Your Opinion: Kick Starting The Mortgage Market With Tax Payer's Money

Sir_Humphrey

No way. Why should our taxes be spent on propping up the housing market

Generali wrote: »

Over the years, the British Government (and many others too) have wasted billions at least on trying to buck markets. From fixed exchange rates (failed every time) to incomes policies (failed). When will they learn not to pour good money after bad? Trying to get the voters to pay a load more in taxes for the privilege of paying more for housing is a new low possibly matched only by the Common Agricultural Policy.

Well, the British government did try that in the early 1980s, the result of which is that we have a large trade deficit, hardly any industry, and whole families thrown on the economic scrapheap.

I think there is some double-think going on here. We agree that markets are often poor resource allocators (for reasons we discussed of uncertainty, animal spirits etc), yet you argue that the whole economy should be run by their caprice. You slate economists, but blindly follow the policy formulae of free-market economists.

You can't have it both ways guys.

Generali

No way. Why should our taxes be spent on propping up the housing market

Sir_Humphrey wrote: »

Well, the British government did try that in the early 1980s, the result of which is that we have a large trade deficit, hardly any industry, and whole families thrown on the economic scrapheap.

I think there is some double-think going on here. We agree that markets are often poor resource allocators (for reasons we discussed of uncertainty, animal spirits etc), yet you argue that the whole economy should be run by their caprice. You slate economists, but blindly follow the policy formulae of free-market economists.

You can't have it both ways guys.

My feeling is as Churchill said that democracy (and so Capitalism by extension which IMO is the only economic system compatible with democracy) is the worst system of Government except all the others we've tried.

Guy_Montag

No way. Why should our taxes be spent on propping up the housing market

Generali wrote: »

My feeling is as Churchill said that democracy (and so Capitalism by extension which IMO is the only economic system compatible with democracy) is the worst system of Government except all the others we've tried.

We've not tried putting me in charge.. Yet!:cool:

Sir_Humphrey

No way. Why should our taxes be spent on propping up the housing market

Generali wrote: »

My feeling is as Churchill said that democracy (and so Capitalism by extension which IMO is the only economic system compatible with democracy) is the worst system of Government except all the others we've tried.

We are only arguing about the type of Capitalism. Laissez-faire Capitalism is only one form of Capitalism, and is one that tends to work better in less democratic countries (one where the state can steamroller opposition to it's unpopular part - just a Thatcher did in the 1980s). Pinochet's Chile is a more extreme example.

On the other hand, a system with proper strategic planning (of which the market is incapable) can provide better long term growth, a better society and better democracy (such as the Norway or Sweden post WW2). These are probably the most successful societies in the modern world.