Ann Pettifor

Fiscal Deficit

Green New Deal – ‘The Cuts won’t work’ report is published.

7th December, 2009 This is the press release from the new economics foundation: “Two days ahead of the pre-budget report, and as the UN climate change talks open in Copenhagen – the second report from the authors of the original Green New Deal argues that the British Chancellor is likely to miss a historic opportunity […]

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Debts and deficits: stocks and flows

6th December, 2009. Most economists (who should know better) confuse the government’s budget deficit with total government debt. The distinction really is important. Mixing them up is a little like confusing stocks and flows.  Or confusing your outstanding mortgage – say £200,000 – with your monthly debt repayments. They are quite different things, and if

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Cuts could increase the deficit

6th December, 2009 The Observer asked a small group of people to comment in advance of next Wednesday’s Pre-Budget Report. This from yours truly: “Public debt will rise higher if government slashes spending, and recovery will elude us. Unemployment has high costs, but productive government spending, unlike private spending, pays for itself by creating jobs

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Governments must spend away the debt

25th November, 2009 Dear patient readers of this blog…please find below my latest Huff Post post. Some may wonder why I cheered when White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel announced that the president plans to cut the deficit, because he “does not want to keep on adding to the debt.” It’s no secret that

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