Marcus Chown
@marcuschown.bsky.social
Writer. Books include A Crack in Everything, Breakthrough, The Ascent of Gravity, Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand, Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You & Solar System for iPad. See www.marcuschown.com
Pinned
Marcus Chown
@marcuschown.bsky.social
· Jan 5
"The most revolutionary thing one can do is always to proclaim loudly what is happening."
- Rosa Luxemburg
- Rosa Luxemburg
Totally agree.
Government finances are entirely different from personal finances.
Nobody has a money printing press.
The govt does.
However, our financial journalists continue to spread financial illiteracy, with talk of “balancing in the books“, “maxing out on the country’s credit cards“ etc
Government finances are entirely different from personal finances.
Nobody has a money printing press.
The govt does.
However, our financial journalists continue to spread financial illiteracy, with talk of “balancing in the books“, “maxing out on the country’s credit cards“ etc
I wish we could have a more honest discussion about how government finances actually work. If I see another paper suggest the chancellor has to ‘balance the books’ as if the government was a business…
November 26, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Totally agree.
Government finances are entirely different from personal finances.
Nobody has a money printing press.
The govt does.
However, our financial journalists continue to spread financial illiteracy, with talk of “balancing in the books“, “maxing out on the country’s credit cards“ etc
Government finances are entirely different from personal finances.
Nobody has a money printing press.
The govt does.
However, our financial journalists continue to spread financial illiteracy, with talk of “balancing in the books“, “maxing out on the country’s credit cards“ etc
Reposted by Marcus Chown
The secret of how electricity powers the world:
The electric force is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times stronger than the force of gravity
Chatting to Jonathan McCrea on Future Proof about The One Thing You Need to Know www.newstalk.com/podcasts/fut...
#science #universe
The electric force is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times stronger than the force of gravity
Chatting to Jonathan McCrea on Future Proof about The One Thing You Need to Know www.newstalk.com/podcasts/fut...
#science #universe
November 26, 2025 at 9:08 AM
The secret of how electricity powers the world:
The electric force is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times stronger than the force of gravity
Chatting to Jonathan McCrea on Future Proof about The One Thing You Need to Know www.newstalk.com/podcasts/fut...
#science #universe
The electric force is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times stronger than the force of gravity
Chatting to Jonathan McCrea on Future Proof about The One Thing You Need to Know www.newstalk.com/podcasts/fut...
#science #universe
Reposted by Marcus Chown
Not only did Brexit not provide any extra money for the NHS - as liar-in-chief Boris Johnson promised - but Brexit is impoverishing the UK each year by an amount of money not far off the annual NHS budget.
Thanks Farage.
Thanks Farage.
November 26, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Not only did Brexit not provide any extra money for the NHS - as liar-in-chief Boris Johnson promised - but Brexit is impoverishing the UK each year by an amount of money not far off the annual NHS budget.
Thanks Farage.
Thanks Farage.
Taxes to do not pay for public services. Govt money creation, mainly via the issuing of bonds, does. But, putting aside that lie, I would pay more tax for better public services. The problem is so much has been privatised that our taxes are creamed off by profiteering private firms. That I object to
November 26, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Taxes to do not pay for public services. Govt money creation, mainly via the issuing of bonds, does. But, putting aside that lie, I would pay more tax for better public services. The problem is so much has been privatised that our taxes are creamed off by profiteering private firms. That I object to
Yes, so many Tory MPs repeatedly lied that the NHS had received the £350 million extra a week.
Galling for NHS staff struggling to provide a service for patients and having to endure members of the public saying: Why are you struggling when you’ve been given all that (non-existent) extra money?
Galling for NHS staff struggling to provide a service for patients and having to endure members of the public saying: Why are you struggling when you’ve been given all that (non-existent) extra money?
That lie was compounded when they were asked where it was, and the Tories simply said the money had been put into budget as promised.
November 26, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Yes, so many Tory MPs repeatedly lied that the NHS had received the £350 million extra a week.
Galling for NHS staff struggling to provide a service for patients and having to endure members of the public saying: Why are you struggling when you’ve been given all that (non-existent) extra money?
Galling for NHS staff struggling to provide a service for patients and having to endure members of the public saying: Why are you struggling when you’ve been given all that (non-existent) extra money?
Reposted by Marcus Chown
True, however Bonds dont serve to raise money for the govt. They instead primarily serve to facilitate, to regulate the financial system.
@richardjmurphy.bsky.social
youtu.be/j55Ft7rtaHY?...
@richardjmurphy.bsky.social
youtu.be/j55Ft7rtaHY?...
Why do governments issue bonds when they don’t need to?
