Balancing act on fiscal deficit

The growth and buoyancy of direct tax revenue in the 2014-2017 period is lower than in any sub-period this millennium

I normally comment on Budget numbers when they are published. However, this year many commentators assert that the fiscal deficit target (3.2 per cent of gross domestic product, or GDP) will be missed and laud this as a good thing. This attitude is a legacy of the past, when private players expected to make profits without taking risks in a difficult economic environment, and sought to transfer this risk to government finances. This attitude cannot serve the government of a G20 country, however attractive the economic bailout may seem to private players. Historic pandering to these voices has meant that