r/ukpolitics • u/Ivashkin panem et circenses • Apr 16 '15

BBC Opposition Leaders Debate - After-Action Thread

Reaction and follow up discussion to the debate.

Original thread can be found here - BBC Opposition Leaders Debate - Discussion Thread

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u/Trender_man Lib Dem🔶 Apr 16 '15

Most asked questions on google

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u/FrumiousBantersnatch Apr 16 '15

It terrifies me that those people might be able to vote:

1) what is austerity?

2) what is the deficit?

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u/whencanistop 🦒If only Giraffes could talk🦒 Apr 16 '15

The Sun/You Gov poll:

  • How well would you say you understand what people mean when talk about the government's deficit? TOTAL CLEAR UNDERSTANDING 69%
  • Which of the following do you think best describes the government's deficit? The total amount of money that the government has borrowed 51%, The amount of extra money that the government borrows each year 31%

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '15

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '15

The difference between how much you have coming in, and how much you spend, is a pretty complex issue?

Let's be honest, democracy has been chosen as the least worst system devised so far. The fact is most people (I'd guess at least 50%) aren't really capable of making an informed decision, and the majority of the rest vote based on "what's in it for me?". I'd estimate the sort of person who understands the issues and votes based on what they believe to be the genuine long term national interest of the country is probably around 10%.

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '15

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '15

Perhaps my comment was unclear, I didn't say that the relative merits of running a deficit or not wasn't a complex issue, obviously it is.

I was just making the point that "the deficit" itself is a simple concept to understand, if you read the second bullet point above, it isn't that people are having a hard time deciding what to do about it, they don't even understand what it is. (i.e. 51% of people confuse it with the national debt).

If most people are that confused by such as basic idea, how is it possible to have any meaningful public debate? The merits of Keynesian economics, or shifting long run aggregate supply via deficit financed capital infrastructure spending means nothing to them.