£20bn gamble to save the economy

By cutting VAT today from 17.5% to 15% along with various other smaller measures Alistair Darling has effectively placed a £20bn bet to try and save the economy. Whether he had any choice might be debatable, but if he gets this right you can guarantee he will be handsomely rewarded with lucrative consultancy contracts upon retirement from his position as Chancellor.

However get it wrong and he’ll probably continue to serve out this term before retiring on his MP pension, i.e. he is placing this with no risk of actually losing out himself. So there is a huge reward on offer with little financial risk attached to failure for him, isn’t that exactly what Brown and Darling have been saying is wrong with the banking sector?