Take a look at the graph "The Worst Deficit in the West in 2015" (graph 4). Currently the deficit is a lot worse even than the 6% predicted then. I am reminded of the famous Eurocrat lament: "We all know what has to be done, it's just that we don't know how to be re-elected afterwards."
Matthew Parris wrote in The Times that the Chancellor's Budget presentation was like a man adjusting his suit and tie to make the very best impression. As we zoom out, we see that he's in a lift (elevator) and that the cable has snapped - he's plunging to his doom. Parris asks: why aren't we showing the necessary signs of panic and desperation?
Because the turkeys are still not voting for Christmas. Contempt for the Tory state of denial is pointless - they still have residual hopes of getting re-elected in 2015.
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Homework question. At the moment the cable snaps, does the Chancellor still feel weight or is he instantly floating in free-fall?
Answer: At time equals zero, the cable is intact and the Chancellor feels weight. At any time t greater than zero, the cable is unattached and the Chancellor is in free-fall. So the onset of weightlessness is instantaneous.
In the real economy the process has been more gradual, but the eventual outcome will be not less painful.
