Some people claim that places like the UK have been in austerity for 10 or 20 years. Nothing could be further from reality.
Debt grew from about 30% of gdp in 2000 to over 100% of gdp today. Almost half of all the money spent in the economy comes from the government, and at its peak more than half the money spent in the economy came from government.
The question isn't about austerity because the government hasn't been austere (virtually no government on earth has been which is why despite devastatingly high taxes governments have also been racking up massive debt). The question is where is your money going?
There is no political party in most governments who are willing to be austere. That would mean laying off billions of pounds worth of bureaucrats and shutting off billions of pounds worth of pet projects, and even the tories aren't willing to do that.
Historically, income taxes are something of an aberration, and even when the UK implemented them in 1842, they were generally fairly low. Today, they are quite high, a relatively middle class person like an engineer or miner could see most of their income go to the government.
World War 1 changed everything in terms of taxation. Prior to World War 1, income taxes in the UK maxxed out at around 3%, and in the US and Canada there were no income taxes at all. The government funded itself entirely from other forms of taxation. So for people living under governments that can tax over half of their income today, these are oppressive tax levels, and despite these oppressive levels of taxation all 3 countries have racked up massive increases in their debts in the past 25 years.
When you're imposing oppressive levels of taxation upon your people, and you're still racking up massive amounts of debt, that isn't austerity. It's the exact polar opposite of austerity, it's largesse.
Debt grew from about 30% of gdp in 2000 to over 100% of gdp today. Almost half of all the money spent in the economy comes from the government, and at its peak more than half the money spent in the economy came from government.
The question isn't about austerity because the government hasn't been austere (virtually no government on earth has been which is why despite devastatingly high taxes governments have also been racking up massive debt). The question is where is your money going?
There is no political party in most governments who are willing to be austere. That would mean laying off billions of pounds worth of bureaucrats and shutting off billions of pounds worth of pet projects, and even the tories aren't willing to do that.
Historically, income taxes are something of an aberration, and even when the UK implemented them in 1842, they were generally fairly low. Today, they are quite high, a relatively middle class person like an engineer or miner could see most of their income go to the government.
World War 1 changed everything in terms of taxation. Prior to World War 1, income taxes in the UK maxxed out at around 3%, and in the US and Canada there were no income taxes at all. The government funded itself entirely from other forms of taxation. So for people living under governments that can tax over half of their income today, these are oppressive tax levels, and despite these oppressive levels of taxation all 3 countries have racked up massive increases in their debts in the past 25 years.
When you're imposing oppressive levels of taxation upon your people, and you're still racking up massive amounts of debt, that isn't austerity. It's the exact polar opposite of austerity, it's largesse.
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