Angus Hanton explains why the UK needs to start looking at its assets and liabilities from an intergenerational perspective
Category: Taxation
Calculating the cost: the consequences of excessive optimism in projections of economic growth
David Kingman argues that current assessments for spending on the aged as a percentage of GDP are flawed, and unfair to future generations. The cost of future liabilities is often expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), i.e. how much of the country’s economic output they are projected to be worth. However, this… Read more »
Are defence cuts an intergenerational issue?
David Kingman asks whether Britain will have to cut into its defence budget as the population ages – and would this be fair on future generations?
Inflation and its intergenerational impact
Angus Hanton looks at the pros and cons of rising inflation, and its effects on interest rates Inflation is now running at about 5% pa, with interest rates standing at below 1%. The result is that, when you take account of inflation, real interest rates are negative, so that savers are seeing their savings reduced… Read more »
Jilted Generation: a student’s view
Sam Desborough explains why he was gripped by Jilted Generation, and why he thinks it should be required reading for fellow students The blurb for Jilted Generation describes it as a work of ‘irresistible polemical energy’ and this proves to be a most apt summary of Ed Howker and Shiv Malik’s writing.
Intergenerational issues in Japan
David Kingman describes the fallout from a swelling elderly population Japan is the world’s fastest ageing country, making it a good case-study for the type of intergenerational issues that could emerge in Britain as our own population gets older.
Does the increase in pension contributions for government workers matter intergenerationally?
Angus Hanton looks at the proposals for meeting the gaping liabilities in public-service pensions In the UK we are saving too little, according to the experts such as Martin Weale of the Bank of England. This ties up with personal observations: people expect to live longer, they expect to spend more, and they retire at… Read more »
Large scale tax avoidance in the housing market
Angus Hanton shows how current tax loopholes have intergenerational consequences People disagree on how housing should be taxed. Some people would like to see higher annual holding taxes, whether this is called Council Tax, Land Value Tax or just Property Tax, while others want to see the introduction of Capital Gains Tax on residential house… Read more »