Monday, October 22, 2012

Austerity for Thee

George Osborne, the Chancellor under the Cameron Government in the UK has been a lightning rod ever since he helped usher in austerity measures in the UK -- which has undeniably caused a double-dip recession.

One might think that would be the thing that would have cost him his job months ago. But, as usual and as Atrios noted last week the thing that may very well end Osborne's job is not his torpedoing of the British economy, but his being a hypocritical dick on a small scale.
George Osborne, who was last week forced to pay a £160 rail upgrade after sitting in first class with only a standard ticket, had already been caught making the same "error" five months ago, it has emerged.
If this does end up leading to his resignation (and it may not) Osborne can always take solace that years ago John Sununu resigned from the Bush I Administration for similar -- but even more frequent -- offenses.

Twenty years later he's one of Romney's most offensive and prominent liars.

[Cross-posted at Firedoglake]

4 comments:

StonyPillow said...

Sununu — “Because Agnew is Dead”®

Montag said...

Osborne may wind up in the rubbish tip, but the policy of austerity doesn't die along with him.

This is about control of the government by the banks, and the gradual transformation to neofeudalism. They'll continue wiping out the little guys' assets until there's nothing left to steal.

Anonymous said...

Events like these are practically staged; Osborne's political career isn't over because of a self-upgraded ticket on a train. It's over because of the policies, and the elite are turning on him. It was Osborne's government that royally f****d up an important rail bidding process that shut Virgin Rail out and cost Richard Branson a lot of money. This isn't the first time Osborne has done this, I'll guarantee, but I'm sure that press-savvy Branson was ready for him next time he boarded a Virgin Rail line. Branson's not stupid. Austerity is bad for business and Osborne has to go.

Yastreblyansky said...

Osborne is Cameron's Dick Cheney--his puppet master; Cameron is only PM because Osborne is too widely hated to have the job. Indeed if he traveled in less than first class he might be in serious danger of getting his nose punched. I think you'll see the Lib Dems leave the coalition and the government fall before you'll see him resign. Here's hoping anyway.