Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009
The crisis was the perfect opportunity to correct postwar economic policy
Guardian: If we're back to business as usual it's curtains for Labour
"Even assuming the Bank of England gets it right, all that happens is that we return to a fundamentally flawed model. The return of property inflation, asset bubbles, private equity deals and the whole big swinging dick culture that pervaded Britain back then does not signify real economic recovery: it is evidence of a deluded and chronically sick nation determined to learn nothing and forget everything from the crisis."
Posted by sybil13 @ 08:26 AM (630 views) Add Comment
5 Comments
- If you do not have an admin password leave the password field blank.
- If you would like to request a password allowing you to add comments and blog news articles without needing each one approved manually, send an e-mail to the webmaster.
- Your email address is required so we can verify that the comment is genuine. It will not be posted anywhere on the site, will be stored confidentially by us and never given out to any third party.
- Please note that any viewpoints published here as comments are user's views and not the views of HousePriceCrash.co.uk.
- Please adhere to the Guidelines
1. paul said...
Good article. He doesn't mention it specifically but Larry points to exactly what happened in Japan twenty years ago.
No reform at a time when it was possible meant that the banks were forever hindered by lack of confidence and mistrust.
2. quiet guy said...
Assuming that Larry Elliott's analysis is correct, what are we supposed to do when there is a hint of a real recovery? My interpretation of the piece is that house prices will shoot up again at some point many years in the future. Should we hold our noses and jump in or ... what? From my perspective, there seems to be very little chance of our economy being restructured into something more durable and productive.
It's not just curtains for Labour, it's curtains for this country. Quite a depressing article.
3. alan said...
@ Quiet Guy,
Yes we really need something more "durable and productive".
We need a plan. NuLabour doesn't have one. As Larry says, the Conservatives are "just as clueless".
We need a leader to pull us out of this - Cameron? I don't want to believe it's "curtains for this country" - I live here!
4. mander said...
What is best for the country is no longer considered by the politicians. And I do not want to sound too socialist but all they do is to inflate wealth and now all they do is trying to preserve it. And so they have completely ignored basic principles of capitalism when it came to property.
I feel like this wealth has been stolen from future generations and especially from the children of the working people not the wealthy. I call it feudalism.
5. letthemfall said...
We can at least enjoy this quote: "the whole big swinging dick culture". Pretty well put, I thought. Overall an excellent article.
quiet guy: I think you're right. The complacent housing obsession in this country plus the tax advantage plus the ability to borrow cheaply to make a geared bet on rising prices (impossible for any other investment) will ensure that this is inevitable.
mander: Yes, feudalism has been around for 1000 years. Even now most of the land is owned by a very small proportion of the population. The difference now is that the modern squires feel no duty of care, however perfunctory, to the peasants (ie low earners). Some aspects of the UK are despicable.