The Economist: (Sing with Me!)”Dave and Nick/are Punk Rockers”

Lynne Kiesling

Oh, yes, the old 80s girl in me loves the image on what just came in the mail:

And the substance behind their point is equally, well, pointed:

Yet within its first 100 days the Con-Lib coalition has emerged as a radical force. For the first time since Margaret Thatcher handbagged the world in 1979, Britain looks like the West’s test-tube (see article). It is daring again—not always in a good way but in one that is likely to be instructive to more timid souls, not least Mr Obama and his Republican foes.

The most obvious audacity of hope lies in the budget, unveiled by George Osborne, the new chancellor of the exchequer, in June. To balance the books, he raised some taxes, notably VAT, but three-quarters of the savings will come from spending cuts. Most government departments will shrink by a quarter, though Mr Osborne excluded the National Health Service from his savagery. In the heated debate between Keynesian economists (who worry that a weak world economy needs more government spending) and fiscal hawks (who believe deficits must be tackled now to stave off Grecian disaster), Britain is the prime exhibit for tough love. …

So a gamble it remains. But it is one that in general this newspaper supports. Throughout the rich world, government has simply got too big and Mr Cameron’s crew currently have the most promising approach to trimming it. Others—and not just the tottering likes of Greece and Spain—will surely follow. That includes America.

Make no mistake, though; Britain’s coalition government is not libertarian through-and-through. But its practical policy gamble is consistent with a recognition that “government has simply got too big” for both the practical and the moral focus on individual liberty that must be the foundation of a prosperous, resilient, and respectful society.

And you get bonus points if you realized that my title invokes one of the best proto-punk songs ever, The Ramones’ Sheena is a Punk Rocker.