The Workplace for Nationwide Statistics issued its newest public funds knowledge this morning, together with this chart:

Let’s ignore the truth that they embrace greater than £800 billion of debt owed by the federal government to itself within the debt determine, making any declare that the ONS would possibly make as to credibility laughable.

Let’s ignore too the truth that the nationwide debt determine consists of about £200 billion of debt supposedly owed by the Financial institution of England which you will be unable to search out on its steadiness sheet.

And let’s additionally ignore the truth that greater than 8% of GDP is an entirely made up quantity representing lease proprietor occupiers of homes supposedly pay themselves for the privilege of residing in their very own houses.

In different phrases, let’s ignore the truth that this ratio compares a false determine with a crap one.

Let’s simply ask as an alternative what the aim for highlighting that is?

Is it to say the debt is unrepayable? If that’s the case, it’s clearly unsuitable. We have now repaid extra.

Is it to say we must always panic? However why, when debt created such good issues within the 50s and 60s?

Or is it to say authorities is overspending? Is that the job of the ONS?

Or might it’s that like the standard of the numbers underpinning it, the ONS actually has no clue what this chart is about?

What it really purports to indicate is the cumulative authorities deficit since 1694 in opposition to present revenue. As ratios go that isn’t very useful because it mixes time scales.

However what  it doesn’t present is debt, as a result of if that debt had been to be repaid cash must be created to pay it. And cash is in fact simply debt. So, in impact, it’s unrepayable besides by taxing it out of existence. I doubt anybody is suggesting that.

So, what this chart really exhibits is how a lot cash the federal government has cumulatively injected into the economic system and never taxed again. It’s, subsequently, a measure of presidency created cash.

So, the appropriate inquiries to ask are:

• Can we do with out this cash?
• When banks are clearly failing, once more, should not we have a good time the truth that we’ve this cash?
• Might we do with extra of this authorities cash?

The solutions are not any, sure and sure.

However the ONS doesn’t perceive that.

It’s actually not an excellent statistics authority. An excellent one would perceive why it’s producing knowledge, get it proper, and ask significant questions of it. The ONS fails on these standards.