It was a scene straight from a dystopian novel. Thousands of basketball fans, their passions inflamed by a playoff loss, took to the streets of Manhattan last night, looting, burning cars and clashing with police. The so-called 'Knicks riot' is being hailed on social media as a spontaneous outburst of sporting fervour, but anyone with a calculator can see the truth: this is the predictable consequence of decades of fiscal incontinence.
While Britain tightens its belt and watches its gilt yields with religious fervour, America has been running a centuries long experiment in deficit spending and social decay. The result is now playing out on the six o’clock news. A city that cannot afford to pave its roads or keep its subway safe is a city whose citizens have nothing left to lose.
The bond market is watching. And it is not amused. Capital will flow to safety, and safety is currently defined by austerity, by fiscal discipline, by the cold comfort of a balanced budget.
New York may be fun for a weekend, but it is no place for your pension fund. Meanwhile, across the pond, British markets remain placid. Our inflation is under control, our debt is manageable, and our central bank is trusted.
While Americans burn down their own cities, we drink tea and watch the yield curve flatten. The lesson is clear: fiscal responsibility is not just an abstract principle. It is the price of civilisation.
And America, drunk on cheap money, has forgotten how to pay it.
