letter 27/11/12

The lack of "revolutionary thinking"  in economics (Big business has corrupted our economics, 27/11/12) is largely explained by the fact that the economies of the major countries are still dominated , either by bankers, or by politicians in awe of bankers.The fear of a country`s credit rating being downgraded by the ex-bankers of Standard and Poor etc dominates, so any consideration for fairness, or even common sense, being applied to economics tends to be ignored. Osborne continues to ignore the IMF`s warning about fiscal multipliers for this very reason. As for the debts of Spain and Greece, what is the point of lending to countries already in debt at interest levels so high failure to repay is almost guaranteed? Wouldn`t low interest rates lead both to economic stimulus and repayment? Wouldn`t it be more sensible for Britain to have loaned Greece some of the £375bn created by QE rather than give it to the banks? Germany`s exaggerated fears of 1923 hyper-inflation being repeated have to be dismissed as a merely selfish excuse for looking after number one.

British economic woes could partly be dealt with by radical policies, ideologically suppressed by the Tories perhaps, but their fear of bankers` wrath is only equalled by that of the Labour opposition, too timid even to moot ideas such as complete tax transparency, a Tobin tax, or a rent cap. Of course, the current "dogma is particularly agreeable to the elite", but the main worry is not the lack of radical ideas but the refusal of all main parties to make a stand against the bankers.Shame on them!