The true scale of our problem
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
(click to enlarge)
In the General Election campaign, no mainstream party is talking about debt reduction. They only speak (unconvincingly) of reducing the deficit (i.e. the rate at which we are going into debt). We are falling off a cliff and they are debating whether to spread our limbs to try to slow the descent.
This graphic from Business Insider shows the countries of the word resized according to national debt as a percentage of GDP. Only if nostalgic for the days when Mark Twain could have Tom Sawyer tell Huck Finn;could anyone enjoy the size of our small islands on that map. More than anything else, it reminds me of a long ago graphic showing the parts of the male body resized according to how conscious men were of them. You can imagine what part that makes Britain.
Politicians think they can't speak of the biggest issue facing us without slumping in the polls. They think the people don't know (or want to know) that they are close to beggary. That's cowardice to the point of treachery. Labour, the Conservatives and even the Liberal Democrats (who could speak all the truth they liked without affecting their chances) are effectively waiting for the problem to escalate until the markets refuse to lend. Their plan then is to side with those fools who curse the bailiff's men for the consequences of their own profligacy.
Edifying, isn't it?
h/t The UK News Network