One of the most conspicuous yet least seen human traits is the tendency, particularly when acting on mass, to swing (no not that kind) wildly, first one way and then the other.
For instance, in the world of fashion we move from drain pipes to flares and back, rarely stopping to think that perhaps somewhere in between might be the perfect cut.
When Gordon proclaimed that he had ended boom and bust for ever, I for one had a good laugh.
No one can end boom and bust in the economy, any more than I could make everyone wear the same jeans until they are worn out, and then go and buy a new pair with the same cut as the old. It’s not going to happen because we are predisposed to be swingers. It’s human nature to react to one extreme by heading straight at the other.
The point of this ramble:
For all our sakes someone should tell our new government to spend just a few minutes looking back at the last 13 years of new labour’s reckless spending and wonder if swinging to the opposite extreme is going to help or hinder the economic recovery.
Mind you, it’s an ill wind that blows no one any good. A double dip recession will delight the Greens. Up, that is, until they can’t afford new batteries for their hybrid cars.