Sunday, Aug 10, 2008
Bank of England to try scare tactics on Joe Public
Times: Bank needs to keep pay demands in check
Article in the Times theorises that we should not be surprised if the Bank’s official pronouncements on the economy in coming weeks are gloomy. What King and Co really want is to avoid the inflation felt by consumers being transferred into aggressive wage demands that launch the economy into an inflation spiral. The article concludes that if the simple people of this country think the economy really is in trouble, they are less likely to ask for higher wages.
Posted by enuii @ 12:14 AM (721 views) Add Comment
12 Comments
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1. A Solovine said...
"...don’t be surprised if the Bank’s official pronouncements on the economy in coming weeks are gloomy."
But they ARE gloomy in the sense meant by the Times. So no, we won't be surprised. Neither should we be surprised if Mr King does try to influence public opinion. Helicopter Ben's been doing it ad nauseam to beef up the dollar. And perhaps it's working. No-one knows. It'll be interesting to see how the US dollar, gold and oil each fare in the coming weeks and months, but the direction of the pound (and thus, the RPI) is arguably easier to predict.
2. A Solovine said...
"...don’t be surprised if the Bank’s official pronouncements on the economy in coming weeks are gloomy."
But they ARE gloomy in the sense meant by the Times. So no, we won't be surprised. Neither should we be surprised if Mr King does try to influence public opinion. Helicopter Ben's been doing it ad nauseam to beef up the dollar. And perhaps it's working. No-one knows. It'll be interesting to see how the US dollar, gold and oil each fare in the coming weeks and months, but the direction of the pound (and thus, the RPI) is arguably easier to predict.
3. Eternal Sceptic said...
In anwer to the summary perhaps Baldrick might have said (for all), "I may be stupid but I am not that stupid".
4. quiet guy said...
"What King must hope for is to ride out the storm."
Hope. Yes, that's just the ticket. We can base our economic policy on hope. Meanwhile the pound slides.
5. mark said...
public are no longer stupid or blinded by sick spin
6. p. doff said...
2. mark said...
''public are no longer stupid or blinded by sick spin''
Actually, people with a higher education are probably in the top 5% of the population. There is a very large percentage of Jeremy Kyle show mentality out there who will be influenced primarily by the front page of The Sun. This is how the political leaders repeatedly get away with it.
7. paul said...
I don't think they can avoid aggressive wage demands in the public sector - either they get their inflationary rises met or they strike.
8. wiltshire said...
I do think the public have been bought off with cheap credit these past few years. While people have felt wealthy they've allowed the powers that be to get away with taking the p*ss (see boardroom pay). Well that particular merry-go-round has stopped now and people are going to start getting increasingly angry and militant if you ask me. Don't forget that Labour have even managed to get the police demonstrating about pay. That takes some doing!
9. Rajd said...
God forbid that people get paid sufficient amounts of money so that they don't have to rely on debt to live hand to mouth. Oh no, we can't have that now can we!
10. plato said...
Thing is if people are struggling to make ends meet,they are not going to spend and bang goes any growth.
The biggest problem is hiding those wages at the top from those who do an honest day's work. There is a glaring income disparity to even the simplest of people that annoys them and actually encourages crime.
11. alan said...
There is a world of difference between how the people "at the top" behave and how they tell us to behave.
The sense of unfairness is growing in this country. Announcements are met with a growing level of cynicism.
Against that backdrop, people are more likely to cheat their expenses or submit fraudulent insurance claims. Morality and honesty will slip to the country's detriment.
12. unplugged said...
The powers that be obviously understand the causes and effects well enough to suggest the cure, therefore they could've taken preventative measures and avoided the whole thing in the first place. Maybe they just wanted to see what would happen, resting safe in the knowledge that the masses would pay the price when the crunch came... or maybe they fully intended the outcome as part of a larger plan?
The ruling class need incentives to do their jobs properly. But that won't happen as only virtuous people would impose that on themselves... and these people aren't in the slightest bit virtuous. They have always been able to do what they like as the people cant spot the trick.