I have my own views on the existence of God debate and this is certainly not the place to air them.  But as Nick Spencer points out there could hardly be a worse time to launch a campaign with the slogan “Stop worrying and enjoy your life”?  The organiser of the campaign said:

“You wait ages for an atheist bus and then 800 come along at once. I hope they’ll brighten people’s days and make them smile on their way to work.”

The fact that they are on their way to work at all should be enough to brighten people’s days in the current circumstances!

   Filed under: Recession | No Comments »

I mentioned before how pressure for a freezing of the minimum wage has grown in recent days.  Here’s four reasons why this is a bad idea. Read more »

   Filed under: Labour market, Recession, minimum wage | No Comments »

Although David Cameron launched it, I assume George Osborne must have at least agreed the latest Conservative plan - to incentivise saving with tax relief paid for by cutting (unspecified) public spending. And I’m very disappointed, because George and I went to the same school and the same university (albeit he’s a bit younger than  me) so we probably took the same economics courses, and maybe even had the same teachers. Apparently, I needn’t have bothered listening to them - clearly George didn’t, and he’s now the Shadow Chancellor! Read more »

   Filed under: Macro-economic policy, Politics, Recession, They Just Don't Get It | 1 Comment »

There should be another section on this blog to balance the “They Just Don’t Get It” thread. And it should be called “Yes We Can” - slogan of both Barack Obama and, of course, Bob the Builder. Because what Obama reminded us about throughout last year was that things can be changed (note the grammar - not things can change, but things can be changed, by us - collectively - doing things). There has been a lot of fatalism about both the course of the economic recession we face and the predominantly Keynesian responses, but neither was inevitable*. This weekend, the Financial Times argued strongly that we can affect both the length and depth of the recession and reminded me that we could do something tragically misguided. Read more »

   Filed under: Financial crisis, Macro-economic policy, Recession | No Comments »

Over time earnings tend to go up more than prices. This is why our standard of living rises from generation to generation (although technological advance has something to do with this too.)

So when the Conservatives decided in 1980 that they would only uprate the state pension in line with prices  it meant that pensioners would no longer share in rising prosperity. In most years pensions have fallen a little behind earnings - and over time that mounts up. Today the state retirement pension is below what people need to live on - and anyone dependent on it alone would almost certainly qualify for means tested benefits on top. Read more »

   Filed under: Pensions, Recession | No Comments »

2009 has to mark a decisive turning point, away from the neo-liberal market-always-knows-best conventional wisdom that brought our economy to the brink of a catastrophic collapse, towards a fairer, more balanced economy delivering sustainable prosperity.

This is going to be a grim year. Unemployment will increase every month. Some predict it will hit three million, but in truth no-one knows.

Read more »

   Filed under: Employment, Financial crisis, Macro-economic policy, Manufacturing, Recession | 4 Comments »

Today we have published our second TUC Recession Report. Since we produced our first analysis the news has been dismal. The latest figures from Eurostat show that the economy has been shrinking in both the UK and the Euro area, and that this country entered the recession ahead of most other European countries. Independent economic forecasters are predicting that 1.6 million people will be claiming JSA by the end of 2009, and this is looking increasingly conservative. The latest data show that the claimant count rose by 75,700 just in November. Read more »

   Filed under: Employment, Recession, Recession Report | No Comments »

Today’s figures show that long-term unemployment (over 12 months) has increased, reaching 438,000, 54,000 higher than in October 2007.

The number of redundancies in August-October 2008 have also risen 180,000 – up from 139,000 in May–July 2008 – with increases across all industries. The worst affected areas have been distribution, hotels and restaurants, transport and communications, and finance and business services.

In this context we are renewing our calls for Jobseekers Allowance to be increased to give some relief to the millions of people faced with a sudden reduction in their income. Importantly, this measure would also help the wider economy as experts agree that putting money into the hands of those who need it most is the fastest way to provide an economic stimulus, as these people are more likely to spend their cash.

Watch this space for our recession report which will be posted here by the end of the day on Friday.

   Filed under: Employment, Recession, Welfare | No Comments »

Today’s unemployment figures show that at the end of October this year 1,864,000 people in the UK were unemployed. We predict that by the time we get the figures for December they will show that 2 million people were out of work and seeking it over Christmas. Even more concerning is the rise in the claimant count - which reflects the situation in November and therefore draws on more recent data. This month there has been a 75,700 increase in the number of people claiming JSA - demonstrating a dramatic increase in the rate at which people are losing their jobs. Read more »

   Filed under: Employment, Labour market, Recession, Welfare | No Comments »

Lots of Tory glee today about comments by Peer Steinbruck apparently criticising the Government’s fiscal stimulus.  It’s worth reading the whole interview by Steinbruck however before getting carried away. It’s clear he is not arguing against fiscal stimulus as such (the German’s have just agreed their own 32 billion euro package after all) but against attempts by politicians to outdo each other with the size of their stimulus (which all sounds faintly lewd).  He makes the point that there is no stimulus that can stop this recession altogether. Read more »

   Filed under: Financial crisis, Macro-economic policy, Recession | 1 Comment »