The growth solution
Adam Posen has a number of useful ideas, some of which I articulated quite some time ago (“What next?"). Much of the British policy elite, irrespective of the political aisle they occupy, have been obsessed with trying to apportion blame for what happened in 2008. It has long been time to move on, and get growth back to our probable underlying trend of 2.5 per cent. We don’t need to be stuck with low growth as post-crisis activity in some other countries shows.
Jim O’Neill, Chairman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Adam Posen is to be commended for fresh thinking on how to revitalise a faltering UK economy even though he seems to underestimate how little room there is for fiscal policy manoeuvre. Particularly welcome are his proposals for far-reaching credit and banking reform aimed at promoting competition and increasing the flow of credit to small and medium-sized enterprises. Much more questionable are his suggestions that the UK should now move towards fiscal stimulus and large infrastructure projects. Such an abrupt U-turn would run the risk of losing the UK’s hard-won credibility in the financial markets that would not be easy to regain. Desmond Lachman, American Enterprise Institute
Not me, guv Ian Blair is right to highlight problems facing elected police commissioners (“Policing politics”). When MPs and peers raise concerns about dramatic cuts in police numbers or stations we’ll no doubt be told that this is down to commissioners—yet another example of the government passing the buck. So perhaps the policy wasn’t drafted on the back of an envelope as it seemed but in Tory central office under the heading “Not me, guv.” Angela Smith, shadow Home Office minister, House of Lords
Securing Israel’s future Anyone who has lived or worked in Israel, or with a sense of Jewish history, will understand the feeling of insecurity—and the consequent need for military strength—expressed in Ehud Barak’s article (“Stiff-necked people”). The issue remains: how can Israel achieve the secure place it deserves in the region? Without commenting on points of detail in the article, I would highlight first that the Saudi-inspired Arab Peace Initiative remains a major missed opportunity, and that Israel’s failure to send a clearer signal of interest in this initiative continues to raise questions in the minds of those in the region who have a shared interest in long-term stability. Second, that while Israeli doubts about the implications of the “Arab Spring” are understandable, surely it would have made more sense to express understanding for and even sympathy with the search for greater dignity and participation which triggered the upheavals, and to say, however provisionally, that should this lead to a region in which Israel is not the only democracy that would be a good thing. Sir Tom Phillips, former British ambassador to Israel (2006-2010)
I was disappointed to read in your January editorial a description of Israel’s decision to build new dwellings near Jerusalem, as being “egregiously predatory.” I am well aware that the default position of the media in this country is hostile to Israel, but such inflammatory language goes too far. You condemn Israel, while making no similar condemnation of the Palestinians whose application to the UN is contrary to the Oslo accords that they and Israel signed. Why do you unquestioningly condemn the only country in the Middle East that has a true democracy, and whose citizens, regardless of race, religion or colour have complete freedom? Compare that with the neighbouring countries from which almost every Jew has been expelled. In Egypt, for example, Christian Copts are persecuted and killed, but that seems not to be a problem for you since you did not mention this in your piece. Israel must have defensible borders and cannot return to the pre-1967 so-called borders, which were actually armistice lines where fighting stopped in 1949 are not recognised borders and are indefensible. One part of that border is east of Jerusalem. You seem to be unaware of or have ignored the pledges of Hamas to destroy Israel and kill the Jews. Fatah leader, Mahmoud Abbas, declared that when it achieves statehood, no Jew will be able to live on the West Bank. Similarly, the leader of Hezbollah (which means the party of God—a ridiculous name in view of its stated aim to murder all the Jews) declared that all the Jews should come to Israel as then it will be easier to find and kill them. When someone says, repeatedly, that they intend to kill you, you need to take them seriously rather than writing them off as cranks, as many did with Hitler when he said the same as Israel’s enemies are now saying. I have to ask why your attitude to Israel is so unquestioningly condemnatory while you give the Palestinians such an easy ride, especially when Israel upholds our western values. Geoffrey Bernstein, Middlesex
Aid works Ian Birrell points to significant economic progress in the developing world as a reason for why foreign aid is now an outdated approach to development (“Target inequality”). He is right to highlight inequality as a growing problem but ignores the role smart aid is playing in addressing it. Much of the success in improving the lives of the world’s poorest in recent years can be directly attributed to aid. For instance, government aid and private sector contributions are providing anti-retroviral treatments to over 4m people who wouldn’t be alive today without them and who contribute to their countries’ economic growth. Joe Cerrell, Europe director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Premiership policies Peter Kellner’s [polling exercise] is fascinating, but probably reaches unreliable conclusions (“It’s a policy knockout”). Each of the 16 policy options was tested against only four of the other competitors and the outcome could have been very different had they come up against other opponents. It would have been more laborious but more convincing if the competition had been modelled on the Premiership rather than the FA Cup, with each contender playing each of the others—but not necessarily both home and away! Harvey Cole, Hampshire
