1. Britain struggles to kick its addiction to consumption (Telegraph)
Jeremy Warner seems confused, arguing that reducing Britain’s addiction to consumption is much needed, but that doing so is directly and substantially harming growth. He is unclear whether we should be applauding Osborne for making his decisions with an eye on the long-term, or condemning him for not putting off the “rebalancing” until the more important matter of the ongoing depression is sorted.
2. Not a tax on pasties, but a right-wing tax on heat* (LabourList)
*Not really. Conor Pope argues – perhaps tongue-in-cheek – that liberal atomic motion within cheap savoury snacks will lead directly to the eventual disintegration of the traditional nuclear family
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3. Papers I need to read: Do tax cuts really help growth? (Washington Post WonkBlog)
Ezra Klein links to a paper that fairly demolishes George Osborne’s argument that tax cuts lead to growth.
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4. Spiked on rare earths (Tim Worstall)
Worstall applies his day-job expertise to look at the global market for rare earth metals – not as rare as their nam implies.
5. Scotland’s economy running on empty after Osborne’s Great Stagnation Budget (Left Foot Forward)
Willie Bain MP presents a (partisan, obviously, but) well-researched account of the budget’s impact on Scotland