From the Summit of the Moral High Ground

Historical Archive This article is preserved as part of the historical record of this blog. It reflects the author's views at the time of publication. The content has not been substantively altered, although the HTML, accessibility and formatting have been updated to meet modern web standards. Amid the din of economic nonsense being bandied about since 2008, there has been the persistent refrain that the States should be run more like a business. If only more business people were in charge to wield their business acumen, we would have this country in shape in no time. But is that really a good solution? Businesses seek primarily to increase their revenues and profits. Government revenue depends upon taxation. Government accumulates tax money by collecting it from the productive earnings of Islanders through its statutory powers. At the time of writing, the Government of Jersey collected roughly £600 million annually. I argued that increasing government revenue was not t...

Historical Archive This article is preserved as part of the historical record of this blog. It reflects the author's views at the time of publication. The content has not been substantively altered, although the HTML, accessibility and formatting have been updated to meet modern web standards. Since the day after the election, the news has been that things were not as good as they appeared during the campaign and were, in fact, very bad. If you had listened to Dr. Forskitt or me during the campaign, this was exactly what we had been trying to tell people despite the media blackout. As pension monies are withdrawn from the market and paid out, a collapse in share prices is inevitable. Between 2011 and 2016 the baby boomers retire. The latest post-election revelation was that the States Employees' Pension Fund was in deficit. Beneficiaries had already received an increase below inflation and it appeared that below-inflation rises would continue for the foreseeab...