Random thoughts: budget day

Just a few random thoughts rather than a full on break down of the budget, not really in a number crunching mood I'm afraid.

1. We're moving into deflation for the first time since Macmillan. Not on the rail though where fares are still on the rise. Mr Darling, please do something about this.
   
2. It seems to me that cutting jobs at a time of rising unemployment is wrong. The PCS union agrees with me, Mr Darling doesn't.
3. There does seem to be a high element of chance in Alistair Darling's budget predictions. He's assuming the recession will end quickly and recovery will be steep. Let's hope he's right! (Just seen Phil and the IMF agree that this may not be so).
   
4. The car scrapage proposal is exactly the sort of wheeze that catches headlines whilst being utterly meaningless in the big scheme of things. Monbiot has a pop at it.
5. In fact, as Peter Cranie says, whilst the government has made a great play of the tokenistic green measures there is nothing of any significance to combat climate change in this budget. But they have set a target!
6. Pensions will be increased by 2.5% regardless of deflation (which might have meant a pension cut if the usual formula had been used). Good.
   
7. One Guardian columnist describes this budget as a demonstration of Labour's impotence. That's probably right. It looks very weak.
   
8. The BBC has a budget calculator for you to work out if you will be better off or not.
9. Best comment of the day was from Tim Dowling "Most of the people tuning in to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's speech will have had one question on their minds: "What happened to 'Cash in the Attic'?""
10. Odd story of the day. Adrian Ramsay (Green Party deputy leader) was pulled from a Radio discussion on the budget "due to the pending election"... that explains the absence of Labour, Tory and Lib Dem politicians then - not!