Keynesian Stimulus In Action Before The Industrial Revolution

[Goat]

Without separating out the effects of north sea oil and gas, your charts are meaningless.

I think you'll find that the charts are manufacturing and do not include resource extraction.

[Bland Unsight]

I think you'll find that the charts are manufacturing and do not include resource extraction.

You're not reading hotairmail's posts.

The argument is not that the UK's manufacturing output is flattered by the inclusion of resource extraction, the argument, as I have always understood it, is that City 'invisibles' and North Sea oil would take care of the balance of payments, and tax revenues from North Sea oil and the City would also take care of the fiscal deficit.

The problem with this plan is two-fold.

Firstly, regarding North Sea oil, it blows up in your stupid face, in the traditional manner of stupid plans, when the oil price falls or when your oil stocks run out; it's way uglier if they both happen at the same time, (note to self, sell my UK gilts to the Bank of England, now).

Secondly, an expansion of the City is like some half-wit Arabian prince buying a tiger cub for the joy derived in the present moment; it is all very well as a plan, provided that you can get rid of the tiger cub before it becomes a full grown tiger with an ability to crack your skull like a monkey nut with an idle bite. As The Dude (original version) put it, you've got to watch out for "loody instructions, which, being taught, return to plague th' inventor: this even-handed justice commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice to our own lips". If the City is essentially on the side of the UK proles, then that's one game. But if the City is essentially using the proles as a fig leaf and is in reality committed to the view that the City of London is an offshore centre to the world and f**l all y'all if you've no skin in that game, then it is not such a brilliant idea to allocate to these individuals a right to decide exactly how much mortgage credit a Stevenage based owner-occupier can be expected to bear.

Long and short of it, Goat, posters like you and I, on any reasonable assessment of the facts at hand, are beneath the contempt of people like hotairmail. If we keep running our ignorant mouths in an attempt to demonstrate to them that they are, in our idiotic assessment, wrong about everything, then they will stop talking to us. Hence I say to you Goat, "mannners maketh man".

Edited May 27, 2015 by bland unsight