The economic data for April were bound to be awful and those for the public finances were no exception. Government borrowing last month alone (a record £62.1 billion) was almost as large as the deficit in the whole of last year (£62.7 billion). This included £14 billion for the first full month of the coronavirus job retention scheme. How long can we keep this going? And how do we wean ourselves off this extraordinary level of state subsidy, before it is too late?
For now, it is right not to panic about the budget deficit itself. There is a huge difference between a temporary increase in borrowing in response to a one-off shock, like coronavirus, and a longer lasting or structural deterioration in the public finances.
In the case of the former, we should simply take the hit on annual borrowing, even if this year’s deficit turns out to be…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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