The reason is a culture that ran as a leitmotif through Osborne’s speech. He is a natural mandarin, versed in the ways of Whitehall. To him recovery should be led from the centre, top-down, and with a focus on the glamorous supply side. Demand is boring, and for nerds. This bias is now rooted in Britain’s governing class. In the 18th century this class took its cue from landowners, in the 19th century from merchants, and in the 20th from bureaucrats. Today the prevailing culture is banking, fixed in the Whitehall revolving door. That is why corporate balance sheets are groaning with unused cash, spilling into giant salaries and bonuses. This money is not in circulation and is therefore untaxed, while the retail economy gasps for cash.
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