Faced with an impending recession brought about in no small part by over-spending on borrowed money, it seems strange that one suggested remedy is to spend, spend, spend on borrowed money. However odd it sounds, that is exactly the course of action being talked about in many quarters -perhaps most significantly No 11 Downing Street - as a route back from the economic brink. Keynesian economics are back in style. If the service economy grinds to a halt, private sector investment dries up and consumers run out of cash, then the government is left with the only cheque book in town. It should openrnit, the theory goes, and start spending big on blockbuster projects that employ people and pour money into the coffers of businesses. If the country needs to run up a stonking great overdraft in the process, so be it. If this scenario comes to pass, the UK could soon undergo a seismic shift in how it sees itself.rnImagine if a whole nation's economy could be embodied by a single person. Until recently (let's say about six weeks ago) the UK would have been a high-rolling banker with a serious shopping habit, a big credit card bill and a buy-to-let mortgage funded by the rent of a couple of Polish builders.
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