http://www.ft.com/comment/columnists/samuelbrittanhttp://www.ft.com/rss/comment/columnists/samuelbrittanFT.com - Samuel Brittanen© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2008. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.support@ft.comThu, 8 May 2008 18:21 BSTTue, 13 May 2008 16:38:20 BSTNewspapers60http://news.ft.com/cms/d1f3ce1a-6bbe-11da-bb53-0000779e2340.gifhttp://www.ft.com/comment/columnists/samuelbrittan(PICS-1.1 "http://www.classify.org/safesurf/" L gen true for "http://www.ft.com/" r (SS~~000 1))http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4b428dc0-1d0f-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4b428dc0-1d0f-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlThe beginning of wisdom is to recognise that booms and busts have been a feature of capitalism from the start, writes Samuel Brittan Thu, 8 May 2008 18:21 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/eaa50574-121e-11dd-9b49-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/eaa50574-121e-11dd-9b49-0000779fd2ac.htmlThe cause of toleration is not helped by relying on bad economics, as the British government so often does, writes Samuel Brittan Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:03 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4d6eb494-06fc-11dd-b41e-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4d6eb494-06fc-11dd-b41e-0000779fd2ac.htmlBoth the Federal Reserve and Fed watchers still accept the idea that central banks should support the expansion of the economy and maintain price stability, writes Samuel Brittan Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:58 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2e10b46c-fc2f-11dc-9229-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2e10b46c-fc2f-11dc-9229-000077b07658.htmlThe emphasis in central banks' policy should shift towards pressures that are domestically generated, writes Samuel Brittan Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:02 GMThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/423859b6-f137-11dc-a91a-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/423859b6-f137-11dc-a91a-0000779fd2ac.htmlI refuse to believe that if helicopters dropped money on Manhattan and London it would not be picked up and spent, writes Samuel Brittan Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:14 GMThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/58b0094c-e619-11dc-8398-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/58b0094c-e619-11dc-8398-0000779fd2ac.htmlThe Bank of England's willingness to squeeze the UK citizen is more convincing in an insular than in a global context, writes Samuel Brittan Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:42 GMThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/90cec57c-db2c-11dc-9fdd-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/90cec57c-db2c-11dc-9fdd-0000779fd2ac.html Lord Lamont's 1993 strategy of a staggered rate of tax increase could be an answer to the UK's current problems, writes Samuel Brittan Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:57 GMThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6921b604-d034-11dc-9309-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6921b604-d034-11dc-9309-0000779fd2ac.htmlIt is far from obvious that we face a major worldwide recession, and there is no need to talk ourselves into one, writes Samuel Brittan Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:58 GMThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b8de2cd2-c51b-11dc-811a-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b8de2cd2-c51b-11dc-811a-0000779fd2ac.htmlThere are many problems about policies to maintain economic activity, but lack of policy instruments is not one of them, writes Samuel Brittan Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:44 GMThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/16d5180c-ba1b-11dc-abcb-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/16d5180c-ba1b-11dc-abcb-0000779fd2ac.htmlThe present danger is to confuse a straightforward economic slowdown with the saturation of wants, writes Samuel Brittan Fri, 4 Jan 2008 08:36 GMThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0453e992-af12-11dc-880f-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0453e992-af12-11dc-880f-0000779fd2ac.htmlWe need intelligence of what is going on in key parts of the economy, and contingency plans covering the worst and best that could happen, writes Samuel Brittan Fri, 21 Dec 2007 07:51 GMThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b9f78190-a414-11dc-a28d-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b9f78190-a414-11dc-a28d-0000779fd2ac.htmlInflation targets should be treated as long-term ones, to be attained over an average of several years, says Samuel Brittan Fri, 7 Dec 2007 07:45 GMThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3bf362d4-9913-11dc-bb45-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3bf362d4-9913-11dc-bb45-0000779fd2ac.htmlThere is a place for both role models and preachers. But these are not necessarily functions of government, writes Samuel Brittan Fri, 23 Nov 2007 08:04 GMT