From: slider@anashram.com

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) total national debt
now stands at £2.3trillion or around 96.1 percent of gross domestic
product (GDP).

The last time national debt stood at a higher level was at 98.3 percent of
GDP in March 1963. With the prospect of new restrictions now hanging over
the economy again it's possible further spending on support measures may
be needed.

Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot, warned there could be: "An Omicron-shaped black hole in the public finances, we
just don't yet know how big it could be."

https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/1539209/omicron-UK-economy-black-hole-national-debt-rishi-sunak

While November's borrowing figures were below those of November last year
Mr Carter added that the figures were "almost an irrelevance" if the
Government were forced into further public health restrictions.

A large amount of the current debt has been acquired due to the cost of Government support during Covid while simultaneously seeing a fall in tax receipts.

Support for individuals and businesses such as the furlough scheme and
grants contributed to an increase of £205.2billion in day to day spending
for the financial year April 2020 to March 2021.

Meanwhile £36.6billion less was received from tax and National Insurance
over the same period.

Groups representing hard hit industries such as the British Beer and Pub Association and the Night Time Industries Association have called for a reinstatement of furlough already due to the falls in customer numbers and confidence.

Think tank the Resolution Foundation have also suggested a version of
furlough targeted at the worst hit firms, though they anticipate the cost
would be around £1.4billion a month.

Mr Carter said: "The Chancellor has so far declined to offer any
additional financial support to businesses, despite the advice to avoid as
much social contact as possible.

"This will have to change if further restrictions are introduced,
particularly if the new restrictions take the form of a fire-break
lockdown.

“The furlough scheme was one of the largest and most expensive labour
market interventions ever in the UK, costing around £70billion.

"Sunak would have hoped this was in the rearview mirror, but unfortunately
it may well just have to come back out of retirement, albeit perhaps in a different form."

AJ Bell financial analyst Danni Hewson warned that while there was "scope
for the chancellor to borrow more" Mr Sunak would need to consider the cumulative effects.

Rishi Sunak has expressed a determination to cut taxes before the next
election however further strains on the national debt and subsequent
repayments could end up leaving this aim increasingly distant.

A large amount of the current debt was also taken on during a period of historically low interest rates making borrowing cheaper.

With the Bank of England voting to raise the base rate last week though
there a signals the economy will start to move into a period of increasing interest rates.

According to today's ONS figures interest payments on government debt were £0.4billion more in November this year than November 2020, largely due to increases in the inflation measuring Retail Price Index.

“There’s also the little issue of inflation to consider" added Ms Suter, "What would any potential measures do to the heat the country is already feeling?

"Every time that number rises it brings consequences, from upping the
price ticket on those debt interest payments to squeezing household
finances at a time the Chancellor is making his own demands on the
public’s purses."

### - lol apparently we're in-hock up to our armpits over here!?

2.3tn in debt BEFORE omicron even kicks-in?? the economy already
knocked-back 60 years before it starts!?

what then of other nations ALSO struggling at this time; as a wealthy
nation we at least still have summat left in the kitty, some kinda backup,
some hope, but what about THEM?

coz if only one or 2 of 'em actually fails then the rest wont/can't be far behind!

risking global bankruptcy!

in which case it'll be quite interesting to see just what financial-stunts they're forced to pull THIS time round if/when the going gets rough huh... during the previous crash, for example, the US just printed-off a trillion
or so extra bucks to keep going, devaluing global currency in the process, something which we're prolly still all paying for one way or another...

but that kinda shit can only reach/go so far before 'other' far more
serious tactics have to be employed, exactly what we just don't know and hopefully will never have to know...

one solution might be (heh) that seeing as *everyone's* up their ears in
each others debt anyway, and drowning, then maybe ALL debt EVERYWHERE
should just be canceled/made void and everyone starts over?

i.e., wipe the whole damn slate clean worldwide and everyone starts-over
with what they gots...

starts fresh!

that'd be a bit different wouldn't it :)))

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)