Whenconsumersputmoreof their money in their savingsaccounts, thefundswould be lent out tofinance the productionoffactories, machines, computersandotherforms ofphysicalcapital.
There are many reasons why households might extract equity from their homes: to finance household expenditures, to make major home repairs or improvements (so-called residential investment), to consolidate more costly debt, such as credit card debt, to invest in personal businesses or otherformsof entrepreneurship, to help finance the purchase ofother real estate, or to engage in a form of investment arbitrage, or a mixture of the above.
But at Unison's conference, members have been debating their opposition to the controversial private finance initiative (PFI) and otherformsof privatisation in the public sector.