Thursday 5 March 2009

The Bank of England is irresponsible

The Bank of England has cut rates to 0.5% and has started quantitative easing today, in a bid to ease the recession.

Clearly they haven't recognised that the cuts so far haven't worked, and will solve nothing. You cannot solve a crisis creating by borrowing too much by encouraging even more borrowing.

Quantitative easing is an incredibly risky, irresponsible tool. Last time it was used in this way we had 27% inflation, and it took a long time to get us out of it - luckily we had Thatcher. To increase the money supply will inherently cause inflation, since more money chasing scarcer goods will push prices up. Take 1920s Weimar Republic or present-day Zimbabwe as an example - wheelbarrows anyone?

We are quite literally staring at huge debt and a hugely devalued currency in the face. I don't trust the BoE to be responsible with how much it changes the government's accounts to, or with encouraging more borrowing.

Not to mention it's a further nail in the coffin of savers, who are getting very little interest (which will probably be reduced to zero) and the value of savings evaporating by inflation.

A better way would be to encourage saving now with higher interest rates, then after a few months when confidence is higher reducing them and encouraging investment and spending then. That way banks will have money to lend - real money - and is the reason why building societies don't go bust.

I'm changing my money into whichever foreign currency is the strongest, asap.

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