Just to put this all into perspective, according to the Public Sector Finances Databank (Excel, available here), total UK government revenues in 2012-13 are expected to be £594.4 billion (Tab C4), and total managed expenditure ('TME', which includes depreciation) for the year is pencilled in at £714.5 billion (Tab B1), a deficit of [£very large number].
Question: How far would we have to turn back the spending clock to reduce spending to the same level as current tax receipts, i.e. to put an end to deficit spending/bring the budget back into balance?
Click and highlight to reveal answer: Five years. In 2007-08, TME was £582.9 billion (Tab B1), not adjusted for inflation. Adjusted for average wage/price inflation of about 3% a year, we'd have to go back nine years to 2003-04, when TME was £455.5 billion nominal.
No scrumping
2 hours ago
4 comments:
Government spending cannot be reduced. That is a basic rule that every politician understands. The problem is that tax revenues have not kept pace with the natural, inevitable growth of spending.
"Government spending cannot be reduced": except in Canada, for some reason.
GB, yes, that is how you politicians think.
D, or in the UK in the 1920s. Seriously, there is so much non-frontline crap spending, we could easily get rid of £120 billion without the general public noticing.
"we could easily get rid of £120 billion without the general public noticing."
Yes, but The People who Matter would notice, and notice very much.
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