iconomic Note s
The Jisonomist of June 15th, does not share Mr. Maudlings confidence in the economy, In an article entitled "the unspectacular chancellor', it has this to say- 'Mr, Moudling's speoch to Birmingherlo rotarians helped to send stock exe ‘hngo prices up on Tuesilay, by almost as mich as Miss Christarns Keeler had sent them down the othir day. It is a bit difficult to see why. He weved away April's disappointingly stagnated retail trade figures, and averred that ho much profers "steady rather than spectacular g rowth', because in the past 'specta ular progress has sometimes lead +o sharp setbacks.!' First this last statement is histor ically mislending. First the last three sto rling crises have taken place at or just after o time when production has be en stagnating or rising very slowly , not after it has been rising spectacularly (editorial comment) spectacular economic growth has led to inflation e.g. the 1956 erisis). Secondly, it.is a familiarly bad treasury habit to uso the word growth only at bidget time and thon to start qualifying it by some adjoct= ivo shortly afterwards; such as Mr Lloyds "sound growth! (which meant unnecessary deflation), or Mr. Maudlings owm previous ‘Underlying growth" (w hich meant growth which had not actually happoned), and now this term "steady g rowth' (which could easily become a euphemism for g rowth at a totally inadequate rate).....The depressing feature of this Birming ham speach was that the Chancellor seeme d already to be digging in behind so many of the old platitudes that the Treasury has use too often in the past to justify immobility,"