We will hear a Scot stand up tomorrow and attempt to row a canoe against a tidal wave. He will not succeed, because this government has set out policies and presentation that bears no relation to reality. After the lies of last autumn: the lies that we no longer hear, the government is best placed to deal with the recession due to their wise management, and this lack of growth is imported from the United States. Yet, the import of our grave situation has still not struck home as we have not yet faced the crisis, the crisis of public expenditure hitting the wall.
There is no use quantifying the liabilities that the British taxpayer faces, though neither Labour nor the unions have realised that their period of dominance is at an end. They are spending as if there is no 2011, preferring to keep the boat sailing until past the election. They cite the dangers of deflation, drive interest rates towards zero and deploy a huge expansion of the money supply through quantitative easing. They are unable to face withdrawal from their tax paid goodies.
Who will pay? Us. The jaws of a vicious trap await: the retail price index enters negative territory, linking all pensions, wages and benefits to a paltry rise or a decrease; yet consumer living costs are rising due to the fall in sterling and said expansion in the money supply. The outcome is a severe contraction in living standards for both the employed and the unemployed.
We have yet to face our perfect storm: inflation, falling living standards and a gilt strike, crystallising the misery faced by the country. Then Labour will pay...