ABSTRACT
The White Paper gave repeated warnings of the dangers of inflation 'bringing with it social injustice and economic disturbance'. There was a commitment to sound public finances 'such as will maintain confidence in the future which is necessary for a healthy and enterprising industry'. The American approach has certainly been very successful at generating employment. Thirty-four million new private sector jobs have been created in North America in the last twenty years, almost matching the growth in the number of people seeking work. Encouraging small businesses has also played an important role. The Enterprise Initiative put together a package of measures to help small firms. The huge growth of private provision for retirement, pensions, savings and insurance against unexpected personal crisis must also reflect the realities of the flexibility of our labour market. Strong welfare state has an important role to play in reducing these fears – the knowledge that a period out of employment will not necessarily mean hardship.