I have been overwhelmed by the level of public support the Public Accounts Committee has received for our work on tax avoidance, so I am not surprised that this policy [cracking down on firms that avoid tax] has won Peter Kellner’s contest. There is huge anger that, while the rest of us pay our taxes unquestioningly, global companies like Starbucks and Amazon are getting away with paying little or no tax in the UK despite generating significant profits here. Margaret Hodge, Labour MP for Barking
Leveson liberalism I am somewhat shocked by your editorial knee-jerk hostility to the Leveson report. Intelligent liberals (JS Mill, for example) have always allowed for state intervention when needed to stop liberty degenerating into licence or anarchy. Neither the Leveson nor the Ed Miliband versions of statutory backing for independent regulation bear any resemblance to “statutory control of the media.” Slippery-slope arguments, which are essentially conservative, should always be viewed with suspicion. Alan Bailey, London
Angela’s ashes Katinka Barysch (“The Genius of Merkel”) forgets that Merkel is running the most divisive European campaign for many a decade. I will be delighted if I am proven wrong, but sadly I fear I will not: Merkel will be remembered as a politician who for expediency squandered the good name and faith that post-war German politicians strived hard to create; yet another blinkered conservative politician who sacrificed long-term European social cohesion and peace for a few pieces of silver. Kostas, via the Prospect website
Don’t blame capitalism Antony Beevor, in his insightful and wide-ranging essay, appears to lose his way as he moves towards his conclusions (“Europe’s long shadow”). The capitalist “system” is indeed unstable, and attempts to stabilise it will only inhibit creativity. When the history of our current crisis comes to be written, it will tell of out-of-control government spending and deficits, of vote-seeking politicians, of crony relationships between government and cartels. And, it will tell of greed from some executives in the finance industry whose companies were either “too big to fail,” or who were allowed to indulge in risky speculation with no personal downside, but it will not conclude that the “moral crisis of capitalism” was to blame. Tony Percy, USA
The Browning verdict The quotation in the title of Bill Emmott’s piece “The best is yet to come” should really read “The best is yet to be,” shouldn’t it? Robert Browning would not be pleased with Emmott. Otherwise I like Prospect. David Allbrook, Australia
Adam Posen is to be commended for fresh thinking on how to revitalise a faltering UK economy even though he seems to underestimate how little room there is for fiscal policy manoeuvre. Particularly welcome are his proposals for far-reaching credit and banking reform aimed at promoting competition and increasing the flow of credit to small and medium-sized enterprises. Much more questionable are his suggestions that the UK should now move towards fiscal stimulus and large infrastructure projects. Such an abrupt U-turn would run the risk of losing the UK’s hard-won credibility in the financial markets that would not be easy to regain. Desmond Lachman, American Enterprise Institute
Not me, guv Ian Blair is right to highlight problems facing elected police commissioners (“Policing politics”). When MPs and peers raise concerns about dramatic cuts in police numbers or stations we’ll no doubt be told that this is down to commissioners—yet another example of the government passing the buck. So perhaps the policy wasn’t drafted on the back of an envelope as it seemed but in Tory central office under the heading “Not me, guv.” Angela Smith, shadow Home Office minister, House of Lords
Securing Israel’s future Anyone who has lived or worked in Israel, or with a sense of Jewish history, will understand the feeling of insecurity—and the consequent need for military strength—expressed in Ehud Barak’s article (“Stiff-necked people”). The issue remains: how can Israel achieve the secure place it deserves in the region? Without commenting on points of detail in the article, I would highlight first that the Saudi-inspired Arab Peace Initiative remains a major missed opportunity, and that Israel’s failure to send a clearer signal of interest in this initiative continues to raise questions in the minds of those in the region who have a shared interest in long-term stability. Second, that while Israeli doubts about the implications of the “Arab Spring” are understandable, surely it would have made more sense to express understanding for and even sympathy with the search for greater dignity and participation which triggered the upheavals, and to say, however provisionally, that should this lead to a region in which Israel is not the only democracy that would be a good thing. Sir Tom Phillips, former British ambassador to Israel (2006-2010)
