Larry Elliott argues this morning:
Financial markets have become stimulus junkies. They crave their next fix of quantitative easing and when they don't get it they turn ugly.
He's right, although I'm not sure he's right for the right reasons.
The world's markets need QE because banks aren't creating enough new money by lending. That's because, small businesses who get the cold shoulder when the ask apart, people don't want their money. So QE has to create the money the economy needs to stay liquid instead. The happy coincidence is that this pays off the debt the government owes at the same time, even if that fact is still only very reluctantly acknowledged.
The problem is, as Larry acknowledges, that the money injected is going to financial institutions and ending up being used for speculation.
There is an answer to that too: it is called Green Quantitative Easing. That would inject money into the real economy instead to insulate millions of properties that aren't, to repair infrastructure and extend its life, to build new social housing we desperately need and so, of course, to create jobs.
We could do that. The question is, why don't we?
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is it you or me
“small businesses who get the cold shoulder when the ask apart,people don’t want their money”
Agree 100% Today had another American today trotting out the line about the need ‘take the pain’ (austerity)It looks like an organised counter offensive again rational economics
I don’t notice any austerity in handing contracts to conservative donors.
I did notice the “health” secretary legislating to force general practitioners to give contracts for services (sic) to, again, conservative donors.
It’ll end the same as ATOS, barely qualified occupational health “practitioners” deciding that doctors know nothing and consultants are charlatans.
The dash to sell the family silver to their friends, by the conservatives, is becoming a business in itself.
One example which had slipped by me was the establishment of NHS Property Services Ltd. For some reason I missed the reports about this and I find it very worrying because of what is in the Articles of Association. Can anyone tell my why this is not a concern? I am not familiar with Articles of Association and some of this may just be standard wording imported to this company: but even if it is I don’t think it is an appropriate way do to business, on the face of it: and certainly not in this context
http://thosebigwords.forumcommunity.net/?t=47582789&p=375464988
I would agree with productive investment but there is a big “if”. One does not
“create” jobs, sustainable jobs result from profitable economic activity.
If you want to “create” jobs- it’s easy – say, stick everyone in the army and go invade someone and take the spoils- for most of history that has been the case from the Vikings to the Soviet Union. What worries me is some (not all) of the elements of your Green Quantitative easing,seem more like appeals to the trendy Fluffy Left, rather than some proper support for small and medium sized businesses.
Utter nonsense….
Is state education non-sustainable work?