Exposing the neo-liberal myth

Giving free rein to the market and savagely cutting back on public spending are the key to economic growth and national prosperity - or so the current Tory government would have us believe, as would right-wingers stretching back to Thatcher and Reagan and their pet economic theorists, Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek.

As it turns out - and as many of us suspected all along - that's actually complete bullshit. In fact, a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revealed that the exact opposite is true. The question now is how long they can dare to have the nerve to persist with the myth - but then of course their underlying concern has never really been for greater equality or sharing the wealth, but for their own enrichment and the protection of their own status.

At least, I suppose, George Osborne and chums are pushing ahead with the Diverted Profits Tax - the so-called Google Tax. However, as Robert Peston argues, it's not yet clear how it'll work or how much effect it'll have - and there's a suspicion that the government are rather less interested in addressing the issue because they feel it's one that needs tackling and rather more interested in assuaging public anger in the hope of securing a few votes...