Clegg’s tall tales won’t boost growth

“The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, will today announce proceeds from the government growth fund which will protect or safeguard 200,000 jobs.” This sentence contains everything that’s wrong about this government’s schizophrenic approach to economic recovery. Rather than cut taxes and let the economy grow, they increase tax — and then give people back a portion of the cash, expecting to be thanked as they do so. And, for good measure, dropping in a spurious jobs number.

Nick Clegg was on the Today programme this morning, showcasing the phenomenon that retards so many economies: politicians seeking credit for giving one man’s money to another. He started off by announcing that he, Nick Clegg, had “created and overseen” the fund as if he was a Carnegie figure, doling out his millions to a grateful nation. Except to assemble this cash, he had to tax someone — now or (through debt) in the future.