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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Bearing down on Spending

Gavin Oldham
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Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Bearing down on Spending
On 11th June UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves presents her Spending Review against the backdrop of a gargantuan public debt liability which is costing the UK taxpayer £111 billion a year in interest. Further tax rises have been ruled out, so she needs to identify achievable, structural reductions in spending. Elon Musk thought he'd done just that as head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but only a small fraction of his planned reductions were achieved. In the UK at least we can break away from welfare universality — but will she do it? She's tried taxation and now she has to tackle spending, but the real elephant in the room is debt: all £2.7 trillion of it. Background music: 'Dark Alley Deals' by Aaron Kenny

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Everything, Everywhere — All At Once

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Everything, Everywhere — All At Once
Donald Trump may think he's a deal-maker, but he's more likely to turn out to be an economy-breaker, putting the U.S. dollar's role as the world's reserve currency at risk. Recession may be the least of our worries — this degree of instant aggression could well bring on a second Great Depression. So while few would disagree that U.S. needs to find a way out of its chronic trade imbalances, a transitional approach to tariffs with cross-party agreement designed to run over at least 2-3 presidential terms — thereby giving time to make the necessary changes — would have made far more sense. Background music: 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' Cooper Cannell

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Insuring Risks Unknown

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Insuring Risks Unknown
The past year has seen a litany of climate change disasters of which the wildfires in Los Angeles are the latest. Yet Americans still supported Trump's call to 'drill, baby, drill' in the presidential election. This is just the latest disaster that financial markets have to contend with. How much pressure can the insurance and investment markets take? The one thing that we know for sure is that, while the American people may have locked in their choice for the next four years, there's no such insurance for the bond market — it can strike at any time. Background music: 'Trap Unboxing' by Jimmy Fontanez_Doug Maxwell

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: New Approach needed for Bequests

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: New Approach needed for Bequests
The birth rate is falling swiftly, leaving wealthy old folk with their ever greater reserves looking for a home. Meanwhile Professor Eric French and his colleagues ask, 'Why Do Retired Households Draw Down Their Wealth So Slowly?', showing how in the United States 80% of bequests are left to an ever-decreasing number of descendants, and just 2% to charity. It's time for a re-think whose purpose is inter-generational rebalancing. Background music: 'Young And Old Know Love' by Puddle of Infinity

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Understanding Stock Ownership

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Understanding Stock Ownership
The first SHARE conference in Cambridge last Friday provided much food for thought, and comments particularly drew attention to the need for widespread understanding of stock ownership if 'Stock for Data' is to take hold. In financial terms and because equity stock in companies is a surrogate for human enterprise, earnings from capital growth and dividends massively outperform bonds and cash over the long term; meanwhile stock owners have a key role in contributing to the governance of their companies, as employee shareownership has shown. All this needs straightforward and intelligible communication. Background music: 'Communicator' by Reed Mathis

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Underlying Principles for Taxation

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Underlying Principles for Taxation
For the past 250 years, starting with Adam Smith, there have been valiant attempts to set out principles for taxation: but they have been principally domestic, and with no attempt to address inter-generational rebalancing. Without specific provisions requiring hypothecation of inheritance levies it's hard to see how disadvantaged young people can be empowered with resources and life skills so that all may share in future wealth creation. Don't expect change in this week's Budget, but the Treasury Select Committee should look again at the principles they established over ten years ago. Background music: 'Dark Alley Deals' by Aaron Kenny

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