From David Rotherham.
HOW disappointing it was that Senator Ozouf declined Deputy Southern’s recent invitation to hold a public discussion on economic matters.

Although the two appear to share a Keynesian approach to the idea of stimulating the economy, there are important differences in how they envisage that the stimulus should be implemented.

It would have been most instructive to have heard them explain their alternative views. Moreover, as the Senator is actually in power, and making decisions that often have a rather opaque reasoning from the lay public’s viewpoint, it could have been quite reassuring, were he to take the opportunity to explain himself.

I think the Senator was wrong in his claim that the States Chamber is the only place that these matters should be discussed. States debates have to focus on the proposition in hand, whereas public debates, whether oral or by open correspondence, set the wider context that should inform the detailed debates on propositions.

As well as their differences, it would possibly be of benefit for them to also establish the extent of their common ground, and go some way to alleviate the intense polarity of their current positions.

Most importantly, by opening the discussion to a wider audience, it would have been a means by which the interested public could question and make suggestions to both men, where perhaps neither of them are quite as convincing as could be wished for.

For example, personally, I am an admirer of the work of Keynes and his followers on the economics of major nations. However, I am not at all confident that Jersey’s economy, with its huge ratio of external trade to internal trade, fits well into their models.

I would have loved to hear Messrs Ozouf and Southern explain how they adjust or compensate for the extensive leakage that any economic stimulus must suffer here. No doubt, many of your other readers have their own questions, that they would like to hear both men’s answers to.

I do hope that the Senator thinks again, and decides to take the chance to engage with his public.