There is a lot I liked in Stewart Lansley’s new book,
[amazon_image id=”1447331435″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]A sharing economy: How social wealth funds can reduce inequality and help balance the books[/amazon_image]
[amazon_image id=”1137519843″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Public Wealth of Nations: How Management of Public Assets Can Boost or Bust Economic Growth[/amazon_image]
The idea should be a no-brainer for governments. The time horizon of politics in the UK (and some other countries) has become ever more short term, however, so any trade off between present and future has become nearly impossible. There is ideology, or perhaps cargo-cultism, in it too: is there an economist who does not think it bananas that the government is failing to borrow at such low interest rates to invest in key infrastructure? Yet the combination of a focus on total (current and capital) spending combined, plus the belief the public sector should own as little as possible as an article of faith, make it unlikely the present government will explore the idea of managing public assets efficiently with a view to longer term returns. Yet how mad is it that we have no consensus that it is better to manage public assets well than to manage them badly?
An additional chapter advocates a citizen income or basic income, which fits into an overall framing of the argument for a social wealth fund as a means to address inequality. The arguments from common sense appeal more to me, as I’d rather tackle inequality more directly (eg by legislating if necessary against the corporate governance that has created boardroom excess, by suitable property taxation etc). The idea of a basic income has re-emerged with every wave of anxiety about automation destroying jobs, but there are good counter-arguments – Emran Mian of the SMF covers them here.
But the case the book makes for the nation managing its assets properly and with a view to financial and social sustainability is very welcome.