The British are not a nation of shopkeepers, as Napoleon said, but rather one of property speculators. This is why a government notionally devoted to fiscal austerity has decided to use its balance sheet, up to ￡130bn (8 per cent of gross domestic product), to guarantee mortgages as part of its “Help to Buy” scheme. The government claims it is helping first-time buyers. It is really helping those who wish to keep housing costly: today’s owners, banks and housebuilders. The government is strengthening a conspiracy to keep house prices exorbitant.
英國并不像拿破侖(Napoleon)所說，是個小店主之國，而是房地產投機者之國。正因此，一個名義上奉行財政緊縮的政府，決定動用多達1300億英鎊的財政資金（國內生產總值(GDP)的8%），實施“購房援助計劃”(Help to Buy)，為抵押貸款提供擔保。政府聲稱幫助的對象是首次買房者。但事實上，該計劃的受益者是那些希望維持高房價的人：目前的有房者、銀行和住宅開發商。面對著一個將房價維持在離譜水平的陰謀，政府所做的卻是推波助瀾。