Over the last four years, I have written a monthly column on economics, politics and sustainbility in the Guernsey Press.

I’ve been raising the alarm over that time not to moan, but to warn. I pulled together my concerns in a book - This Is What a Rich Death Feels Like - because this affects us all. But warnings mean nothing if we do not act. In the book, I made the following observation as a conclusion.

‘If the columns in this book have told a story, it is one of drift. Drift at the global level, where central banks spent a decade pumping free money into broken systems. Drift in the international debate, where economic groupthink calcified into orthodoxy. And drift at the local level, where Guernsey’s political system has grown sclerotic, incapable of facing up to reality, let alone reforming itself. 

The long-run consequences of avoiding hard choices are plain to see. And for jurisdictions like Guernsey, the price of clinging to the illusion of sustainability is not just economic—it is existential.  We are not special. We are not exempt. And we are not prepared.  For years, we’ve indulged the myth that we are a low-tax, low-spend, agile jurisdiction.

The truth is less flattering. Our spending has surged. Our tax base is narrowing. Our competitiveness is eroding. And our politics has become a client service—handing out benefits, avoiding reform, and pretending trade-offs don’t exist. We whisper about growth and shout about redistribution.  None of this is inevitable. But it has become the status quo.

And like all unsustainable things, it will persist—until it can’t.’      

You can find all the articles online on the Guernsey Press website, or if you’re so inclined order the book from Amazon, or there’s a short sample here.