LETTERS Reagan and Pickles
Sir: We are all economists these days, and newcomers to the dismal science may be interested to know that there is a very good primer in print: The Tale of Ginger and Pickles by Beatrix Potter. Although first published in 1909, it has all the sparkling immediacy characteristic of this writer, and it can be recommended to those of short attention span. A copy should be sent to President Reagan. Mrs Thatcher probably read it when she was about four.
For those who do not know the story, it concerns a torn cat, Ginger, and a smooth- haired terrier, Pickles, who keep a shop. It is run on the principle of giving unlimited credit, and is very popular. Miss Potter tells her readers, 'Now the meaning of "credit" is this — when a customer buys a bar of soap, instead of the customer pulling out a purse and paying for it — she says she will pay for it another time.' As one can easily imagine, 'sales were enormous, ten times as large as at Tabitha Twitchet's' (another, sterner cat who owns a shop in the same village where no credit is given).
I won't reveal the end of this thrilling story, as it would spoil it for those who haven't read it, but experienced econom- ists can probably guess.
Courtney Latimer 3 The Street, Melton, Woodbridge,
Suffolk
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