The debt delusion : living within our means and other fallacies / John Weeks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weeks, John, 1941- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Debts, Public.

Finance, Public.

Government spending policy.

Fiscal policy.

Physical Description:

viii, 209 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA : Polity Press, 2020.

Summary:

Governments should spend no more than their tax income.' Most people in Europe and North America accept this statement as simple common sense. It matches the deeply engrained economic metaphors that dominate public discourse, from 'living within your means' to 'balancing the budget' - all necessary, or so conventional wisdom holds, to avoid the dangers of debt, taxation and financial ruin. This book shows how these homely metaphors constitute the 'debt delusion' a set of plausible-sounding yet false ideas that have been used to justify damaging austerity policies. John Weeks debunks these myths, explaining both the true story behind public spending, taxation, and debt, and the real function of these in the management of our economies. He demonstrates that disputes about public finances are not primarily technical matters best left to specialists and experts, as many politicians would have us believe, but rather fundamentally questions about our true political priorities. Requiring no prior economic knowledge, this is an ideal primer for anyone wishing to cut through the rhetoric and misinformation that dominate political debates on economics and become an informed citizen.

Contents:

Introduction: debt, deficits and austerity

We must live within our means

Governments must balance their books

We must tighten our belts

Never go into debt

Taxes are a burden

Austerity: there is no alternative

Always an alternative.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Weeks, John, 1941- author. Debt delusion

ISBN:

9781509532933

1509532935

9781509532940

1509532943

OCLC:

1097469337