets to finance its huge public debt?
Italy is less dependent than most countries upon foreigners to finance the public debt.…
See MoreThere are many people who tell us that taxation in the UK is too low. Just think of all the gorgeously bureaucratic things that could be done if only the government had more money! Then there’s the number of people who actually do pay more tax on the basis that they think the government should have more money. The second being a rather smaller number than the first.
Which does bring us to that basic point that economists do insist upon making.…
See MoreThe Office for National Statistics has insisted that student loans should, at least partially, be counted as government spending. Further, that the accumulation of what students owe on their loans should be counted as part of the national debt or national assets pile. This seems obvious enough, the government is guaranteeing the loans to those private buyers of the bonds and is awaiting those repayments with the associated credit risk. Of course it’s government debt or asset therefore.…
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