ABSTRACT
There was a stage in the evolution of analytical economics during which it was fashionable to regard money as a veil concealing the operation of the fundamental processes that were regarded as the theorist's true concern. In the monetary policy case, all the decisions fall into category, that is, they can only affect the level of income indirectly, via the financial situation. A possibly more concise and relevant way of making the distinction is to say that in the fiscal case income, savings and wealth are all changing as the direct result of current government policy decisions. If the savings are held in the form of idle deposits, then all we have is a decline in the velocity of circulation of bank deposits. For commercial banks of the type found in the UK tend to regard the making of advances as their prime concern, with their investments occupying a residual position among non-liquid assets.
