Larry Elliott writing in the Guardian has some good points on the madness of the so-called austerity, when many sectors, such as housing are crying out for investment, creating jobs, providing affordable housing for the many from the 99% socio-economic group, enhancing the nation’s overall well-being and happiness.
A 1930s-style building boom could bring back growth
House building after the great depression revived the economy, tackled overcrowding and kept property prices stable for years.“Eighty years ago, when Franklin D Roosevelt was waiting to move into the White House and the New Deal was still in the future, Britain was already recovering from the Great Depression. As the first country to come off the gold standard the UK had the advantage of being the first country to devalue, and that – together with the protective wall around the British empire – helped manufacturers to export.
Departure from the gold standard in September 1931 also let the national government run a cheap money policy. The bank rate was cut to 2%, which is where it remained for almost 20 years. The result was the building boom that gave us the 1930s semi.
The contrast with the tepid recovery from the deep recession of 2008-09 is marked. An entire US presidential term has come and gone for Barack Obama without Britain showing signs of meaningful recovery. Two years ago a cold snap in December was blamed for the contraction of the economy in the final three months of 2010, but the fall in national output proved more than a blip. Despite a depreciation of sterling comparable with that which followed departure from the gold standard, manufacturing output has not picked up. The bank rate has been 0.5% for the past four years yet house building last year was at its lowest since the 1920s.”…
Read more:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jan/20/1930s-building-boom-bring-growth