In recent memory, at least two western nations have produced emergency government budget changes that are said to produce many $$$ in “savings”. Well, savings certainly sound wonderful, don’t they? What wise chaps we have voted into charge!

In those of us interested in a wee more depth than a headline, a nagging little question remains. Savings from what – compared to what? How are the “savings” distributed over time? Don’t these seem like basic data that are essential to give meaning to the headlines?

While plebes are invited to infer that savings mean “spending less than recently”, it is not so. A popular scam perpetrated by these governments is to compare two hypothetical future spending curves – both curving upward – and label the difference between them as “savings”. Yes, due to the miracle of modern mathematics, you can have “savings” even though you’re spending more every year.

Another scam is to budget most changes far into the future, past the present budgetary cycle, past the lifespan of the current government. No hope for change in the next year, but wow, look at those projections ten years away!

Apply both techniques together, and what you get is a lie.