Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
What if the national debt is not a burden at all?
What if it is simply the nation’s savings?
Any sensible analysis shows that this so-called debt is no such thing: it's just a massive savings bank operation.
That sounds like a contradiction, but it is not. In fact, understanding this point changes almost everything about how we think about government finance, public spending, austerity and economic policy.
In this video, I explain why every pound of government debt is also somebody else’s financial asset. I show why government bonds are not like household debt, why they function as savings accounts with the state, and why the financial system depends upon them. Pension funds, insurance companies, banks and many of the world’s largest investors all rely on UK government bonds as a safe place to hold wealth.
I also explain why governments that issue their own currency are fundamentally different from households, why the UK government cannot run out of pounds, and why the idea that Britain must one day “pay off the national debt” makes little economic sense. The national debt exists because people and institutions want somewhere secure to save their money, and the government has a duty to accept those savings.
Along the way, I challenge some of the most common myths in economics.
Are bond markets really in control of governments?
Do bond vigilantes dictate public policy?
Does rising government debt automatically create a crisis?
Or have politicians, economists and commentators misunderstood the role that government bonds actually play in a modern economy?
The answers matter because misunderstanding government debt has helped justify decades of unnecessary austerity, underinvestment, and fear about public spending. If we get the nature of government bonds wrong, we get much of economic policy wrong as well.
If the national debt is actually national savings, then the debate about government finance needs to start in a very different place.
The Debte Ammunition Briefing to support this video is available here. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Government-bonds-final.pdf
Check out the poll below: youtube.com/post/Ugkxm5Ht-D-3v3vuLXubAxoMxDjMv1_6hzRF
TRANSCRIPT
A transcript for this video is available at: taxresearch.org.uk
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE TO YOUR MP ABOUT ISSUES IN THIS VIDEO
If you want to write a letter to your MP on the issues raised in this blog post, there is a ChatGPT prompt to assist you in doing so, with full instructions, here. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/06/20/chatgpt-prompt-for-a-letter-to-your-mp
HOW TO SUPPORT US
Please consider donating: ko-fi.com/taxresearch
ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.
This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.
RICHARD MURPHY ON BLUESKY:
https://bsky.app/profile/richardjmurphy.bsky.social
OR
ON MY BLOG: taxresearch.org.uk/Blog
HIT SUBSCRIBE & GET NOTIFICATIONS
Subscribe and get notified of new videos released.
INTRODUCTION: youtube.com/watch?v=HdHsRPy3060
PLAYLISTS:
The Wealth Series
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobQLeyZYAagFDMjEFTKbhRD
Ecenomics
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob54Gs-fOL-8OAQ-IpduwB4
Britain
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobwTT4ATvJjsf8OO6S7wD10
Tax
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoaMni_12J6ULp3yUJisUZoY
MMT
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoZ6jvRGSW5YXu8qogE6aClX
Money
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYnLk1c7syTvoIo8bKYUs5m
Climate Change
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob4_wsYaVivWd2WumpPLYwJ
USA
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYYd3dSyU2Oyl3x7bWJOP7H
Labour
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoa-KhzG-fnjDSg1WROL1zMw
The Trump Administration
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobz41-GLimTho27A3flVWQx
#richardmurphy #richardjmurphy #economy #economics #accountancy #accounting #tax #uktax #ukeconomy #greennewdeal #uk #money #economy #politics #government #tax #labour #health #life #GovernmentBonds #NationalDebt #UKPolitics #Gilts #BankOfEngland #ModernMonetaryTheory #MMT #EconomicPolicy #PublicFinance #Austerity #PoliticalEconomy #CentralBank #QuantitativeEasing #FiscalPolicy #Economics #BondMarkets #CurrencySovereignty #PublicSpending #FinancialSystem #UKGovernment #DebtMyths #Economy #MonetaryPolicy #Banking #Savings #InterestRates #Neoliberalism #EconomicJustice #PublicInvestment #PoliticsOfCare
What if the national debt is not a burden at all?
