Grantham's grouse: The art of can-kicking

My worst fears about the potential loss of confidence in our leaders, institutions, and capitalism itself are being realised. We have been digging this hole for a long time.

We really must be serious in our attempts to resuscitate the average hour worked and the fortunes of the average worker. If we mean to prosper long term, I am sure we need to act to make debt less attractive to everybody: it really is a snare and a delusion. Tough decision-making is never easy, and wishful thinking and trying to postpone the day of reckoning is always tempting. Japan has been the reigning world can-kicking champ for 20 consecutive years. But today Japan is suddenly being challenged by both the US and the euroblock. The Brits, in contrast, with their draconian cost-cut...