U.K. Sec of the Treasury: We’re Broke
- Posted on February 28, 2012 at 2:22pm by
Becket Adams
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You know things are bad when your own Secretary of the Treasury, or the “Chancellor” as he’s referred to in the U.K., says you’re flat-out broke.
Chancellor George Osborne warns that there is very little a coalition can do to help resuscitate the U.K.’s financial health and says the best thing to do is “encourage businesses to flourish and hire more workers,” according to the Telegraph.
“The British Government has run out of money because all the money was spent in the good years,” the Chancellor said. “The money and the investment and the jobs need to come from the private sector.”
As the Telegraph’s Rowena Mason points out, Osborne sounds an awful lot like Liam Byrne, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, who joked that Labour had left Britain broke when he left the Government in 2010.
He left David Laws, his successor, a note saying: “Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left”.
Osborne has come under severe pressure by members of British Parliament to figure out how to boost economic growth, despite the fact that his country is slipping into recession.
One option, championed by The Institute of Fiscal Studies, is for him to enact emergency tax cuts in the Budget so as to reduce the risk of a prolonged economic downturn.
However, Osborne has vowed to balance the books by refusing to borrow money.
“Any tax cut would have to be paid for,” Osborne told Sky News. “In other words there would have to be a tax rise somewhere else or a spending reduction. In other words what we are not going to do in this Budget is borrow more money to either increase spending or cut taxes.”
These sentiments have been echoed by Liberal Democrat Jeremy Browne, the foreign minister, who “warned that Britain faced ‘accelerated decline’ without measures to tackle its debt and increase competitiveness,” according to the Telegraph.
“This situation has been becoming more acute for years,” Browne adds. “It is now staring us in the face. So we need to take action.”
Browne also says that for government departments to avoid “collapsing under the weight of their own debt,” they need to get serious about reforming pensions, welfare and defense.
“Just because the spending was sometimes on worthy causes does not in itself mean it was affordable,” he says. “Doing nothing when your prospects are at risk of declining is not the safe option. More of the same may be superficially more popular in the short-term but that does not make it right.”
Of course, there is opposition to the “pro-business” growth model.
Chris Leslie MP, the shadow Treasury minister, said it was “wrong of the Chancellor to argue that Britain was broke and to rely on business alone to create economic growth,” according to the Telegraph.
“George Osborne can’t complacently wash his hands and claim the lack of jobs and growth in the economy is nothing to do with him,” he said. “He needs to realize that government has a vital role to play in creating an environment where the private sector can grow and create jobs [emphasis added].”
But considering the fact that the U.K. is broke and the IMF is in shambles, where — other than business — is Osborne supposed to turn to for economic growth? That is to say, how, exactly, does Leslie plan on growing the private sector and creating jobs if not by allowing businesses to flourish?
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SFsuper49er
Posted on February 29, 2012 at 12:12amSoon we will have to liquidate our military equipment to the Chinese because we will owe them so much money..
Report Post »dnewton
Posted on February 29, 2012 at 8:52amIt will be called, “The Peace dividend.”
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 9:48pmUK Sec. Of Treasury, “We’re broke” Coming soon to America… “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear”
Report Post »Lord in Heaven help us!
BlackCrow
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 6:56pmA government official with the stones to tell the truth? I fell a chill wind, hell just froze.
Report Post »socialism.rocks
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 8:20pmhe is a liar as most republicans the state creates currency~!
Report Post »running out of money thats a last ditch of con-conservs
Unix
Posted on February 29, 2012 at 7:33pm@socialism.rocks – Yet another cross-eyed socialist, who will not run out of money until they run out of your money. You liberal/communist/socialists make me sick with your lies and twisting of facts to fleece the american people at all costs. Socialism is WHY Europe is going broke, it is WHY America is going broke, we’ve been creeping socialists for over 70 years now. Look where the nanny state has brought us – $177 TRILLION in DEBT you moron! Move to Greece and see how well you do there in that socialistic rathole dummy!
Report Post »living1nBF3
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 6:53pmFire up the printing presses!! Whoo hoo, ten dollar bread loaves and gallon milk!!
Zimbabwe, here you come!!
Or just toss out the ****** and hooligan freeloaders and go back to being known as “Great Britain”, instead of the “Country Formerly Known as Great Britain”.
So long, it was nice to know you britain!!
Report Post »living1nBF3
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 6:55pmWow, censorship on the Blaze.
You just got banned from my blog reading list.
Tell Beck to piss off!
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 8:12pmOnly now do you realize that The Blaze censors words? Try posting the name of the human species — the genus part will be all asterisks.
Report Post »AJAYW
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 5:35pmYou best be getting your money out of the banks here and empty out your safety deposit boxes before obama puts a hold on all- he can and I bet he will by Executive order. FDR did it in 1933
Report Post »Deposit box and account holders are not warned of the hazards of banking … of policy under which the bank is allowed by the government to do business. … when the executive order that governs national emergencies is enforced. … topic/ 52464-do-not-use-safety-deposit-boxes/?
Oneirishman
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 5:33pmUK‘s liberal chicccckennn’s have come home to roost!
Report Post »Jenasus
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 5:16pmWorld Wide Doomsday Party!
Report Post »Fubruary 29th, 2012. Be prepared people. If nothing happens we can all have a Doomsday Party on Leap Day of Leap Year 2012. T-minus 1 day.
sb36695
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 5:12pm& Margaret Thatcher was right. You do run out of other people’s money!
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 5:16pmNow if only the Brits would tell Obama that. Maybe after Europe goes broke the socialist model will finally roll over and die like it should have 50 years ago.
Report Post »socialism.rocks
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 8:23pmthatcher was a idiot its the peoples money
Report Post »but the few who control it all~
keep trying~
Free enterprise is how the allocation of resources is used
people are waking up to the few owning it all sooner or later people will either leave that system or over throw it~
thats how it works
SoupSandwich
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 10:09pmRocker
Report Post »Not buying what you are selling. It is poop.
countryfirst
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 4:59pmWell when our government finally realizes that it can no longer pay for all the entitlements, at least we will be able to protect ourselves thanks to the 2nd amendment . And some say the constitution is outdated.
Report Post »Oneirishman
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 5:36pmThey know. The parties are just playing musical chairs. And whoever’s in charge when the music stops gets all the blame.
Report Post »socialism.rocks
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 8:25pmwhen the people get tired of the few rich who control it all- sooner or later people either will leave the system or over-throw it~ thats human nature
oh you really dont understand the monetary system is socialism because we the people decided to use it- and get this we the people can change that at anytime~
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on February 28, 2012 at 4:34pmMay I make a suggestion?
See if the Queen will cut you a check from her $67Trillion dollar ‘savings’ account.
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