UK Unemployment on the rise - Simon Dixon provides commentry

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@SimonDixonTwitt comments on how to turn around UK unemployment on the evening news.

Britain's economy is "deeply dependent upon debt" as no money is used in any kind of production, business or job creating activity, a British economist tells Press TV.

The comment comes as Britain's economy has slumped back into recession after its gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Britain's GDP has fallen 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012, adding to a 0.3 percent contraction at the end of 2011.

A recession is defined as two straight quarters of contraction, and these new figures will be a deep blow for Britain's Conservative/ Liberal Democrat coalition, which has slid in opinion polls.

Press TV has conducted an interview with the CEO of Bank of the Future, Simon Dixon, to discuss the issue further.

The program also provides the opinions of two additional guests: international economist with Fundacion Alternativas, Manuel De La Rocha and the director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Larry Birns.

The following is a rough transcript of the interview.

Press TV: Simon Dixon, I'm going to go first to you, the UK being back in a recession while some claiming that it never recovered based on the crisis, the 18 month crisis that it was in from the year 2009, what are your thoughts?

Dixon: Yeah, well I've been saying for an awful long time that we never got out of the recession at all. We have to remember that everything we've done in the UK has not changed the situation in any way.

We are still in an economy which is deeply dependent upon debt. We have to continually increase our debt and no more money is getting in into any kind of production, any kind of business, any kind of job creating activity.

So we are only alive right now, really people living month to month because of low interest rates and so we haven't really ever changed the situation.

Press TV: People living month to month that does not sound too optimistic what has caused this to reach this point and why is it not coming out of this?

Dixon: Well, none of our politicians are addressing the real issues and you have to remember that the economy that we live in today, when we've built an economy which is dependent upon debt, the only way to grow our economy is if we actually take on more debt and if we want less debt then we have to have less money.

So what you are actually seeing right now is a function of politicians arguing about whether we want to get people in more debt to grow the economy or whether we want to decrease our debt by money disappearing from the economy right now. So we're in a Catch 22.

Press TV: Well, Simon Dixon, we know that the UK is not going to swerve from its austerity cuts, may even revise it, we don't know that yet but let's look at what some of the countries in Europe have said.

Let's hone in on what [France's anti-Sarkozy presidential candidate] Francois Hollande has said that France is not going to sign into the Eurozone budget if he is elected. How is that going to affect Europe's economy as a whole, not to mention France's and UK?

Dixon: OK. Well I think what we're seeing right now is the breakdown of Europe. Europe is essentially a big Germany right now; with France making threats to leave that's not a good sign for Europe but it's an experiment which really hasn't worked and it's an idea whose time has come really.

Press TV: This has been the blame that has been passed through the banks, Simon Dixon how much are they at fault again and since we're looking from 2009 and now is 2012?

Dixon: Sure, we can- every issue is a banking issue that we're seeing right now, however, the banks are simply operating within a framework in which government is allowing them to operate.

So there is nothing that they're doing that they can't and they're acting rationally given the situation that they're in right now. They'd rather lend to property than get their own business. They'd rather lend to consumer debt rather than get that to anything job creating.

So really while we're in a mess that is created by the banks, the change can only happen at the political government level.

Press TV: You mentioned a change at the political government level. What does that mean for the government not to go for borrowing, I forget, what is it, 425 billion pounds that this Lib Dem government has gone with Prime Minister David Cameron in terms of what they have borrowed or projected to borrow through 2013?

Dixon: Yes, I mean we're in this crazy economy where essentially banks are lending money to the government, when they don't really have the money in the first place to actually lend it.