Irwin Steltzer writing in the Daily Telegraph makes some incisive comments on Gordon "Saviour of the World" Brown's assertion that Britain's financial meltdown started in the good old US of A.".... it remains an incontestable fact that the Prime Minister is pointing a finger at America to conceal his mishandling of the British economy and, lately, the futility of some portions of the stimulus package he has crafted. Gordon Brown's search for a villain might better take him to the nearest mirror than to Washington, DC.
"......Instead of using the good years to pile up surpluses to spend in the lean years, Brown decided that he had conquered the business cycle – no more boom and bust. There is no minute of any meeting to suggest that the American economists and businessmen with whom the Prime Minister was so fond of being photographed tried to persuade him that he had indeed discovered the magic formula that could end business cycles. The hubris was home-grown. Which leaves Brown in the position of being forced to make clear that tax increases are in Britain's future – not a prospect that will encourage spending....."
This is devastating stuff written by a respected economist who has been close to Brown in the past.
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