|
Dec 2021
2:17pm, 15 Dec 2021
1,163 posts
|
Fields & fountain, moor & mountain
I am going to do my best to be non political here. But part of the issue with debt is the increased appetite for consumption - and I do regard that as inevitable in a capitalist society which forces a requirement on many to demonstrate their success.
Anyway policies to support certain areas of economy in the credit crunch (scrappage schemes for cars etc) have had the unintended consequences of making it cheap and easy to have a new car each year under the finance (debt) schemes that are offered. Meanwhile an image-conscious consumer who is conditioned by social media influencers (parasites for hire) to want the latest car, phone, 3 foreign holidays a year etc. Also low interest rates have discouraged savers.
Anyway if that veered near to politics, sorry, was trying to illustrate that the problem is cheap and easily available debt + heavy promotion of aspirational lifestyle. Perhaps the why isn’t that important on this thread.
|
|
Dec 2021
2:21pm, 15 Dec 2021
10,898 posts
|
lammo
No disagreement there, sounds like support of raising rates
|
|
Dec 2021
2:23pm, 15 Dec 2021
15,926 posts
|
rf_fozzy
I can highly recommend Tim Harford's books - e.g. The Undercover Economist and The Undercover Economist for "popular science" type books on economics.
The former is very macroeconomic, but the latter does some microeconomics too I think.
I learned a lot as a non-economist
|
|
Dec 2021
2:26pm, 15 Dec 2021
23,872 posts
|
Dvorak
I don't think it is possible to separate applied economics from politics.
Who are these people who have a new car every year? If they even exist, I would think they are: a tiny minority of the small minority who buy new cars at all, and; utterly unaffected by any scrappage schemes.
|
|
Dec 2021
2:27pm, 15 Dec 2021
1,164 posts
|
Fields & fountain, moor & mountain
I think it needs to be done as it’s uncommonly low which is having negative consequences and policy wise you’re backed into a corner. As you say it would need to be done gradually.
Have to admit I don’t know economics that well, having never studied it, but I have a slight interest as I spent 5 years explaining the grammar and sentence construction in articles on the subject.
|
|
Dec 2021
2:29pm, 15 Dec 2021
15,927 posts
|
rf_fozzy
Somewhat agree with Dv.
Applied economics is completely intertwined with politics. I think you can separate it, but it's tricky, because your political views bias your economic theory and vice versa.
|
|
Dec 2021
2:34pm, 15 Dec 2021
10,899 posts
|
lammo
Dvorak, i think doing the right thing for the countrys economy *should* be immaterial of ones political stance, however even people in the same political party won't agree on the approach so it's always going to be difficult.
Maybe economic management should be independent of government like interest rates...
|
|
Dec 2021
2:35pm, 15 Dec 2021
10,900 posts
|
lammo
Also, raising interest rates should attract foreign investment, which i think we need, not desperately but should always be encouraged
|
|
Dec 2021
2:37pm, 15 Dec 2021
26,932 posts
|
fetcheveryone
Also, raising interest rates should attract foreign investment, which i think we need, not desperately but should always be encouraged
What’s the theory behind that? Not disputing it, just trying to understand.
|
|
Dec 2021
2:42pm, 15 Dec 2021
15,928 posts
|
rf_fozzy
"economic management should be independent of government"
I fail to see how this would work...
Political decisions (e.g. what is the tax rate?) are economic decisions
And economic decisions (what is the optimum tax rate?) are political decisions.
How much we fund e.g. the NHS, schools etc etc all flow from such basic decisions and are political.
|
Any economists out there - question
Oct 2022