• The post you are reporting:
   
  Mark - I see what you are saying but there are a wide range of specific Brown actions that have significantly deepened this country's problems and these are actions that were taken against the advice of experts. It does not mean that we would have escaped recession all together if different decisions were made but it would most certainly mean that we would not have been hit nearly as badly and would be in a far better position for recovery.
  
  I do take one point that you made and it is one I have made myself in a different way. Our democratic system does not encourage fiscal responsibility. The desire to be elected or re-elected encourages a spend now, pay later attitude and discourages the acceptance of responsibility.
  
  I have previously set out a suggestion to lock governments into fiscal responsibility. Not so much Brown's 'golden rule' that he flouted, more a constitutional arrangement limiting public spending to a range of GDP and preventing excessive deficit spending by setting a maximum percentage of 35% of GDP with an average of 30% over an economic cycle allowing for a measure of Keyseyan smoothing. That way increased public spending can only be derived from gdp growth without an excessive burden being placed on the economy. The problem is that no chancellor would want his hands tied that way because they would not be able to buy votes approaching an election.

Report Post

Your Name

Reason