I was disappointed to read in your January editorial a description of Israel’s decision to build new dwellings near Jerusalem, as being “egregiously predatory.” I am well aware that the default position of the media in this country is hostile to Israel, but such inflammatory language goes too far. You condemn Israel, while making no similar condemnation of the Palestinians whose application to the UN is contrary to the Oslo accords that they and Israel signed. Why do you unquestioningly condemn the only country in the Middle East that has a true democracy, and whose citizens, regardless of race, religion or colour have complete freedom? Compare that with the neighbouring countries from which almost every Jew has been expelled. In Egypt, for example, Christian Copts are persecuted and killed, but that seems not to be a problem for you since you did not mention this in your piece. Israel must have defensible borders and cannot return to the pre-1967 so-called borders, which were actually armistice lines where fighting stopped in 1949 are not recognised borders and are indefensible. One part of that border is east of Jerusalem. You seem to be unaware of or have ignored the pledges of Hamas to destroy Israel and kill the Jews. Fatah leader, Mahmoud Abbas, declared that when it achieves statehood, no Jew will be able to live on the West Bank. Similarly, the leader of Hezbollah (which means the party of God—a ridiculous name in view of its stated aim to murder all the Jews) declared that all the Jews should come to Israel as then it will be easier to find and kill them. When someone says, repeatedly, that they intend to kill you, you need to take them seriously rather than writing them off as cranks, as many did with Hitler when he said the same as Israel’s enemies are now saying. I have to ask why your attitude to Israel is so unquestioningly condemnatory while you give the Palestinians such an easy ride, especially when Israel upholds our western values. Geoffrey Bernstein, Middlesex
Aid works Ian Birrell points to significant economic progress in the developing world as a reason for why foreign aid is now an outdated approach to development (“Target inequality”). He is right to highlight inequality as a growing problem but ignores the role smart aid is playing in addressing it. Much of the success in improving the lives of the world’s poorest in recent years can be directly attributed to aid. For instance, government aid and private sector contributions are providing anti-retroviral treatments to over 4m people who wouldn’t be alive today without them and who contribute to their countries’ economic growth. Joe Cerrell, Europe director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Premiership policies Peter Kellner’s [polling exercise] is fascinating, but probably reaches unreliable conclusions (“It’s a policy knockout”). Each of the 16 policy options was tested against only four of the other competitors and the outcome could have been very different had they come up against other opponents. It would have been more laborious but more convincing if the competition had been modelled on the Premiership rather than the FA Cup, with each contender playing each of the others—but not necessarily both home and away! Harvey Cole, Hampshire
I have been overwhelmed by the level of public support the Public Accounts Committee has received for our work on tax avoidance, so I am not surprised that this policy [cracking down on firms that avoid tax] has won Peter Kellner’s contest. There is huge anger that, while the rest of us pay our taxes unquestioningly, global companies like Starbucks and Amazon are getting away with paying little or no tax in the UK despite generating significant profits here. Margaret Hodge, Labour MP for Barking
Leveson liberalism I am somewhat shocked by your editorial knee-jerk hostility to the Leveson report. Intelligent liberals (JS Mill, for example) have always allowed for state intervention when needed to stop liberty degenerating into licence or anarchy. Neither the Leveson nor the Ed Miliband versions of statutory backing for independent regulation bear any resemblance to “statutory control of the media.” Slippery-slope arguments, which are essentially conservative, should always be viewed with suspicion. Alan Bailey, London
Angela’s ashes Katinka Barysch (“The Genius of Merkel”) forgets that Merkel is running the most divisive European campaign for many a decade. I will be delighted if I am proven wrong, but sadly I fear I will not: Merkel will be remembered as a politician who for expediency squandered the good name and faith that post-war German politicians strived hard to create; yet another blinkered conservative politician who sacrificed long-term European social cohesion and peace for a few pieces of silver. Kostas, via the Prospect website
Don’t blame capitalism Antony Beevor, in his insightful and wide-ranging essay, appears to lose his way as he moves towards his conclusions (“Europe’s long shadow”). The capitalist “system” is indeed unstable, and attempts to stabilise it will only inhibit creativity. When the history of our current crisis comes to be written, it will tell of out-of-control government spending and deficits, of vote-seeking politicians, of crony relationships between government and cartels. And, it will tell of greed from some executives in the finance industry whose companies were either “too big to fail,” or who were allowed to indulge in risky speculation with no personal downside, but it will not conclude that the “moral crisis of capitalism” was to blame. Tony Percy, USA
The Browning verdict The quotation in the title of Bill Emmott’s piece “The best is yet to come” should really read “The best is yet to be,” shouldn’t it? Robert Browning would not be pleased with Emmott. Otherwise I like Prospect. David Allbrook, Australia