YouTube video by Richard J Murphy
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 11:18 AM
True, however Bonds dont serve to raise money for the govt. They instead primarily serve to facilitate, to regulate the financial system.
@richardjmurphy.bsky.social
youtu.be/j55Ft7rtaHY?...
@richardjmurphy.bsky.social
youtu.be/j55Ft7rtaHY?...
Reposted by Marcus Chown
Reposted by Marcus Chown
That lie was compounded when they were asked where it was, and the Tories simply said the money had been put into budget as promised.
November 26, 2025 at 11:06 AM
That lie was compounded when they were asked where it was, and the Tories simply said the money had been put into budget as promised.
Not only did Brexit not provide any extra money for the NHS - as liar-in-chief Boris Johnson promised - but Brexit is impoverishing the UK each year by an amount of money not far off the annual NHS budget.
Thanks Farage.
Thanks Farage.
November 26, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Not only did Brexit not provide any extra money for the NHS - as liar-in-chief Boris Johnson promised - but Brexit is impoverishing the UK each year by an amount of money not far off the annual NHS budget.
Thanks Farage.
Thanks Farage.
Reposted by Marcus Chown
November 26, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Taxes to do not pay for public services. Govt money creation, principally via issuing of bonds, does. But, putting aside that lie, I would willingly pay more tax for better public services. The problem is so much has been privatised that our taxes boost the profits of private firms. That I object to
November 26, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Taxes to do not pay for public services. Govt money creation, principally via issuing of bonds, does. But, putting aside that lie, I would willingly pay more tax for better public services. The problem is so much has been privatised that our taxes boost the profits of private firms. That I object to
Reposted by Marcus Chown
🔥 Rachel Reeves says there’s a “hole” in the public finances.
A new decade-long Brexit study quantifies it:
A 6–8% hit to GDP
That's £180bn-£240bn a year
It means less tax revenue and so less money for everything.
Brexit made Britain MUCH poorer.
A new decade-long Brexit study quantifies it:
A 6–8% hit to GDP
That's £180bn-£240bn a year
It means less tax revenue and so less money for everything.
Brexit made Britain MUCH poorer.
New: Boris Johnson’s ‘Brexit Titanic success’ was half right
Nearly ten years on, the first full assessment of Brexit confirms what millions warned: Britain made itself poorer
eastangliabylines.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 6:49 AM
🔥 Rachel Reeves says there’s a “hole” in the public finances.
A new decade-long Brexit study quantifies it:
A 6–8% hit to GDP
That's £180bn-£240bn a year
It means less tax revenue and so less money for everything.
Brexit made Britain MUCH poorer.
A new decade-long Brexit study quantifies it:
A 6–8% hit to GDP
That's £180bn-£240bn a year
It means less tax revenue and so less money for everything.
Brexit made Britain MUCH poorer.
Reposted by Marcus Chown
Reposted by Marcus Chown
"Between now and the next election, there will be more scrutiny on Farage than ever before."
"He seems to me a bit like the bully who might just have a glass jaw when he gets hit himself"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/fara...
"He seems to me a bit like the bully who might just have a glass jaw when he gets hit himself"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/fara...
Farage fails to address racism claims: ‘He’s thin-skinned, and it’s getting thinner all the time’ | The News Agents
Nigel Farage, who is facing resurfaced allegations of making racist comments at school, now says he “never directly racially abused” anyone – following a previous outright denial by Reform UK. What…
www.thenewsagents.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 7:00 AM
"Between now and the next election, there will be more scrutiny on Farage than ever before."
"He seems to me a bit like the bully who might just have a glass jaw when he gets hit himself"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/fara...
"He seems to me a bit like the bully who might just have a glass jaw when he gets hit himself"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/fara...
Reposted by Marcus Chown
new allegation concerning Farage’s behaviour when he was 18 years old
November 26, 2025 at 7:59 AM
new allegation concerning Farage’s behaviour when he was 18 years old
Reposted by Marcus Chown
Former classmate insists Farage repeatedly told him "Hitler was right" and "gas them" when they were teenagers at Dulwich College - and that the Reform leader's denials are dishonest.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Nigel Farage's racism denials are dishonest, says ex-classmate
Peter Ettedgui tells the BBC Nigel Farage targeted antisemitic abuse at him when they were teenagers.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Former classmate insists Farage repeatedly told him "Hitler was right" and "gas them" when they were teenagers at Dulwich College - and that the Reform leader's denials are dishonest.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Marcus Chown
"Most Reform UK voters don’t object to green policies, so who is its climate crisis denialism designed to serve?"
Why Reform UK hates net zero … follow the money!
