Time ticks on: We are told the recovery is well under way but have yet to enjoy any of its benefits. Why?
Official figures say the British economy has grown by 0.8 per cent in the last three months.
The Conservatives are rejoicing over this feeble effort, while saying there’s more to be done; an amazing attempt to travel in two directions at once, that should fool nobody.
It seems the recovery is becoming more balanced, with services, manufacturing and construction all registering expansion.
And it is predicted that the economy will recover to the same level as its pre-recession peak by the middle of this year.
But who, exactly, is this recovery helping?
I’m actually worse-off than this time last year. How is it for you?
My income has not increased appreciably since 2007. Meanwhile the rent has gone up and the costs of energy and groceries have skyrocketed.
The Labour Party has calculated that average earners will be more than £2,000 a year worse-off than they were in 2010, by the time of the general election next year.
What conclusions may we draw from this?
Well, we know that the recession did not harm the richest in society at all. Their profits increased massively, even while the economy was flatlining, because that’s what happens in times of hardship; the poorer, more precarious firms go out of business while the larger ‘fat cats’ mop up the trade those competitors would have had.
If the economy is recovering to its pre-crash level, and average people are worse-off by around eight per cent of their pre-crash earnings (if you say the average wage was around £25K per year), then somebody must have benefited – and the most likely candidates are the same rich businesspeople who were never touched by the recession or austerity in the first place. Also the bankers who caused the mess in the first place.
So we have a situation in which the average earner – who, don’t forget, makes the entire economy work (we spend a higher proportion of our earnings than anyone else – by necessity, and this pushes money through the system and creates economic growth; the very rich hoard their massive wealth, usually in offshore banks) facing increasingly hard times, while the richest enjoy all the benefits.
…and the gap between the earnings of the richest and poorest increases massively…
… all engineered by a government of millionaires who have financial interests in big business and whose political party is backed mainly by bankers.
This has all the hallmarks of a conspiracy.
Follow me on Twitter: @MidWalesMike
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