The Economic State of Emergency

So Cameron has been using patriotic military rhetoric and continuing the "we're all in this together" theme. (All except the hordes of breed-like-rabbits benefit scum who refuse to take up all those unfilled vacancies, of course).

I am slightly surprised at the crassness of it, but otherwise this is what I expected - below is what I was saying in Crooked Timber comments just before the election. In particular: Under the pretext of an economic state of emergency, there is the prospect of further near-irreversible moves toward the ‘free-market’ paradise that the Conservatives are obviously so keen on – while of course, as ever, being intensely relaxed about people being dirt poor.


Meanwhile, some people seem to view the recent exaggerated outrage at the proposal to remove child benefit from high earners as indicating a failure by Osborne. Not at all.

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Bleeding Osborne

I'm not given to writing about the bleeding obvious, but occasionally it's irresistable, for example when it comes to the coalition government.

I've just been listening to Any Questions and Any Answers (why do I do it?), much of which was dedicated to missing the point about Osborne's remarks on the benefits lifestyle choice. Plenty of ludicrous anecdotes, for example about a family who are buying a house for cash out of their accumulated benefits (rather than, say, being criminals for whom claiming dole is a necessary front, etc.). And plenty of protests that most people on the dole have not elected to live in poverty, and even one mention of the fairly stringent regime currently in operation that requires everyone on the dole to satisfy the Jobcentre that they are indeed seeking work, no matter how statistically unlikely it may that they will get any.

But no real focus on the key issues:

(1) the welfare budget cut of 4bn has not been calculated on the basis that there are 4bn worth of improper claims currently being honoured (which btw, one might conclude at least prima facie, would mean there are 4bn worth of jobs currently unfilled).

(2) there has been no indication that there is to be any targeting of benefit 'cheats'.

In other words, the cuts that have been plucked out of the air are to apply indiscriminately to welfare recipients, and are supposed to work by making the dole less 'appealing' both to the evil benefits barons who are currently choosing to live the high life on 60 quid a week or whatever it is, and to those who have no choice. Which is a bit unfortunate for the latter.