The UK’s “green, broke and unpleasant land v the US’s “common sense, broke and fixing it" approach.
Both countries have saddled themselves with mountains of debt and are a whisker away from a debt crisis.
Here’s a few numbers on population and debt.
UK population: 69.5 million, UK National Debt £3.1trillion = US$4 trillion @ US$1.3/£
UK debt/capita = around US$58,000
US population = 347.3 million, US National Debt US$36.7 trillion
US debt/capita = around US$106,000.
How much did each country produce?
UK first.
From the linked spreadsheet here for 4q2024 (the spreadsheet is not user friendly!):
GDP at current prices – real-time database (YBHA) - Office for National Statistics
https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/datasets/realtimedatabaseforukgdpybha/quarter4octtodec2024quarterlynationalaccounts/gdpatcurrentpricesrealtimedatabaseybha.xlsx
In cell BD224 of the tab “2018-2024” - for those interested!!!
£727.2 for the quarter = £2.9 trillion = US$3.8 trillion.
Which works out at around US$54,700 a year.
Now the US.
From here:
United States (USA) GDP - Gross Domestic Product 2024 | countryeconomy.com
“The GDP figure in 2024 was $29,184,900 million, United States is the world's leading economy with regard to GDP, as can be seen in the ranking of GDP of the 196 countries that we publish. The absolute value of GDP in United States rose $1,464,200 million with respect to 2023.”
Which works out at around US$84,000 per capita.
It is often said that the UK has lower GDP per capita than the worst US State of Missouri!
On a country-to-country basis the US produces 54% more than the UK.
Yuck on the Brits!!!
The Marxist Labour government – electd with just 30% in a vote against the Tories, not a vote for Labour – has decided the way out of this parlous state is to raise the cost of employing people with a jump in National Insurance (NI) rates and an increase in the minimum (“living”) wage.
Thresholds at which NI kicks in have been drpped to £5,000 from £9,100 and the rate has been increased from 13.8% to 15% - meaning that employers are going to be paying an extra:
Average wage of £ according to Brave AI:
“The average UK salary in 2025 is £35,830 according to the Office for National Statistics. The median average salary is £29,669, while the mean average is £35,404. The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over will increase to £12.21 per hour from April 1, 2025.”
Call it £35,000.
Old NI = £35,000 – £9,100 times 13.8% = £3,574.20
New NI = £35,000 - £5,000 times 15% = £4,500.00
An extra £925.80 multiplied by the UK’s 34 million workers = £31.5 billion,
Every local council in the UK has increased local taxes by around 5% to compensate. All the state run organisations like the National Health Service have increased costs and every employer must either increase prices or reduce staff to compensate.
Trump, on the other hand, has worked with Congress to lock in the tax cis he passed in his first term – worth around US$1.5 trillion.
As an example of the difference in the use of taxpayers funds, check out the cost of civil/federal servants.
From Brave AI:
“As of the latest reports, DOGE has announced job cuts totaling approximately 222,000 positions this year.”
“As of the latest data, the federal workforce has grown to just over 3 million people since September 2024, making it the nation's 15th largest workforce.”
For the UK, per Brave AI:
“As of March 2025, there are approximately 546,000 civil servants in Britain.”
Both countries remain over-burdened by civil servants – and the high salaries of middle and senior management. It is just as bad or worse in State and local authorities!
Some UK numbers here:
(100) "Grace and favour" or disgrace and corruption - the burgeoning cost of the UK’s civil service
Underworked and overpaid!
That’s a lot to be going on with!!!
Here’s a little more on the external trade side.
The UK runs a trade deficit of around £200 billion a year in goods and a surplus of around £160 billion in services called “invisibles” for a net trade deficit of around £40 billion a year.
The “invisibles” represent the services provided by a host of international players mostly based in the square mile that is the “The City” of London. The earnings are not all subject to UK corporation tax, but the employees’ earnings are – including National Insurance.
Why any employer would put up with the massive tax and NI burden inflicted by the UK is beyond understanding!
These companies can trade anywhere – watch for repatriation to the US and favourable terms offered to move operations to Paris or Frankfurt.
We have seen the “Art of the Deal” employed by Trump to correct the US trade deficit.
From Brave AI:
“The U.S. trade deficit for goods in 2024 hit a record $1.2 trillion, marking the fourth consecutive year with a trade deficit above $1 trillion.”
These deficits are one component of the calculation of GDP.
GDP = Consumption + Government deficit + Investment + (Exports less Imports)
Maybe Trump’s “net zero tariff trade” policies will enable the US to outcompete the “Tiger” economies of South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Viet Nam, Thailand – and the emerging global superpower of India.
Those countries take skilled education seriously. The US lags behind – by decades.
How the other BRICs feature, remains to be seen.
Trump is working hard to reduce the fiscal deficit that Biden “rigged” with lots of “gold bar” spending. In the same way that GDP was inflated by extra government spending, the impact of Trump’s actions to reduce the federal deficit will REDUCE GDP.
The same applies to inflation. Eliminating the “green scam” will reduce prices – deflation, because the Biden junta increased prices with “green” taxes.
The UK, on the other hand, is determined, not only to continue with massive spending on “net zero” prices that have resulted in UK residents paying the highest taxes in the developed world but wants to increase them.
A recent estimate put the costs of “net zero” at 7-10 trillion pounds by 2050 – equivalent to £300,000 per household. Labour politicians expect voters to pay up.
By any moral definition this is a criminal act.
Here’s one example of the sneakiness involved.
Sell carbon credits for £17 billion a year – reduce the number sold each year so that there are none left by 2030!
UK policies are tilted towards increasing the trade deficit by increasing the need to import food and solar panels/wind turbines. There is no “quid pro quo#”.
Trump is working on the assumption that there are sufficient US workers with the required skills to compete globally on a “level playing field” - and that the lunatic departments of universities and colleges of the US have not drained the pool – leaving experts in DEI and victimhood.
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Onwards!!!
So depressing, but will there be anyone left by 2050 to be burdoned in either country?