"The nine most terrifying words in the English language", Ronald Reagan is held to have said, "are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" If only Gordon Brown had listened. The prime minister's plan, revealed on September 2nd, to keep Britain's troubled ￡4 trillion ($7 trillion) housing market "moving forward" by advancing some ￡1.6 billion-worth of help to first-time buyers, purchasers of modest properties and homeowners struggling to meet their mortgage payments was never going to be more than cosmetic. In the event it mixed a few sensible ideas (faster help for those whose banks threaten to repossess their houses) with a few dotty ones (luring first-time buyers into a falling market). But the overall effect was minimal.
展开▼