What if it is simply the nation’s savings?
Any sensible analysis shows that this so-called debt is no such thing: it's just a massive savings bank operation.
That sounds like a contradiction, but it is not. In fact, understanding this point changes almost everything about how we think about government finance, public spending, austerity and economic policy.
In this video, I explain why every pound of government debt is also somebody else’s financial asset. I show why government bonds are not like household debt, why they function as savings accounts with the state, and why the financial system depends upon them. Pension funds, insurance companies, banks and many of the world’s largest investors all rely on UK government bonds as a safe place to hold wealth.
I also explain why governments that issue their own currency are fundamentally different from households, why the UK government cannot run out of pounds, and why the idea that Britain must one day “pay off the national debt” makes little economic sense. The national debt exists because people and institutions want somewhere secure to save their money, and the government has a duty to accept those savings.
Along the way, I challenge some of the most common myths in economics.
Are bond markets really in control of governments?
Do bond vigilantes dictate public policy?
Does rising government debt automatically create a crisis?
Or have politicians, economists and commentators misunderstood the role that government bonds actually play in a modern economy?
The answers matter because misunderstanding government debt has helped justify decades of unnecessary austerity, underinvestment, and fear about public spending. If we get the nature of government bonds wrong, we get much of economic policy wrong as well.
If the national debt is actually national savings, then the debate about government finance needs to start in a very different place.
The Debte Ammunition Briefing to support this video is available here. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Government-bonds-final.pdf
Check out the poll below: youtube.com/post/Ugkxm5Ht-D-3v3vuLXubAxoMxDjMv1_6hzRF
TRANSCRIPT
A transcript for this video is available at: taxresearch.org.uk
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE TO YOUR MP ABOUT ISSUES IN THIS VIDEO
If you want to write a letter to your MP on the issues raised in this blog post, there is a ChatGPT prompt to assist you in doing so, with full instructions, here. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/06/20/chatgpt-prompt-for-a-letter-to-your-mp
HOW TO SUPPORT US
Please consider donating: ko-fi.com/taxresearch
ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.
This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.
RICHARD MURPHY ON BLUESKY:
https://bsky.app/profile/richardjmurphy.bsky.social
OR
ON MY BLOG: taxresearch.org.uk/Blog
HIT SUBSCRIBE & GET NOTIFICATIONS
Subscribe and get notified of new videos released.
INTRODUCTION: youtube.com/watch?v=HdHsRPy3060
PLAYLISTS:
The Wealth Series
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobQLeyZYAagFDMjEFTKbhRD
Ecenomics
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob54Gs-fOL-8OAQ-IpduwB4
Britain
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobwTT4ATvJjsf8OO6S7wD10
Tax
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoaMni_12J6ULp3yUJisUZoY
MMT
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoZ6jvRGSW5YXu8qogE6aClX
Money
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYnLk1c7syTvoIo8bKYUs5m
Climate Change
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob4_wsYaVivWd2WumpPLYwJ
USA
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYYd3dSyU2Oyl3x7bWJOP7H
Labour
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoa-KhzG-fnjDSg1WROL1zMw
The Trump Administration
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobz41-GLimTho27A3flVWQx
#richardmurphy #richardjmurphy #economy #economics #accountancy #accounting #tax #uktax #ukeconomy #greennewdeal #uk #money #economy #politics #government #tax #labour #health #life #GovernmentBonds #NationalDebt #UKPolitics #Gilts #BankOfEngland #ModernMonetaryTheory #MMT #EconomicPolicy #PublicFinance #Austerity #PoliticalEconomy #CentralBank #QuantitativeEasing #FiscalPolicy #Economics #BondMarkets #CurrencySovereignty #PublicSpending #FinancialSystem #UKGovernment #DebtMyths #Economy #MonetaryPolicy #Banking #Savings #InterestRates #Neoliberalism #EconomicJustice #PublicInvestment #PoliticsOfCare
