How are you going to pay for it?

http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2017/05/04/how-are-you-going-to-pay-for-it/
Date Written:  2017-05-04
Publisher:  Taxresearch.org
Year Published:  2017
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX20776

Debates on how government will pay for new programs suffer from a fundamental fallacy: the assumption that the government spends other people's money. It doesn't.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

The most dangerous question in political debate in the UK is the one always rolled out by every journalist, on air or in other media, which is to ask a politician 'How are you going to pay for it?' where 'it' is whatever the politicians has just proposed to do.

Why is the question dangerous? Three reasons.

First it assumes that the government spends other people’s money. It doesn't.