Con artistry?

What do you call someone who tries to persuade people to buy something that will be cheaper in a month and even cheaper in a year? I only ask because isn't that what Hazel Blears did yesterday when she said on the Today programme that "It's your dream… Go for it."?

This government and its cheerleaders at the BBC will praise the plans but of course they are only playing at being efficient. The stamp duty holiday may save someone buying a £175,000 house the figure of £1,750 but if the housing market is going to fall 10% over the next year (and I think that is a conservative estimate of the probable fall) then the purchaser will have a house worth £157,500 and £17,500 worth of negative equity. Of course house prices will fall again the following year, I am predicting a 30% - 40% reduction from the peak last year to the bottom in two to three years time. So Hazel Blears is trying to persuade people to spend money on asset that they could buy for around 30% less in a couple of years time.

Meanwhile the other plank of this "plan", the HomeBuy Direct scheme is even more insane, as I blogged on the day of the announcement:

"Once the five-year "free" period is up, homebuyers will be asked to pay a fee, the Department for Communities and Local Government said - although no more detail of this was provided." So people are expected to take out a five year "free of charge" loan without knowing the size of the "fee" payable at the end of the loan period... Would you trust honest Gordon Brown to not make the fee equivalent to the interest you would have paid?"

When will this dismal government realise that their time is up, people have finally worked out that they are inept and have ruined the economy. It's just the BBC flying the flag for the Labour government and the massive public-sector that will vote Labour to carry on feathering their nest that keeps Labour's opinion poll rating above 15%.