Britain has slipped out of the ranks of fully “free” countries in this year’s Heritage Index of Economic Freedom, reflecting the sharp rise in the tax burden and ballooning state sector. The country has continued to slide down the league under Gordon Brown’s economic management, falling from fifth to tenth place over the last two years. It has been overtaken by Canada, Chile, Switzerland, Australia, and the United States. Britain now scores below 80 points on a range of key indicators, dropping into the “mostly free” camp with Germany, Japan, Bahrain, Armenia and Trinidad…The ever harsher verdict on Britain comes as Mr Brown’s tax and spend policies begin to reshape the basic structure of the UK plc, transforming it from one of Europe’s leanest fiscal states to one of the most bloated. “Total government expenditures, including consumption and transfer payments, are very high. Government spending has been rising since the 1990s and in the most recent year equaled 44.7 percent of GDP,” said the UK country report.
JP Morgan has recently hired Mr. Blair (for a reported $1m per annum) as a part-time consultant to provide ”strategic advice and insight on global political issues and emerging trends.” Hopefully, the bank will not be asking him for advice on the economy. Having just reported a $1.3bn hit on their investment banking side, it has, I think, suffered enough.
Comments