Peter Jay’s obituary, “Washington’s British editor” (September 28), is particularly important to students of economics who still remember the speech he drafted for his father-in-law, Prime Minister James. , highlighting his continued importance. Callaghan speaks at the 1976 Labor Party conference. It said, “We thought we could spend money and get out of the recession…and frankly, that option no longer exists.”
Jonathan Derbyshire’s obituary rightly points out that this speech was “called time” for traditional economic policy and the means of post-war consensus. But this tribute could have been more reflective of Jay’s time as the BBC’s economics editor. For example, his documentary and book The Road to Riches was not mentioned. Worth a reread. In it, Jay comments that after many years of war (from the Nine Years’ War to the American Revolution), Britain’s national debt increased significantly despite huge tax increases. Sound familiar? The solution, he wrote, is to “make it easier and more attractive for people with money to lend to the government and reduce the burden of government borrowing.”
In modern terms, reform of the government bond market may be comparable to this. Three aspects are worth noting. Markets could become more easily accessible to retail investors through online stock trading platforms.
Inflation-linked pensions are certainly the most suitable investment for securing retirement income, but they may be offered directly by the Debt Management Office. The private sector appears to be particularly poor at providing such tools.
And third, government debt could be initiated to directly fund much-needed capital infrastructure projects. Now is the time to get creative in managing our national debt, rather than simply filling a black hole.
paul temperton
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, UK
