In working his way through the Institute syllabus the student deals in Section C with subjects rather baldly described as ‘Sources of National Income and Expenditure’, ‘Introduction to Government Finance’, and at a later stage, with the money market and banking and financial institutions. What disciplines these impose on the student I have only a vague idea for I am now a ‘vintage’ actuary in the sense that this is used as being synonymous with ‘old crock’. However, I see from the Year Book that ‘members of the profession are recognized as especially competent to advise on financial problems’ and I take it that the purpose of this meeting is to help newly qualified actuaries towards the attainment of this special competence.

My subject tonight is the budget, and although it is given to few actuaries to advise on the making of the budget we must all know how to discuss it intelligently, for clearly our judgment of the national economy underlies our reading of nearly all other financial problems.