The state of the state
Now that the UK government has noticed that it actually might be nice to have an army that works, it might be the time to look at the state of the country.
The NHS is struggling to recover from covid and the backlog caused because it is underfunded, the legal system is grinding to a halt, universities are in crisis. The care system is near collapse., environmental regulation is a joke, good education is the preserve of the well off.. The army has few tanks and even fewer that work or are up to date, the Navy has too few ships.
What links all of these is a desperate attempt by successive government’s to be seen to cut taxes, or in Labour’s case hide small rises.
Even when the world’s economic system was on the brink of collapse the answer was less spending. Strange because when it was booming the answer was less spending too.
But austerity shredded the state’s ability to predict and react, protect and help its citizens. Economically illiterate and politically driven, a global crisis was the perfect excuse to eviserate the state.
Massive cuts everywhere for everything, all based on the lie that we can do more with less.
There are plenty of Conservatives saying this again “The Civil Service is still so bloated that we can have first rate services and cut taxes.”
It is and always has been a lie. Just think. If we can do more with less, why has the. Army fewer tanks and fewer soldiers?
No one tells you Margaret Thatcher raised taxes, they tell you we can always afford lower taxes and a state that works at the same time.
Even now the Chancellor is hoarding money for a pre-election tax cut. One we can’t afford, one which will take money from nurses, schools and the courts and the armed forces. Money they need today.
Spending it now on defence, ordering more planes and building more ships and tanks would benefit the economy, send the right message and reverse decades of decline.
We should also be spending it to reverse decades of cuts to health and the law and schools but we won’t.
This government still thinks lies and tax cuts will win votes. It has worked for 40 years, why stop now.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.