Latest Rant From The Last Person In The Uk Who Thinks Brown Is Doing A Good Job

[van hoogstraten]

from the times

Because the ECB is showing some sense of responsiblility and won't encourage mainland Europe's economies to descend into debt fuelled basket cases like the Uk's, the Nu Labour cheerleader gets his knickers in a twist

[MarkG]

A slowdown is now inevitable because the main engine of growth in Europe last year and the only possible source of stimulus for the year ahead was higher house prices.

LOL! He actually says that as though an economy based solely on ever-increasing house prices is a GOOD thing!

Edited November 28, 2005 by MarkG

[Guest magnoliawalls]

LOL! He actually says that as though an economy based solely on ever-increasing house prices is a GOOD thing!

For a few months now I have been reading Anatole's "Economic View". I am convinced the guy is deliberately taking the p1ss. It could be that he is carrying out his master's instructions to the letter, but most people reading that piece will notice the absurdities. Of course there will be hundreds who nod in agreement

[marko]

For a few months now I have been reading Anatole's "Economic View". I am convinced the guy is deliberately taking the p1ss. It could be that he is carrying out his master's instructions to the letter, but most people reading that piece will notice the absurdities. Of course there will be hundreds who nod in agreement

Morning guys,

I just wrote a letter to the times...I hope they publish it. Here it is in full:

Sir,

Although I am rapidly becoming accustomed to questionable economic comment in our national newspapers, the piece by Anatole Kaletsky today (28/11/05), berating the ECB for announcing a raise in interest rates borders on a joke. Does Kaletsky actually believe what he is writing, or is he simply churning out propaganda for some paymaster in the financial sector? It would appear that he considers the profligate house price rises, borrowing and consumption that have maintained the illusion of wealth in our country to be the highest achievement of our loose monetary policy. In fact it is nothing more than a sticking plaster that has concealed and considerably worsened the hollowing out of the economy that has occurred since the turn of the millenium.

Does Kaletksy seriously consider getting in hock to the banks to a greater and greater degree, purely to finance consumption, to be a sign of economic health? As highly skilled productive jobs (the foundation of real national wealth) leave our shores never to return, does he think that patching over the subsequent loss of earning power by financing consumption on the back of a perceived increase in the value of your house to be a sustainable long-term path to prosperity? Why do people such as Kaletsky (rightly) consider inflation to be a bad thing except in housing, when it is instead seen as the solution to all our problems?

It is of course nothing of the sort. A particularly pernicious blend of low interest rates, irresponsible lending, loss of earning power, rampant house price inflation and subsequent debt-financed consumption, all topped off with a fantastical belief that huge debts can be perpetually offloaded onto the next mug playing the housing game, have all led us drunkenly to the very edge of the abyss.

However, the party is now over: we now face falling house prices, rocketing energy prices, continual haemorrhaging of the real parts of our economy, and an increasing tax burden brought about by Gordon Brown's arrogance and mismanagement - all overshadowed by a colossal level of personal debt. If the ECB does not want to go down the self-destructive road we have chosen then all power to them - they will be better able to weather the perfect financial storm that is unfortunately gathering on the horizon.

Yours,

Marko.

That Kaletsky really is a kn0b

Edited November 28, 2005 by marko

[Mushroom]

That Kaletsky really is a kn0b

You could have put that a bit more subtlety, if you are hoping to be published.

Exellent letter.

BUT, it may be different this time.

[Guest Riser]

The column by Anatole Kaletsky is a joke, I wonder how long it will be before we hear Brown adding low European growth to his list of excuses for the collapse of the UK economy.

Thus if European growth turns out to be substantially weaker than the 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent range now pencilled into official forecasts, Britain’s prospects and the Treasury’s forecasts will be in disarray

Edit: Great post Marko

Edited November 28, 2005 by Riser

[marko]

You could have put that a bit more subtlety, if you are hoping to be published.

Exellent letter.

BUT, it may be different this time.

LOL, yes, I wanted to put that bit in to the Times as a postscript, but don't worry I didn't, it was just for your eyes.

[Raven]

Great letter, I bet you get a crappy, non-reply!

America, Britain, Japan and China are all on fairly predictable trajectories

Well, Britain's and America's is predictable, Ressession!

[IPOD]

the low level of eurozone rates was starting to create a virtuous circle of rising house prices, bigger mortgage borrowing and stronger consumer spending, which has helped to drive the growth of every major economy outside Europe in the past decade

Err, what? So China, India and Brazil's economies have been driven by house price rises in the last decade, have they? Despite Brazil having some of the highest interest rates in the world? He is mixing up cause and effect here. Property prices have risen (not by much in any of the above countries) because of economic growth caused by each country's comparative advantage in the global market, which for China has been manufacturing, for India has been services and Brazil it's agricultural sector.

Either this guy has a room-temperature IQ, or he has been locked in a box somewhere for the last 10 years. I'm not sure which is worse.

[Scooter]

Morning guys,

I just wrote a letter to the times...I hope they publish it. Here it is in full:

Sir,

Although I am rapidly becoming accustomed to questionable economic comment in our national newspapers, the piece by Anatole Kaletsky today (28/11/05), berating the ECB for announcing a raise in interest rates borders on a joke. Does Kaletsky actually believe what he is writing, or is he simply churning out propaganda for some paymaster in the financial sector? It would appear that he considers the profligate house price rises, borrowing and consumption that have maintained the illusion of wealth in our country to be the highest achievement of our loose monetary policy. In fact it is nothing more than a sticking plaster that has concealed and considerably worsened the hollowing out of the economy that has occurred since the turn of the millenium.

