Britain engaging in ‘crass Keynesianism’?
Germany’s finance minister, Peer Steinbrück, finds Britain’s stimulus plan distasteful: "Our British friends are now cutting their value-added tax. We have no idea how much of that stores will pass on to customers. Are you really going to buy a DVD player because it now costs £39.10 instead of £39.90? All this will do is ...
Germany's finance minister, Peer Steinbrück, finds Britain's stimulus plan distasteful:
"Our British friends are now cutting their value-added tax. We have no idea how much of that stores will pass on to customers. Are you really going to buy a DVD player because it now costs £39.10 instead of £39.90? All this will do is raise Britain’s debt to a level that will take a whole generation to work off.
Germany’s finance minister, Peer Steinbrück, finds Britain’s stimulus plan distasteful:
"Our British friends are now cutting their value-added tax. We have no idea how much of that stores will pass on to customers. Are you really going to buy a DVD player because it now costs £39.10 instead of £39.90? All this will do is raise Britain’s debt to a level that will take a whole generation to work off.
"The same people who would never touch deficit spending are now tossing around billions. The switch from decades of supply-side politics all the way to a crass Keynesianism is breathtaking."
Steinbrück may be forced to hold his nose when German bankers, ministers, and economists meet next week to discuss their own stimulus measures. Chancellor Angela Merkel is said to be moving closer to the British position.
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
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