PROFESSOR JOSEPH STIGLITZ, THE ECONOMY AND GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT

That this House welcomes the remarks by Professor Stiglitz, former Chief Economist of the World Bank, in his recent interview with The Independent newspaper, in which he warns against severe cuts being the response to the recession `because cutting back means the economy goes into a downturn...[and] will trigger another recession or depression'; believes the lessons from Ireland, where the government has undertaken a savage cuts agenda that has deepened the recession with an approach that mirrors much of what is said by the Conservative Party in the UK, are clear; supports Professor Stiglitz's comments that governments should not be held to ransom by credit agencies and that investment and economic benefits will result from the public spending undertaken in response to the recession; and further believes that a programme of government investment would restore economic growth and in turn reduce government debt meaning that ordinary people such as nurses, teachers and pensioners who did not cause the recession would not have to pay for the failings of unrestrained free-market capitalism.