Will stupidity enslave the children?

Prior to the protests against spending cuts in London last weekend,
this advertisement was released to help drum up support. It starts
off with a reasonably accurate analogy, but ends with an entirely
nonsensical conclusion that: a reduction in spending in order to
reduce the debt will somehow be what leaves the next generation with
a mountain of debt.

Watch the video here:


News sources reporting on the protests focus primarily on the fact
that it was mostly peaceful, with just a few exceptional cases of
vandalism and violence. While this may be the case, I find this much
less important to discuss than what their message was.

Contrary to arguments made by UK Uncut, there is no doubt that the
government is in debt. Yes, they got us in to this mess through lavish
unnecessary spending; but No, the answer is not to keep doing it!
By looking at the budget, one can see that the UK spends £50bn on debt
interest annually, which is more than it does on defense (£36bn)! This
is an incredible amount, and I really shouldn't have to stress further
why it is important to reduce the debt, for the sake of future generations.

It is important to note that the cuts are not just necessary, but desirable!
The aim is to reform and make permanent change, not just a temporarily
tightened budget.

I spoke on this topic last year at a conference, where I outlined the
idea that crises can be beneficial by being an opportunity to achieve
reform; as well as why in such times reform and an assessment of the role
of government is essential, not just small cuts here and there.

You can watch my speech here: