Sometimes I find I get a better perspective on things imagining how they might be viewed from the future. So here鈥檚 me looking back (yes, with anger) from 2020 at our current efforts to get houses built.

I鈥檓 nine years older watching TV with growing irritation.

The story strap under the newscaster reads: 鈥淗ousing Crisis Report: Why we need three million more homes鈥�

The picture skips to the housing minister being quizzed by the station鈥檚 business editor.

鈥淭his report, released today, puts the housing shortage at three million homes. Why, minister, didn鈥檛 we just build more homes when we had a chance during the recession to build them at a far lower cost to the nation than today?鈥� asks the journalist.

The housing minister obfuscates: 鈥淲ell, certainly the previous Government made mistakes. Lessons have been learned鈥︹��

鈥淏ut you personally were in charge for much of that time, why didn鈥檛 you do something?鈥� the journalist persists.

The reply comes with near audible handwringing: 鈥淲ell it鈥檚 easy with 2020 hindsight.鈥�

鈥淏ut come on,鈥� spits the journalist in Paxman style.

鈥淭his report shows there were between a third and a half a million construction workers on the dole. If you鈥檇 put just 100,000 of those to work building houses you would have saved almost 拢1.5bn a year in benefits and clawed back a further 拢700m in employment tax and NI.鈥�

The minister interjects, desperately seeking to bridge to his newly relaunched flagship policy: 鈥淵es, that鈥檚 absolutely a fair criticism. I agree. That is why we launched FairPay to get more young families onto the housing ladder and builders building again. As you know the aim鈥︹��

He鈥檚 cut dead by the journalist: 鈥淏ut with all due respect minister, that鈥檚 just applying a sticking plaster to the gaping hole left in the nation鈥檚 housing stock. Can you answer me this鈥�

鈥淚t was costing the nation more than 拢2bn a year to keep every 100,000 skilled workers on the scrapheap throughout the recession. That doesn鈥檛 account for managers, planners, lawyers, estate agents and the like.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 take account of the extra spending those brought back into work would have made, the extra VAT they would have paid, the jobs they would have sustained in shops and offices up and down the country.

鈥淎nd there鈥檚 the suffering of the homeless, the ill health of the badly housed and the social spillover from that which impacts on us all.

鈥淵ou had a golden opportunity to train up thousands of the 1 million young adults languishing as NEETs. Over that period we lost thousands of skilled workers, the very skills we are screaming for now鈥︹��

The minister cuts in again: 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 exactly what I鈥檓 saying. FairPay is linked to job creation. It鈥檚 linked to getting our young adults back into the workplace and giving more people a roof over their heads鈥︹��

鈥淐ome on minister. You, your predecessors, you all failed and your current scheme is too little too late.鈥�

鈥淭he report shows that much more could so easily have been done. For every home you built during the recession the Treasury would have pocketed 20 to 30 grand in savings. And you blew it.鈥�

The minister, keen to break the attack, butts in: 鈥淏ut you must understand that the nation鈥檚 finances were in a mess, we鈥檇 been through the worst financial crisis on record.鈥�

Dismissing the minister with the line, 鈥渟o the Government was happy to waste billions a year supporting families out of work instead of spending on things that had to be done anyway and putting people back to much needed work,鈥� the journalist picks up the report and reads.

鈥淢inister, there were options. Here鈥檚 just one of the many suggested in this report. On the basis of an estimated build cost of 拢100,000 per home, correctly executed, the Government could have created a ring-fenced investment vehicle worth 拢10 billion annually to deliver 100,000 new homes on public land each year at a net cost to the nation of little more than 拢7 billion annually.

鈥淚f those homes were sold over time when the economy picked up into the private and non-profit sector, it would have 鈥� given the house price inflation we鈥檝e seen - netted a surplus to the Treasury well in excess of 拢3 billion for each year of operation. And that鈥檚 on modest assumptions, it says here.鈥�

鈥淢y reading of that, minister, is that UK taxpayers are now 拢30 billion worse off and our nation has been robbed of about a million homes.鈥�

The minister interjects: 鈥淏ut that is based on a huge number of maybes and hypotheticals鈥︹��

At that point I have to switch off the TV鈥�

I have been banging on about case for promoting spending on homes for the past three years. Here鈥檚 a from November 2008 containing some compelling (in my view) numbers to suggest why building homes in a recession makes such good sense. They may be a bit out of date, but there is a host of ways you can do the sums and basically not building now is wasting one of the few upsides of a recession.