UNISONActive is an unofficial blog produced by UNISON activists for UNISON activists. Bringing news, briefings and events from a progressive left perspective.

Thursday 5 August 2010

Hold on tight for the double dip ride‏

The Con Dem rollercoaster ride to economic ruin is picking up speed. Obsessed with budget deficits without acknowledging that the whole economy is run on debt, there are signs that the "double dip" recession is about to drop on us all. The threat of a double-dip recession intensified after it emerged that Britain's powerhouse services sector saw its growth stall last month, jeopardising hopes of a sustained recovery. As the Bank of England prepared to announce its latest decision on interest rates today, a survey of the sector that makes up the bulk of Britain's economic output showed that its growth slipped to its slowest since it emerged from recession a year ago.
Many of the companies surveyed said cancelled public-sector contracts were beginning to hurt their businesses, forcing them to cut jobs and dealing a blow to Chancellor Osborne's hopes of reviving the private sector by reducing public spending: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/aug/04/double-dip-recession-fears-economy

The darkening picture in the services sector follows similar reports this week on both manufacturing and construction accompanying complaints from retailers such as high street chains Next and Carpetright that consumer spending is flagging bolstered economists' views that a surprise jump in second-quarter GDP was probably a blip and likely to be followed by subdued growth, especially once the government's autumn spending review spells out the full scale of reductions in public sector spending.

Governments intent on reducing money supply into the economy have no where to go but slump economics, every recession has cause in even a slight reduction in debt levels because less money in circulation means less jobs and a reduction in our ability to buy goods and services. The Bank of England desprate to hold off recession is keeping interest rates at less than 1% but the Banks who issue 97% of our money as debt are charging much higher rates of interest and refusing to issue as much debt despite government demanding them to do it.

UK banks propped up by money borrowed from our pension funds have returned to high profit levels simply because their business is to issue money out of thin air at high rates of interest. Unless there is a reversal of current economic and monetary policy we will be literally ConDemned to increased poverty