As Osborne goes to the Commons to explain himself and paste together the wreck of his budget, it is important to remind ourselves of what this is all about.
When the Coalition was formed in 2010 economists were divided over the best way forward. Some believed that at all costs the economy must continue to grow and to borrow to maintain public services and investment in infrastructure was necessary to expand it enough to raise income and close the gap between tax and expenditure. Others insisted that cutting expenditure was the way forward. Reducing the size of government and cutting welfare dependency would cut out the deficit within a parliament. Osborne chose that cuts road. Nobody was sure who was right. This blog backed Osborne.
Well that was wrong. Because here we are into the second parliament still running a deficit as tax receipts are consistently too weak to cover expenses. All public services are short of money and some, like social care and healthcare are in trouble. The poorest in society have been hardest hit. Austerity is never ending, forecasts are wrong, targets are missed, productivity is low, the march of the makers rebalancing the economy never crossed the start line and, this is the key, the inherited national debt of £900 million is now past £1.5 trillion. Yet all the fundamental problems remain unsolved.
Time is up George. If your boss has not got the guts to fire you, you should have the decency to walk. Bullington club and all that. You know, the honour thing.