Most Reform UK voters don’t object to green policies, so who is its climate crisis denialism designed to serve?
yorkshirebylines.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 8:24 AM
"Most Reform UK voters don’t object to green policies, so who is its climate crisis denialism designed to serve?"
Reposted by Marcus Chown
🔥 Highly recommended that you all sign and share.
Link to the petition—> petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
Link to the petition—> petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
November 26, 2025 at 8:55 AM
🔥 Highly recommended that you all sign and share.
Link to the petition—> petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
Link to the petition—> petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
Reposted by Marcus Chown
As for Farage’s use of racist slurs being confined to his childhood - well, that's not what Alan Sked, the founder of UKIP, claimed in this 2014 interview.
He says here that Farage was using the "n" word as late as 1997.
Farage would have been about 33 at time.
www.theguardian.com/politics/201...
He says here that Farage was using the "n" word as late as 1997.
Farage would have been about 33 at time.
www.theguardian.com/politics/201...
Ukip founder Alan Sked: 'The party has become a Frankenstein's monster'
He may have founded Ukip, but Alan Sked's moderate, Brussels-boycotting party has gone rogue. Stuart Jeffries meets the academic who's desperate to stop the bandwagon he first set rolling
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:55 AM
As for Farage’s use of racist slurs being confined to his childhood - well, that's not what Alan Sked, the founder of UKIP, claimed in this 2014 interview.
He says here that Farage was using the "n" word as late as 1997.
Farage would have been about 33 at time.
www.theguardian.com/politics/201...
He says here that Farage was using the "n" word as late as 1997.
Farage would have been about 33 at time.
www.theguardian.com/politics/201...
Reposted by Marcus Chown
I haven't seen any yet but you could probably find a few contemporaries who didn't personally witness Farage being Farage at school. But there doesn't seem to be a single former pupil or teacher who find the descriptions of racism, anti-semitism & cruelty unfeasible. Shocked, I tell you...
November 26, 2025 at 8:59 AM
I haven't seen any yet but you could probably find a few contemporaries who didn't personally witness Farage being Farage at school. But there doesn't seem to be a single former pupil or teacher who find the descriptions of racism, anti-semitism & cruelty unfeasible. Shocked, I tell you...
Reposted by Marcus Chown
Chatting with David “what does that mean to the man in the street” Freeman about my book, THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW, on The Author Archive Podcast www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-2m...
November 19, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Chatting with David “what does that mean to the man in the street” Freeman about my book, THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW, on The Author Archive Podcast www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-2m...
Reposted by Marcus Chown
A billion-pound jump in gambling income in a single year is not a success story — it’s a warning. We need stronger taxes and urgent action to protect people from an industry built on addiction.
#PublicHealth #EconomicJustice
#PublicHealth #EconomicJustice
November 26, 2025 at 9:06 AM
A billion-pound jump in gambling income in a single year is not a success story — it’s a warning. We need stronger taxes and urgent action to protect people from an industry built on addiction.
#PublicHealth #EconomicJustice
#PublicHealth #EconomicJustice
Reposted by Marcus Chown
The PM has said he is "determined to tackle" the cost of living
November 26, 2025 at 9:09 AM
The PM has said he is "determined to tackle" the cost of living
The secret of how electricity powers the world:
The electric force is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times stronger than the force of gravity
Chatting to Jonathan McCrea on Future Proof about The One Thing You Need to Know www.newstalk.com/podcasts/fut...
#science #universe
The electric force is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times stronger than the force of gravity
Chatting to Jonathan McCrea on Future Proof about The One Thing You Need to Know www.newstalk.com/podcasts/fut...
#science #universe
November 26, 2025 at 9:08 AM
The secret of how electricity powers the world:
The electric force is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times stronger than the force of gravity
Chatting to Jonathan McCrea on Future Proof about The One Thing You Need to Know www.newstalk.com/podcasts/fut...
#science #universe
The electric force is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times stronger than the force of gravity
Chatting to Jonathan McCrea on Future Proof about The One Thing You Need to Know www.newstalk.com/podcasts/fut...
#science #universe
In what parallel universe do the 43% who still approve of Trump live in?!
New post just out:
"MAGA Meltdown?"
With Trump's approval ratings collapsing the Republicans are starting to realise they're in serious trouble.
Here's why it's going to get worse for them.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/m...
"MAGA Meltdown?"
With Trump's approval ratings collapsing the Republicans are starting to realise they're in serious trouble.
Here's why it's going to get worse for them.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/m...
MAGA Meltdown?
Why the Republicans are in serious trouble
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:27 AM
In what parallel universe do the 43% who still approve of Trump live in?!