The debate about why the U.K. is having a worse recovery than the U.S. has offered up every possible cause except the most likely one. Policy makers, parliamentarians and economists variously point to the government’s austerity program, insufficient monetary stimulus, a broken and beleaguered banking sector and the euro-zone crisis as reasons the U.K. has double-dipped after registering the most tepid of rebounds from the deepest downturn since the 1930s. So what’s at fault? The U.K. is awash in debt collateralized by asset prices that are inflated way above the levels the economy’s prospects can support. Both ... (full story)