This is an old-style financial crisis but not all the old answers will work. Freezing the pay of doctors and judges may have worked for the Wilson and Heath governments but it has little impact when inflation is negligible or negative.
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Hurry hurry while stocks last? Companies that want to issue bonds because they cannot borrow may find the government has got there first.
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Deflation is not a good thing, but while Britain has it, business should exploit it. And it’s going to go lower.
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Two-thirds of businesses claim they will cut or freeze wages. I’ll believe it when I see it, but such threats are the perfect lever for freezing public pay immediately.
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After all those years fighting inflation the government finds itself criticised for abolishing price rises! True, the government is criticised for everything now, but this is a problem for later, not the present.
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For the generation of businessmen who have never known a recession it may seem academic that this one is so different from others. But it matters for those hoping to use past experience to cope with this downturn.
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You can’t blame the trade unions for seeking a substantial increase in the minimum wage but politicians must resist their demands.
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All those years battling against high inflation and now the worry is that prices will rise too little – or not at all. No wonder the government is worried: it will be the biggest loser.
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Interest rates will fall and inflation will plummet. That’s official: the Bank of England quietly said it while it thought no-one was listening.
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