Rick's b.log - entry 2022/09/26

Buggered Britain

It almost touched 1.04 there, ouch!

It doesn't look so bad, until you realise that this is zooming in on the post-budget fiscal event chaos. If we were to include the pre-budget fiscal event amount, it would be a line up to the top of the page.

Now, this also has an effect on the cost of borrowing, the rates of which have shot through the roof. Probably not a great look if you're essentially trying to fix the economy and the energy crisis subsidise tax cuts for the wealthy by massive borrowing.

As if that isn't enough, and just when you thought this useless excuse of a government couldn't be any more corrupt, news is coming (Sunday Times and Harry Yorke) that a group of hedge fund managers, who were all Truss supporters, coined it by shorting the pound. That's monetary speak for making a small fortune by betting against sterling, in other words, betting that it would fall. Now, how - I wonder - would they, a bunch of Truss supporters, have known enough about the contents of the Budget fiscal event to know to bet against the pound?
Labour is urging the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate potential wrongdoing to see if the budget fiscal event was leaked.
[I can't link to the Sunday Times article, it is paywalled]

Of course, being British, "lessons will be learned" and they will walk away with their additional money and you'll be left to wallow in the fetid mire that remains. Because, I'm starting to wonder - are the Tories simply screwing up the economy in order to help themselves and their mates get richer? Is this some weird form of country-scale asset stripping?

Or are they so bloody delusional that they think that it's actually possible to promote growth by massive government borrowing to offset tax cuts (mostly for the wealthy) while more or less completely ignoring the overwhelming majority of the general public who aren't loaded with cash. You know, in The Guardian this morning, I read yet another story about schoolchildren who are in a position where the meal they get at school at lunchtime is the only meal they eat all day. And that's only if their parents earn less than £7,400 a year otherwise they don't qualify for school meals. That's £142 a week. For a family. That's the government's cut-off point.

The Chancellor (whose name reads like alphabet spaghetti thrown against the wall, I trust he won't be around long enough that I have to figure out how to even say it) has the great idea of this mass borrowing backed up by £45 billion in tax cuts aimed at the rich, getting rid of the top rate of tax, cutting corporation tax, and... well, if somebody is bringing home a nice round million, they'll be about fifty grand better off. That's like three times what somebody on minimum wage earns. Meanwhile, the lower income families, or those with disabled people, get... actually, they get nothing. Zip. Nada. Diddy-bloody-squat. No, the bankers can get even richer (no cap on bonuses now!) while your kids can starve but don't worry, it'll all be over soon once the winter cold hits and you freeze to death.

It seems like Liz is actually proud (as in pork market proud) of handing money to the rich. She said that she abhors what she called "wealth distribution", being defined as giving a few crumbs to the poor. Instead she has focused on a kind of wealth distribution that The Institute for Public Policy Research thinks will give the wealthiest 10% of the population over half of the gains to be had from this budget fiscal event, including every cabinet member.
Truss seems to believe instead that by giving lots of money to the rich, something will trickle down to everybody else.
Well, something is trickling alright, but it sure as hell ain't got the Queen's head on it.

Meanwhile, if you're unemployed, it's your fault. If you're working your arse off doing two jobs back to back and can still barely make ends meet, well, that's your fault too. The government's answer? Get a job.

Along the way, just to show how incredibly in touch and with it they all are, Truss scrapped the proposed bans on foie gras and fur, because nothing says "I'm an unpaid carer that hasn't had a decent meal in days" quite like a mink coat, right?

I am well aware that Truss announced "I am prepared to be unpopular", but fuck's sake, this is beyond shameless. This is downright offensive.

Really - how much more of this until you guys Go French and take to the streets?

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Anon, 26th September 2022, 22:32

I've always voted Tory. But not this time. They can f*** right off.    So can Labour.    The Lib Dems are unelectable.    The Greens? They want to make it impossible to use a car. Well, I live in a very rural area. There's no public transport, the nearest station is a 20-minute drive away. (Nice one Beeching - NOT!)    I hate politics. With a passion.

David Pilling, 26th September 2022, 23:17

Short the dollar...

Also Anon, 28th September 2022, 00:04

"Is this some weird form of country-scale asset stripping?"  "Or are they so bloody delusional that they think that it's actually possible to promote growth by..."    Probably the first one.    "Really - how much more of this until you guys Go French and take to the streets?"    If they manage to hang on for another term, by fair means or foul, they may well finally allocate a bit of money to public services: building lots more prisons. That's where those guys will end up. Or Rwanda.

Rob, 28th September 2022, 08:40

I read of one school kid just pretending to eat from an empty lunchbox...    I think the Tories are in full-on "fuck it, what can we get out of this before we're kicked out" mode.    We've a cat called Kwasi.. I bet she'd do a better job!

Mick , 30th September 2022, 00:08

I am appalled and the tax cut for tge rich. If anything there should have been an extra level of 50%.     Petition is doing well..can I post a link here ? Will try without any anchors.    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/619781    Torys have always robbed from those less well off, but the mini debacle is blatent.

J.G.Harston, 30th September 2022, 13:53

And today the UKP/USD is back to to 1.12 where it was before the <i>Special Fiscal Operation</i> last week.

Rick, 30th September 2022, 14:06

Probably the BoE helping to calm things.  Still robbing the poor to give to the rich...

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