The Consumer

I have been following - with great interest - Britain's passage
to Brexit and have been struck by the lovely silence on the fate
of the consumer, a topic  of great fanfare here in America. It is an
accepted fact that once Brexit kicks in, a number of things will cost
more compared to present prices, so why dwell on it. The Conservatives
are in power, one plays the game, at worst one wonders why the Labor
Party has nothing to say.

More profoundly, though, some things - like public transport - are more
expensive in London than say Paris, because that is the Engish standard on
the issue. There is nothing more to be said.

But the consumer is king, or should be. Is that not the very essence of a market
economy and its benefits. Policy should protect the consumption function, which
gives us better products and rewards innovation. The consumer qua individual
well, ...can take a number.