{"id":140010,"date":"2025-09-25T12:22:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T16:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=140010"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:58:37","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:58:37","slug":"economist-britain-is-slowly-going-bust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=140010","title":{"rendered":"(Economist) Britain is slowly going bust"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At home and abroad, Britain\u2019s economy is in the dog house. Inflation is sticky<\/a>, debts and deficits are high, and productivity growth is low. Yields on long-term government debt are above those in any other big rich economy. Four in five Britons say the government is mismanaging the economy; Ray Dalio, a hedge-fund manager, says the country is in a \u201cdebt doom loop\u201d. As we report, the infrastructure and housing projects that were supposed to be the engine of growth are turning out to be a sorry disappointment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the doomsaying is overdone. Britain is not in a recession. Critics say the government crushed the private sector with tax increases in 2024, but the economy grew faster in the first half of 2025 than any other in the G<\/small>7 group of big rich countries. Retail sales have been solid; unemployment remains low; and the service sector is strong. Britain\u2019s structural strengths\u2014its best universities, the City of London and the English language\u2014are enduring. In many ways, including its birth rate and artificial-intelligence research<\/a>, Britain can look to continental Europe and count its blessings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Except, that is, for the public finances. Britain\u2019s net public debts have risen from 35% of GDP<\/small> in 2005 to 95%. Financial crises and the pandemic caused much of the increase but even today, when there is no emergency, the government is borrowing over 4% of GDP<\/small> a year. America and France also have big debts and deficits, but borrow in deep currency blocs. Britain is alone, with higher interest rates and a rising welfare bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>

At home and abroad, Britain\u2019s economy is in the dog house. Even with a huge majority and plenty of time, Labour is drifting towards a fiscal crisis https:\/\/t.co\/YfTB1sIFvg<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/XNyeUYuqOw<\/a><\/p>— The Economist (@TheEconomist) September 25, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>