For decades now, the budget announcements of successive governments have become a copy and paste exercise that prioritises the profits of wealthy multinational corporations over fulfilling even the meekest manifesto pledges to materially improve the lives of the many.

As we approach the second year of this Starmer’s premiership, his government looks tired and out of ideas. We are witnessing soaring energy bills, high youth unemployment and the decimation of our already inadequate welfare system.

It is clear that, even if the government changes, the system refuses to. That is why we must dismantle it and rebuild it in the image of the future we want to build and empower our communities, and guarantee them long term prosperity.

In order to do this, we must first dispel the myth that responsible government spending is comparable to a household budget. It is simply dishonest to say that the two things are in any way similar. It is true to say that a household has a set income based on earnings and outgoings based on rent, bills and other spending but unlike any government of the day, a household does not have the power to create its own money or set its own interest rates. It is also in the power of the government to tax and spend as it sees fit, make investments into our communities and ensure long-term prosperity for all of us. Their refusal to do so is borne from the politics of austerity and blind faith in the neoliberal economics of the governments of the past.

It is also an abysmal retreat from the spirit of governments like that of Clement Attlee, who built the NHS and the greatest expansion of universal healthcare in the world against the backdrop of rebuilding Britain after World War II, rationing and a 200% debt to GDP ratio.

When Rachel Reeves stands at the despatch box to announce the budget on Wednesday, she will talk about “economic challenges” and the “tough choices” “we” have to make.

But let’s get some things straight and break the delusion with some simple political translation:

Economic challenges: the inevitable result of austerity and Labour’s failure to build an economy that works for the many, not just the few.

Tough choices: cuts for you, tax relief for the super rich. No one has ever uttered these two words in Parliament unless they’re trying to explain away their own political cowardice.

We: manufactured consent that usually precedes and succeeds attacks on the most vulnerable in society, usually asylum seekers, disabled people and other marginalised groups.

A prime example of this rhetoric was the immoral cuts to welfare and support for sick and disabled people at the same time as approximately £5 billion was pumped into the pockets of weapons manufacturers and defence firms earlier this year.

In short, and with that in mind, there may be some welcome policy changes that will make headlines such as scrapping the two-child benefit cap, but ultimately tinkering around the edges of a broken system will only serve the very few beneficiaries of Britain’s rigged economy. A wealth tax is also a necessary measure to tackle grotesque levels of inequality and the power of the super rich to stack the deck in their favour. We also need to address the root of excessive wealth accumulation. Shifting our economic priorities to eradicating poverty, ensuring jobs, fair wages, high-quality housing and decent public services for all will mean more resources flowing to the many and less to the few.

We cannot just add new rules to the same unwinnable game. We must break the board, add new pieces and ensure all are given a fair shot at winning.

Unless the government applies itself to wholesale economic transformation, it remains unserious about bringing real change to our communities or the country as a whole.

We must remember that those who have accumulated power and wealth are satisfied with the status quo. In fact, these very people are quite vocal about boosting their personal finances and influence further – and that is why we must build an incorruptible alternative to the misery endured by millions.