It is the time of the year when the Chancellor of the Exchequer decides how much extra of Our Money he wants to take and which of the various departments are to get the money to squander on their whims over the coming year.
This year the Chancellor has to attempt to stimulate the economy to return to a growth phase in the economic cycle while also creating a means for funding the billions he has given to protect his friends in management of the automobile industry and the banking sector from their self inflicted harm (as a result of their policy of promoting the mis-selling of debt, by basing sales commissions on increasing customers instead of increased profits from attracting more of the right customers).
The current challenge can be overcome if the Chancellor is prepared to realize that the economic theory that we have suffered from for the past 30 years is incompatible with market forces to stop subsidizing polluters like the DoT & the fossil fuel industry and to make decisions based on the analysis of the evidence of cost/benefit to society instead of just a temporary gain for a few.
Good decisions will only be made after the Chancellor realizes why the unsustainable policy, of borrowing to fund current lifestyle (instead of funding assets) and hoping that future income growth will fund it, that Governments & people have used in the past 40 years, combined with the pursuit of temporary gain for a few regardless of the damage to the longer term benefit to all made the Credit Crunch inevitable and answers the questions "What do I want?" and "Will this action make the desired outcome more or less likely?"
Although businesses can create a profit by charging their customers more than they have to pay out to obtain the products they sell because the Government does not make price reflect the true cost of pollution or Climate Change and even gives tax breaks to fund excess packaging (that customers pay for three times over- in the price of the product; in Council Tax for rubbish collection & extra tax to the Government to replace the subsidy) and false advertising - all the ads that imply if you get this product you will get the sexy women falling for you just like they do for this celebrity.
Businesses can not create wealth, but only concentrate wealth because they can only sell to people with access to a medium of exchange (there were over 3000 currencies in use in the USA during the Great Depression) & who believe it will be the best way to meet their desires now. Wealth is only created by the adding of value to society by exchanging things that have have higher perceived value than the nominal value of the medium of exchange units traded for the goods.
Although it is small businesses that create the most jobs for the owners & staff they have to suffer from the increasing system of red tape while the importers & the bigger companies can bypass the planning controls, just like Tesco did at the Battle Hospital site because the courts do not base fines on the value of the money to the party involved.
The Chancellor could save money without harming society by getting rid of 90% of public sector managers and raise funds by making prices reflect the true cost of products (which is a fundamental requirement before the economic system can benefit society) by reform of the tax & court fines system, which then can be used to help small businesses work together to use resources efficiently and to harness their creativity to repair the damage caused to Our Life Support System by the Climate Change that has been produced by the defects of the economic system over the past 200 years.