Comments on: Policy Exchange’s false debt claims

By: David Jones

David Jones — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:58:30 +0000

‘9p of every pound of tax’ sounds like a lot because the UK continues to be a relatively low tax economy – both compared with the past and with similar OECD and EU countries.

3% of GDP seems like a better basis for comparision when assessing affordability.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:29:11 +0000

Tim,

The key point is not the 9p but Neil’s claim that:“The interest on all this debt will not be cheap.”

It is cheap.

And whilst 9p sounds a lot, the figure is completely out of context. Hence the graph. A higher % of GDP was spent on interest payments in the 90s, the 80s and the 70s.

By: Tim Worstall

Tim Worstall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:25:42 +0000

“On point one – I don’t dispute the 9p point.”

So, err, why did you highlight it?

By: debt

debt — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:49:48 +0000

One of the flaws of “national” debt, is that it is really only a measure of government debt. But 80% of our economy is in the private sector (other than federal, defense, and state & local governments). To arrive at the real “national” debt, you need to take into account not only the government debt (relatively small) but also private credit market debt.

By: George Hutchings

George Hutchings — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:11 +0000

Policy Exchange's false debt claims | Left Foot Forward http://bit.ly/5cbrLe

By: Douglas May

Douglas May — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:05:31 +0000

Policy Exchange's false debt claims | Left Foot Forward http://bit.ly/5b2jo4

By: Mark Sumpter

Mark Sumpter — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:03:44 +0000

Policy Exchange's false debt claims | Left Foot Forward http://bit.ly/6Apsij

By: Bob Wiley

Bob Wiley — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:56:30 +0000

Policy Exchange's false debt claims | Left Foot Forward: Neil O'Brien, of Policy Exchange, has written .. http://bit.ly/7YQDrx

By: Stefan Nyman

Stefan Nyman — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:13:36 +0000

från_google_alert Policy Exchange's false debt claims | Left Foot Forward: Despite O'.. http://tinyurl.com/ydc3ztx

By: Duncan

Duncan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:50:04 +0000

Neil,

Thanks for responding.

On point one – I don’t dispute the 9p point. I would say though that the interest burden is not actually very hihg and had been much higher in the past.

On point 2 – Sorry to assume. If you do not think fiscal policy is too loose, why do we need cut spending in order to allow a loose monetary policy?