The casual hypocrisy of George Osborne:-
09/01/2009 – “QE is the last resort of desperate governments when all other policies have failed” – George Osborne in opposition
The U turn
06/10/2011 – “QE is an appropriate tool” – George Osborne (reported on politics home)
Yes it is par for the course for politicians to lie and spout bollocks – this is a jolly good example.
Here is some sanity from my favourite BBC economics commentator, Stephanie Flanders, who blogged “Some say that QE is all a confidence trick – albeit, an important one. What, exactly, the Bank does is less important than the fact that it is seen to be doing something. The US comedian, Mitch Hedberg, had a line I reprised on the Today programme this morning: “My fake flowers died, because I forgot to pretend to water them.”
Which is slightly funnier but just as accurate as is my definition of Quantitative Easing espoused in meBook.
The sound of gentle weeping … etc.