The Archbishop of Canterbury has likened Gordon Brown's recovery plan for the economy to "an addict returning to a drug". Dr Rowan Williams, who only yesterday claimed he does not consider the reaction of politicians before speaking out, said he was worried about the Government's plan to spend its way out of recession.He also claimed the financial crisis could be good for society as it would provide a "reality check" to irresponsible spending and get-rich-quick schemes, and may encourage a return to volunteering and charity.
Asked about the Prime Minister's "fiscal stimulus" package, which includes cutting VAT and increasing public borrowing, the Archbishop told Radio 4's Today programme: "I worry about that because it seems a little bit like the addict returning to the drug. When the Bible uses the word 'repentance', it doesn't just mean beating your breast, it means getting a new perspective, and that is perhaps what we are shrinking away from."
"What I'm worried about is anything that pushes us straight back into the kind of spiral we were in before. It is about what is sustainable in the long term and if this is going to drive us back into the same spin, I do not think that is going to help us." He said people should not "spend to save the economy", but instead spend for "human reasons" such as providing for their own needs.
Interesting. I'd have never thought he'd have the capacity to issue even this small serving of common sense, even with the required sprinkling of PC-speak about "sustainability"...