21 March 2013
Dermot McCarthy, a lecturer in Economics at Bournemouth University, spoke to BBC Radio Solent on Budget Day to talk about the budget's key points and the impact this will have on the general public.
Speaking to presenter Steve Harris, Dermot said, "I think there are some good points in what we see in the budget today, it does show some movement in the right direction from George Osborne, particularly with things such as the reduction in corporate tax and increased support for housing. But it does not go far enough at addressing the underlying problem in the economy, which is that we are pursuing austerity at a time when economic growth is below expectations."
Dermot also gave a nice analogy for how Britain should be looking at digging itself out of debt. Dermot continued, "We are sinking into debt one way or another so it is a case of saying 'what are we going to use that debt for?' It could be seen as similar to me or you and our household. If we have to go into debt to be able to meet our gas bills then we are in trouble, but if we are sinking into debt in order to invest in a little workshop at the end of the garden to be able to work on repairing your neighbours car for a little extra income then that is a good investment. So perhaps there is a problem when the UK government is getting into debt in order to meet welfare payments but it might be better to invest it in infrastructure and other things that will generate income in the future to meet that debt payment."
Paola Palma, Programme Co–ordinator in Maritime Archaeology at BU, also spoke about the budget, giving her view to The Times newspaper. She spoke about the budget from the perspective of an Italian working in the UK and said, "The education in this country is so far ahead of the rest of Europe. The Universities and schools mean that I need not worry about the future of my family."
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