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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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Actually, when he took office in 2007, Osborne found a note on his desk that had been left by the outgoing Labour Chancellor, Gordon Brown, "Good luck. There is no money."
1 posted on 02/26/2012 5:10:30 PM PST by bruinbirdman
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To: bruinbirdman

Well, there is money, just not money monetized yet. Grow yourself some Gerbera daisies, trade them for some kippers.


2 posted on 02/26/2012 5:15:43 PM PST by txhurl
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To: bruinbirdman

Just raise taxes much more. The people will understand.(/lib speak)


3 posted on 02/26/2012 5:17:44 PM PST by Mark (Don't argue with my posts. I typed while under sniper fire..)
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To: Mark
Just raise taxes much more. The people will understand.(/lib speak)

They are at 50% now with an unexpected decline in tax money collected. They will never learn.
4 posted on 02/26/2012 5:23:55 PM PST by Misplaced Texan (July 4, 2009 - the first day of the 2nd Revolution!)
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To: bruinbirdman

“The money and the investment and the jobs need to come from the private sector.”


Yep.


5 posted on 02/26/2012 5:25:40 PM PST by unkus (Silence Is Consent)
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To: bruinbirdman

The something-for-nothing crowd is the same everywhere. And they never understand. The solution is simple: “Cut spending and cut government!”

Government does not produce wealth. It only consumes it. The bigger the government, the more wealth it destroys!


6 posted on 02/26/2012 5:34:35 PM PST by DakotaGator (Weep for the lost Republic! And keep your powder dry!!)
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To: Misplaced Texan

OK, I have the answer - a huge Tea Tax. They drink a lot of that. Oh, wait, the Brits tried that in the 1700s and that was a huge failure.


7 posted on 02/26/2012 5:36:18 PM PST by Mark (Don't argue with my posts. I typed while under sniper fire..)
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To: bruinbirdman

Well he must not be much of a treasury guy ... just do like we do ... print some. Even a guy who can operate Turbo Tax figured that out.


8 posted on 02/26/2012 5:38:16 PM PST by RetiredTexasVet (There's a pill for just about everything ... except stupid!)
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To: bruinbirdman

Raise taxes again!


9 posted on 02/26/2012 5:38:36 PM PST by mountainlion (I am voting for Sarah after getting screwed again by the DC Thugs.)
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To: RetiredTexasVet

...can’t operate ...


10 posted on 02/26/2012 5:39:08 PM PST by RetiredTexasVet (There's a pill for just about everything ... except stupid!)
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To: mountainlion

Socialized medicine is a bottomless pit.

Coming to a country near you.


11 posted on 02/26/2012 5:41:16 PM PST by heye2monn
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To: bruinbirdman
I'm sure that there is still lots of money for windmills, solar panels, carbon credits and all the other loony stuff to ‘fight’ global warming. The brits just need to tighten their belts a bit and quit spending so much on frivolous things like shelter, food and clothing.
12 posted on 02/26/2012 5:49:55 PM PST by JPG (Obama has the solution to every problem....pond scum.)
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To: bruinbirdman

So Lady Thatcher was right, eh?


13 posted on 02/26/2012 6:01:56 PM PST by bigbob
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To: bruinbirdman
the Chancellor said there was little the Coalition could do to stimulate the economy.

Absolute BS. Like nobama and his thugs, if they would just get the F* outta the way the economy would recover on it's own. But, NOOOOOOOOOO... they gotta tinker with this and tinker with that. Meanwhile the country goes to hell.

14 posted on 02/26/2012 6:06:58 PM PST by upchuck ("The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." Ecclas. 10:2)
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To: bruinbirdman

They raised taxes and recieved LESS revenue!

Now they “cannot afford tax cuts”

lol.

They could get another half billion if they cut the rates back to where they were. They won’t though. Too bad they already spent that and much more in advanced.


15 posted on 02/26/2012 6:25:47 PM PST by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
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To: emmyloukay

ping


16 posted on 02/26/2012 6:45:35 PM PST by Bellflower (The LORD is Holy, separated from all sin, perfect, righteous, high and lifted up.)
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To: bruinbirdman

Go figure. No, really...go figure. Our external debt to GDP ratio is about 102%. The UK’s external debt to GDP ratio is 478%.

Go figure.

(pssst...It’s the socialism, stupid.)

http://www.usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock.html

Socialism is legal plunder - Frederic Bastiat 1801-1850

Above all, if you wish to be strong, begin by rooting out every particle of socialism that may have crept into your legislation. This will be no light task. - Frederic Bastiat 1801-1850


17 posted on 02/26/2012 7:10:23 PM PST by PGalt
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To: bruinbirdman
they finally ran out of other peoples money...
18 posted on 02/26/2012 7:25:22 PM PST by Chode (American Hedonist - *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: Misplaced Texan

What is going on around FR? Aren’t they printing any of the stuff anymore? America is at $15 billion barrowed. Maybe America can go to 20 billion, loan 5 billion to UK and become a creditor nation again. s/


19 posted on 02/26/2012 7:44:25 PM PST by healy61
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To: RetiredTexasVet
Ever wonder why corrupt little hellholes like Haiti don't just ‘print more money’? The bad news for the Brits is they can't either - and if we keep doing it, the world will put a stop to it... There's a reality to how money works ... and it's not kind touchy feely...
20 posted on 02/26/2012 8:02:30 PM PST by GOPJ (GAS WAS $1.85 per gallon on the day Obama was Inaugurated! - - freeper Gaffer)
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