There is a poll in the Telegraph today, showing that people don't want more public spending, after all. Despite politicians' rhetoric about boosting the economy through large-scale public sector infrastructure projects, the public know this will simply plunge us further into debt and we would be much better off (in every sense) living within our means.
It's a well-known truth that politicians follow public opinion, and this will be no exception. Hopefully, the proof that the overwhelming majority of the public are sick of profilgate tax and spend policies will send a strong message to politicians of all stripes that the era of pouring public money down the drain must come to an end. What people really want is leaders with a backbone who will stand up and tell the country and the Treasury a few hard home truths about the state of our economy and the consequences of our behaviour.
People are not fools. They know that spending more and more money for the sake of it is a nonsense and will only lead to more of the same financial pain in future. This applies on a national level as much as a personal one. Members of the public have had free credit cards with high limits pushed through their doors. Free money, with seemingly no consequences. Only it wasn't free, in the end. Racking up debt has got a lot of people into trouble, and this will clearly apply on a national level too.
People have found it within themselves to start owning up to their repsonsibilities and mistakes, and are changing their behaviour. The Government sadly haven't, and show no sign of doing so.