[lbo-talk] credit crunch

[John Thornton]

James Heartfield wrote:
> Here's a less banker-generous view from Simon Jenkins:
>
> The government has now allocated to the banks the equivalent of £1,000 
> from every man, woman and child in Britain. This was supposedly to 
> "maintain confidence" and thus continue the flow of lending. The flow 
> has not occurred. It must be the most costly single failure of policy 
> in peacetime. Yet the cry from politicians and the financial press is 
> for more. Economic policy has not progressed beyond the Somme. 

Is this writer claiming that the flow of lending is dangerously low or 
simply that it is no longer unsustainably high as is was just a year or 
so prior?
Is a return to some perceived ideal amount the goal and if so what is 
that amount and why is it the perceived ideal?

John Thornton