Does Kaletksy seriously consider getting in hock to the banks to a greater and greater degree, purely to finance consumption, to be a sign of economic health? As highly skilled productive jobs (the foundation of real national wealth) leave our shores never to return, does he think that patching over the subsequent loss of earning power by financing consumption on the back of a perceived increase in the value of your house to be a sustainable long-term path to prosperity? Why do people such as Kaletsky (rightly) consider inflation to be a bad thing except in housing, when it is instead seen as the solution to all our problems?

It is of course nothing of the sort. A particularly pernicious blend of low interest rates, irresponsible lending, loss of earning power, rampant house price inflation and subsequent debt-financed consumption, all topped off with a fantastical belief that huge debts can be perpetually offloaded onto the next mug playing the housing game, have all led us drunkenly to the very edge of the abyss.

However, the party is now over: we now face falling house prices, rocketing energy prices, continual haemorrhaging of the real parts of our economy, and an increasing tax burden brought about by Gordon Brown's arrogance and mismanagement - all overshadowed by a colossal level of personal debt. If the ECB does not want to go down the self-destructive road we have chosen then all power to them - they will be better able to weather the perfect financial storm that is unfortunately gathering on the horizon.

Yours,

Marko.

That Kaletsky really is a kn0b

Excellent letter. On a practical note, I have found they prefer to print short ones but they could edit it down.

[Bear Goggles]

Err, what? So China, India and Brazil's economies have been driven by house price rises in the last decade, have they? Despite Brazil having some of the highest interest rates in the world? He is mixing up cause and effect here. Property prices have risen (not by much in any of the above countries) because of economic growth caused by each country's comparative advantage in the global market, which for China has been manufacturing, for India has been services and Brazil it's agricultural sector.

Either this guy has a room-temperature IQ, or he has been locked in a box somewhere for the last 10 years. I'm not sure which is worse.

You've just said what I was thinking after reading that article, or should I say rant.

'room-temperature IQ'

[Loanshark]

Excellent letter. On a practical note, I have found they prefer to print short ones but they could edit it down.

Yes they could edit to just

That Kaletsky really is a kn0b

LOL Great letter i hope they print it.

[Michael]

For a few months now I have been reading Anatole's "Economic View". I am convinced the guy is deliberately taking the p1ss. It could be that he is carrying out his master's instructions to the letter, but most people reading that piece will notice the absurdities. Of course there will be hundreds who nod in agreement

Journos are often politically biased of course but this idiot is a crap journalist too.......Constantly churning out the same stuff about the merits of the Anglo-Saxon economic model vis a vis the Franco-German one and singing Brown's praises..........

[Scooter]

Yes they could edit to just

That Kaletsky really is a kn0b

LOL Great letter i hope they print it.

[Mushroom]

the Anglo-Saxon economic model

Is this now a universally, even academically, accepted model?

Or, as seems to have been for most of my adult life, governments desperately trying to navigate through the effects of changing Global conditions that they seem powerless to control.

[IPOD]

Constantly churning out the same stuff about the merits of the Anglo-Saxon economic model vis a vis the Franco-German one and singing Brown's praises..........

Yes, you could reduce all the articles he has ever written into three sentences:

Low interest rates solve everything: global poverty, famine, hunger, AIDS, etc....

Infinitely rising house prices drive ALL economic growth and have no negative consequences whatsoever.

The French/Germans have got it all wrong and Gordon Brown/Alan Greenspan has done a wonderful job.

It sure as hell would have saved a lot of trees.

Is this now a universally, even academically, accepted model?

First we have to define what the Anglo-Saxon economic model is: it is generally taken to consist of deregulated labour markets (ie low level of unionisation, easy to hire AND fire), low to moderate levels of taxation, small government, basically all the things that the Tories are always banging on about.

Edited November 28, 2005 by IPOD

[MarkG]

It sure as hell would have saved a lot of trees.

But he probably gets paid by the word .

[CrashConnoisseur]

First we have to define what the Anglo-Saxon economic model is: it is generally taken to consist of deregulated labour markets (ie low level of unionisation, easy to hire AND fire), low to moderate levels of taxation, small government, basically all the things that the Tories are always banging on about. [iPOD]

If so, then New Labour have been moving in the opposite direction which makes Kaletsky's praise for their policies even more bizarre.

[FreeTrader]

Nutter or just a puppet on a string?

Replace 'or' with 'and' and you've nicely summarised Kaletsky.

Remember that News Corporation is probably the biggest VI of them all. Perhaps no other multinational company is more reliant on the persistence of the Western debt-fuelled consumer boom than Murdoch's baby. All those advertisers, property supplements, premium cable services, etc. These are the first casualties of any recession.

A worldwide slump precipitated by a credit collapse could well take NWS down with it, and the legend of Rupert would be gone. This is why, sadly, the primary objective of the Times editorial these days is the promotion of the NWS empire and its interests, with the impartial critique and dissemination of information coming a distant second.

The real problem (for Murdoch) with rising Euro area interest rates is that it puts pressure on other Western central banks to maintain or even increase their own rates.

Murdoch must be haunted by the ghost of William Randolph Hearst

At the height of his fortune William Randolph Hearst owned some 28 major newspapers and 18 magazines, as well as news services, radio stations and movie companies. But the Great Depression weakened his financial position and by 1940 he had lost personal control of his vast communications empire.

[Guest Charlie The Tramp]

A worldwide slump precipitated by a credit collapse could well take NWS down with it, and the legend of Rupert would be gone. This is why, sadly, the primary objective of the Times editorial these days is the promotion of the NWS empire and its interests, with the impartial critique and dissemination of information coming a distant second.

I wonder what Murdoch thought after reading the warning from the RBA at the end of September about the possibility of a Global financial meltdown.