This 'Quantitative Easing', “wot’s it all about, Alfie?” Alas, despite my intensive course in economics – oh, alright then, my 20 weeks of a two-hour lecture on Wednesday evenings taken some 30-odd years ago – I am still at a loss to explain my profound suspicions at the thought of governments printing money like drunken sailors. Somehow, in some way, you just know it’s wrong and that there will be tears before bedtime.
Today in The Telegraph, the financial swot, Jeremy Warner, attempts to explain it all but, whisper who dares, I’m not sure he quite understands it. In so far as I could understand his technicalities, he seems puzzled that the outcome has not yet, er, come out! However, some of his witty and shrewd commenters are quite enlightening and I offer you a sample:
There really can't be a problem because David Cameron has just pledged that there will be no tax rises for 5 years if the Conservatives win.
It's going to be paid for by clamping down on tax avoidance and 'efficiency savings', or maybe taxing paedophiles and terrorists with new snooping laws, I'm not sure which.
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The Western world is amazingly prosperous. When American consumers can afford to spend $4200 million a year, mindlessly chewing on gum, we can see the scope for savings.
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What are the recommended investment strategies to hedge against this coming bond default?
engineer99 Hal Taylor • 2 hours ago
Buy a gun and a big dog and be prepared to eat the dog.
Trust an engineer to come to a sensible conclusion!
Last Thursday, 23rd I explained all this quite clearly, well, almost, in "Budget Planning". Have you polished the studs on your boots this morning?
Posted by: Demetrius | Wednesday, 29 April 2015 at 13:19
I must have missed that one, Demetrius.
Posted by: David Duff | Wednesday, 29 April 2015 at 13:50
Of course it's wrong. It's the concept that if you print loads of money, there'll be enough for us all to have some. Just doesn't work that way. Perhaps if we went back to the concept of The Bank of England having enough gold to cover every note in the country, it might get across just how much up the gum tree we are without a paddle.
Posted by: Mayfly | Thursday, 30 April 2015 at 14:55
Well said, Miss Mayfly although I'm not too sure how much use a paddle would be up a gum tree!
Posted by: David Duff | Thursday, 30 April 2015 at 17:02
Well, better to have one than not!
Posted by: Mayfly | Tuesday, 05 May 2015 at 13:14