This quotation from the second book of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations hits the nail firmly on the head.
“It is the highest impertinence and presumption,
therefore, in kings and ministers, to
pretend to watch over the
economy of private people, and to restrain their expence, either by sumptuary
laws, or by prohibiting the importation of foreign luxuries. They are
themselves always, and without any exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the
society. Let them look well after their own expence, and they may safely trust
private people with theirs. If their
own extravagance does not ruin
the state, that of their subjects never will.”
If Adam Smith were alive today, he would undoubtedly be unstinting in his criticism of another famous man from Kirkcaldy, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.