because they could instead ask their employer to make
the payment as part of salary, where it would only attract 40% (or whatever rate then

applied). This would
make employers think more carefully.

Reserve) that characterised Greenspan’s policies in very basic terms as “we’d better hope he’s right”, alluding to the budget deficit (not to

mention private debt) resulting from his policies.

We’re still in the relatively early stages of this crisis, and so shaking off the

“everything is fine, investors should still have confidence” mentality is going to be very difficult for people like Greenspan. Veiled warnings

about how unlikely the system will be able to survive without unprecedented Government intervention is as far as he will go so far, despite the

obvious rational analysis that surely must be going on in his head.

The extent of the policy re-design required is so far reaching that

most people in power will be suffering from inertia during the process of realisation. The challenge is communicating the collective action

required to make implementing the necessary changes as clean and efficient as it can be, whilst (i) not undermining democracy and (ii) not

fragmenting national responses across the globe.

Greenspan would be a great place to start in pursuit of this goal, but it must be a

conversation that is facilitated, as there are already plenty of people shouting.