There’s different ways to look at this. Public sector workers also could point out also that the govt has spent a huge amount on the furlough scheme which has hugely benefitted private sector workers (supported by their taxes).
https://twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/1367788008234246145
It’s also true to say private sector employees benefit from the wages of the public sector being spent in/on their firms.
It makes sense to view the economy (and government spending decisions as part of that) as a whole unit, rather than a private/public split.
It makes sense to view the economy (and government spending decisions as part of that) as a whole unit, rather than a private/public split.
It’s also true to say that as the govt has shown over the past year, its spending power is huge.
As ever with its spending decisions, they’re choices, not laws of nature. Government could afford to give more if it spent less on something else or raised money elsewhere.
As ever with its spending decisions, they’re choices, not laws of nature. Government could afford to give more if it spent less on something else or raised money elsewhere.
And take a look at this graph from the @NuffieldTrust. Shows pay for all NHS staff severely cut in real terms since 2010. By contrast private sector pay started to recover from 2014. They calculate NHS staff have lost £22bn from pay falling behind inflation over the last decade. 
It’s also true to say that what the economy desperately needs in the years ahead is growth. OBR is predicting pretty modest expansion after next year. Again, viewed in a growth context not only is 1% NHS pay rise problematic but so is public sector pay freeze as a whole.
As I said earlier in the week, we’re also in danger of being very insular-a retrenchment agenda is not being talked about in other major economies: globally the focus is on immediate post pandemic recovery and growth (see Biden stimulus bill) bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09…
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