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[Chancellor of the Exchequer] Osborne: UK has run out of money
The Telegraph ^ | 2/26/2012 | Rowena Mason

Posted on 02/26/2012 5:10:25 PM PST by bruinbirdman

The Government 'has run out of money' and cannot afford debt-fuelled tax cuts or extra spending, George Osborne has admitted.

In a stark warning ahead of next month’s Budget, the Chancellor said there was little the Coalition could do to stimulate the economy.

Mr Osborne made it clear that due to the parlous state of the public finances the best hope for economic growth was to encourage businesses to flourish and hire more workers.

“The British Government has run out of money because all the money was spent in the good years,” the Chancellor said. “The money and the investment and the jobs need to come from the private sector.”

Mr Osborne’s bleak assessment echoes that of Liam Byrne, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, who bluntly joked that Labour had left Britain broke when he exited the Government in 2010.

He left David Laws, his successor, a one-line note saying: “Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left”.

Mr Osborne is under severe pressure to boost growth, amid signs the economy is slipping back into recession.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies has urged him to consider emergency tax cuts in the Budget to reduce the risk of a prolonged economic slump.

But the Chancellor yesterday said he would stand firm on his effort to balance the books by refusing to borrow money. “Any tax cut would have to be paid for,” Mr Osborne told Sky News. “In other words there would have to be a tax rise somewhere else or a spending reduction.

“In other words what we are not going to do in this Budget is borrow more money to either increase spending or cut taxes.”

The strongest suggestion of help for squeezed family budgets came from the Chancellor’s

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
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To: bruinbirdman

The coalition with the Liberal-Democrats was a poison pill for the Tories. With it, came the necessity of raising taxes. This, in turn, caused tax receipts, and the economy, to decline. The alternative, however, was four more years of Labour. This was a bit like it would be for us to decide between Romney and Obama in November.


21 posted on 02/26/2012 8:14:00 PM PST by Praxeologue
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To: bruinbirdman

Surely there’s a printing press in the basement they can crank up and start churning out hundred pound notes.

After all, it “worked” for America, it’ll surely work for Merry Olde England.


22 posted on 02/26/2012 8:23:44 PM PST by Dr.Zoidberg (Warning: Sarcasm/humor is always engaged. Failure to recognize this may lead to misunderstandings.)
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To: healy61

Billion? Dude that’s a rounding error in the good old USSA. If it ain’t a Trillion it’s not real money to Zero and Helicopter Ben....


23 posted on 02/26/2012 9:14:01 PM PST by Kozak ("It's not an Election it's a Restraining Order" .....PJ O'Rourke)
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To: heye2monn
Socialized medicine is a bottomless pit.

Coming to a country near you.

Socialism is a bottomless pit.

24 posted on 02/27/2012 5:23:54 AM PST by mountainlion (I am voting for Sarah after getting screwed again by the DC Thugs.)
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