Posted at 23rd January 2008 08:39John Kenneth Galbraith. 1908 - 2006
I’ve already had two calls asking me to explain the reference to LBJ & Galbraith in my letter to the minister. For the benefit of the younger brethren:
J.K.Galbraith was a Canadian-American economist who wrote a large number of best selling books during the ‘50s and 60s. He taught at Harvard and had already served as economic adviser to FDR, Harry S.Truman, and JFK when he came across Lyndon Baines Johnson.
LBJ might be described as a crude Texan, who was probably surprised to find himself President on Kennedy’s assassination. These days he’s chiefly remembered for escalating the Viet Nam war (Hey! Hey! LBJ. How many kids have you killed today? etc, etc, All good sixties stuff) LBJ didn’t take to Galbraith and whilst the academic was trying to interest the President in a finer point of economics, the Texan looked up and drawled:
“It’s like p*ssing down your leg. Sure as hell feels hot to you but nobody else gives a damn.”
Dennis Healey was the source of the quote so it must be politically acceptable!
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