UK as a model

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Brant at 7:01 am

While republicans in this election cycle clamor for spending cuts, the tories in the UK have been in power for some time and have actually implemented such demand-killing policies. The result: a double-dip recession in the UK. The financial meltdown has created a huge fall in aggregate demand, and it has long been a basic tenet of economics that the way to cut the damage from a demand deficit is for the central government to step in create demand by stimulus.

Looking at the chart below, which approach do you think produced the better result?

More from Paul Krugman here.

UK to monitor ALL communications

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Brant at 7:00 am

According to the BBC, the UK is set to implement a plan to monitor all telephone calls, Internet use and emails throughout the country.

The government will be able to monitor the calls, emails, texts and website visits of everyone in the UK under new legislation set to be announced soon.

Internet firms will be required to give intelligence agency GCHQ access to communications on demand, in real time.

The Home Office says the move is key to tackling crime and terrorism, but civil liberties groups have criticised it.

This is the ultimate Big Brother society, and one which we seem to be moving towards as well. The total end of privacy is a real risk.

Campaigners criticise email and web monitoring plan – BBC News (bbc.co.uk)
Britain set for sweeping Internet, phone monitoring – Reuters UK (uk.reuters.com)
National News: Backlash grows over GCHQ ‘snooping’ (coventrytelegraph.net)