In debtedness

This important video lecture from Niall Ferguson on the Metrics of Doom shows how the UK will need to be using around 20% of GDP to service debt interest by 2040 - with the US doing the same. Our position is worse than that of Greece, Spain or Portugal.

Excessive debt:revenue or debt:export are both causes of the problem, but absolute levels of interest payments in relation to tax revenue are perhaps a better measure. The US has shifted from 7% to around 25% - it forces 'impossibly difficult' decisions about which debtors will be sacrificed to pay for the trouble we're in.

thanks to Gary Loch for the heads up on this one.