Most moronic economic policy of last 30 years?

[DimPrawn]

George Osborne's Help to Buy housing scheme is 'truly moronic' according to leading City analyst| News | The Week UK

GEORGE Osborne's little-loved Help to Buy scheme has been described as "moronic" by a leading City analyst.

Albert Edwards, head of the global strategy team at Société Générale, said the chancellor's flagship programme will artificially inflate property prices and drive young people deeper into "indentured servitude" by creating another housing bubble.

Sort of have to agree. An economy in massive debt with large unemployment of young people in the midst of an unpopped housing bubble chooses to print money to inflate the bubble further.

Makes Gordon Brown look like an economic genius.

[sasguru]

You're conflating 2 distinct things here. The so-called "money-printing", in reality nothing of the kind, seems to have spared the Anglo-Saxon economies a PIIGS-style depression.
But I agree that the House-buying thing is moronic.

[DimPrawn]

Spared or delayed and made far worse?

[eek]

You're conflating 2 distinct things here. The so-called "money-printing", in reality nothing of the kind, seems to have spared the Anglo-Saxon economies a PIIGS-style depression.
But I agree that the House-buying thing is moronic.

A floating currency spared us the PIIGS-style depression. Money-printing just kept the government going and interests rates artificially low.

[Old Greg]

You're conflating 2 distinct things here. The so-called "money-printing", in reality nothing of the kind, seems to have spared the Anglo-Saxon economies a PIIGS-style depression.
But I agree that the House-buying thing is moronic.

The Arch-Cretin's friends at the Mail would disagree:

The MILLION middle-class families who can't buy a home | This is Money

There is no hope.

[sasguru]

Spared or delayed and made far worse?

By most accounts, the Anglo-Saxon economies have fired back into life.
It's what happens now that matters.
Carney has made the mistake of saying interest rates will remain low, but will unexpected growth force his hand otherwise?
Seems to be a choice between low rates (consequently inflation if the economy grows) and raising rates (which will cause a lot of problems for zombie households and firms who are surviving purely due to cheap money).

Interesting

[scooterscot]

But the economy is now booming, Germany step aside, the UK is boing boing re-bounding to the stratosphere.

[sasguru]

But the economy is now booming, Germany step aside, the UK is boing boing re-bounding to the stratosphere.

Germany's medium-term prospects are poor due its demographic time-bomb.
It's why they are forced to employ imbeciles like you.

[eek]

By most accounts, the Anglo-Saxon economies have fired back into life.
It's what happens now that matters.
Carney has made the mistake of saying interest rates will remain low, but will unexpected growth force his hand otherwise?
Seems to be a choice between low rates (consequently inflation if the economy grows) and raising rates (which will cause a lot of problems for zombie households and firms who are surviving purely due to cheap money).

Interesting

Inflation will destroy debt. Interest rate increases will destroy the government's ability to borrow.

He really had no choice but to focus on unemployment and let inflation be damned. Until government income/expenditure is matched (which is supposedly at an unemployment of 6.4-6.8% on the report I read) were interest rates to rise other problems with government borrowing would occur.

[amcdonald]

But if he merely wants to kick the problem away for a few years, incase they lose the next election

It starts to make sense