Insidiously, a perverted perspective about economics is being slyly slipped into the mainstream. Earlier Tuesday morning, Tesco’s CEO Terry Leahy was asked on the BBC’s Today program about the planned increased in National Insurance taxes with the interviewer casually describing the Conservatives’ proposal to not implement the increase as “taking money out of the economy.”
James Lawson ably captured that misconception on these pages after the idea was introduced by Gordon Brown a couple of weeks ago: “Fundamentally, Gordon must answer how the tax cut would take money out of the economy. Unless his vision of the economy is severely impaired, so that it includes only the actions of government and not the people (I wouldn’t put it beyond him), his argument is a manifestly illogical and economically illiterate.”
Yet, it’s clear the BBC has bought it hook, line and sinker. No surprise there nor that Labour continues to spew that argument.
What’s terribly disappointing is that the Tories haven’t jumped all over it as it would represent a very clear distinction between them and Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Come on, Dave, you’re fast losing the argument by default.
