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The UK government is pulling financial levers as if this is a financial problem. But while there are several contributing factors, this is overwhelmingly an ene

by jl6 4y ago

The UK government is pulling financial levers as if this is a financial problem. But while there are several contributing factors, this is overwhelmingly an energy problem. The UK is 20 years behind where it needs to be in terms of nuclear, renewable and storage capacity. There is no silver bullet. It’s going to take 20 years to resolve, and that’s assuming they start today with an Apollo-program-level investment in energy production.

gsatic 4y ago
I think the plan has always been - let London grow and let everything else wither away and die.
- mjburgess 4y ago
  Sure, and people have been saying this for quite literally 1000 years. The country has been geographically "unbalanced" for most of its history, and if you understand preferential attachment, you'll see why. There's been nothing one can do to "rebalance the UK" for several hundred years at least. 20% of the population lives in london, and it often has ~1/3 of the people in the country in the area -- as tourists, travelling in, etc. No one in a millenium has done anything to "plan" this
  - pjc50 4y ago
    The UK has only existed for about 300 years, so "millenium" is an exaggeration.
    - mjburgess 4y ago
      I recall reading similar complaints written, iirc, c. 1150-1200. A street that I lived on was considered to have been around 1000 years a 1000 years ago.
DrBazza 4y ago
This is a point that seems to be completely missed. This is cost push inflation, but the UK government is trying to use the usual tactics to control it - tax and interest rates. To be fair, it's what current economic theory prescribes for inflation, either cost push or demand pull. Tax and interest rates certain work for demand pull inflation. Cost push though? Everyone gets poorer, lower standard of living (whatever that mean...), but the government can be happy it has some part of inflation under control. Even if the UK had more energy generation, just the existence of an international energy market means public UK companies would buy and sell that energy on that market and I doubt we'd be much better off. The UK, and all of the West to be fair, is in the middle of "weak men, hard times" part of the cycle. It's no surprise that Putin invaded Ukraine when he did. One final thing I'd add is that it feels to me as if the Government has been influenced by the mainstream media, and even social media, far, far, too much over the last decade or so.

by jl6 4y ago

gsatic 4y ago

I think the plan has always been - let London grow and let everything else wither away and die.

mjburgess 4y ago
Sure, and people have been saying this for quite literally 1000 years. The country has been geographically "unbalanced" for most of its history, and if you understand preferential attachment, you'll see why. There's been nothing one can do to "rebalance the UK" for several hundred years at least. 20% of the population lives in london, and it often has ~1/3 of the people in the country in the area -- as tourists, travelling in, etc. No one in a millenium has done anything to "plan" this
- pjc50 4y ago
  The UK has only existed for about 300 years, so "millenium" is an exaggeration.
  - mjburgess 4y ago
    I recall reading similar complaints written, iirc, c. 1150-1200. A street that I lived on was considered to have been around 1000 years a 1000 years ago.

DrBazza 4y ago

This is a point that seems to be completely missed. This is cost push inflation, but the UK government is trying to use the usual tactics to control it - tax and interest rates. To be fair, it's what current economic theory prescribes for inflation, either cost push or demand pull. Tax and interest rates certain work for demand pull inflation. Cost push though? Everyone gets poorer, lower standard of living (whatever that mean...), but the government can be happy it has some part of inflation under control. Even if the UK had more energy generation, just the existence of an international energy market means public UK companies would buy and sell that energy on that market and I doubt we'd be much better off. The UK, and all of the West to be fair, is in the middle of "weak men, hard times" part of the cycle. It's no surprise that Putin invaded Ukraine when he did. One final thing I'd add is that it feels to me as if the Government has been influenced by the mainstream media, and even social media, far, far, too much over the last decade or so.