"If economists wished to study the horse, they wouldn't go and look at horses. They'd sit in their studies and say to themselves, "What would I do if I were a horse?" " (Ronald Coase, 1999)
“Waaaaah, David Seymour won’t call me back now that he got what he wanted!” It’s called being ghosted, guy. Be smarter next time and stop handing politicians what they want on a front page platter.
Need to mention the efforts of the NZ Initiative (formerly the Business Roundtable) as another member of the gang of neoliberal propagandists. Can't have the Taxpayers Union getting all the credit.
Chef's kiss for perfectly encapsulating what's wrong with our society. We can totally blame economists. They've also completely stuffed up our energy system (which is the number 1 cause for climate collapse).
Well stated Josh. As Louise notes economics is an absolute joke. George Demartino has written about this in his book The Tragic Science. Inflation is not solely down to wages because any business has a choice between wages and profit. So larger profits are more of a driver. Economists though are wedded to Rogernomics which has stuffed our country over time. Dividends,CEO salaries and directors fees are never sited in the “wages cost” argument.
"Inflation is not solely down to wages because any business has a choice between wages and profit".
Current inflation is a global phenomenon caused by the knock-on from share values that were vastly inflated by banks (& others) speculating in that market using QE (called LSAP in NZ) money. The reversal of QE,by the resale of bonds has created competition in the financial asset market that ought to drive share prices down. However, corporations have been bolstering share prices by forcing high yields that are commensurate with that high price. Mainstream economists representing institutional investors are hardly going to tell you this story. Governments have also been eerily quiet over this phenomenon e.g. no hint of price-controls in most countries - I guess because it's an international problem, it's nobody's problem in their eyes.
A stock-market crash will come sometime, just as the house-price contraction did, though it will be faster and deeper, because shares don't have utility value like houses to set a lower limit to price. Having encouraged people to make private provision for their old-age, governments will also carry the can when peoples pensions, Kiwisaver etc. takes a huge hit on their investments, so they will keep quiet and when it happens, pretend it was unforseeable- like they did with the 2007/8 GFC.
I worked out in 4th form economics that the idea that the Aotearoa-New Zealand economy will, in general, increase in size is a basic fallacy for a finite country (and by extension for the single planet we all call home).
The fifth Labour Government's Local Government Act 2002, which forces councils to have a quadruple bottom line in their budgets and decision-making (the Act's purpose "provides for local authorities to play a broad role in promoting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of their communities, taking a sustainable development approach"), should also be enshrined in law for central government, and be enacted in all facets of our society. The lived experience of all past and current Earthlings shows that only taking into account the money part of the equation has been disproved to manage our resources sustainably and equitably for all current and future Earthlings...
This is why we need integrated reporting to become mandatory, it aims to include accounting for intellectual, human, social/relationship, and natural costs to the existing framework of only accounting for financial and manufactured capital.
Fuck yes Josh! A grim but fantastically put together read.
I just don't know why anyone takes economics or economists seriously. How often can you be absolutely wrong and still have that level of respect. It's almost aspirational
Well-ranted, Josh!
"If economists wished to study the horse, they wouldn't go and look at horses. They'd sit in their studies and say to themselves, "What would I do if I were a horse?" " (Ronald Coase, 1999)
Economics is an absolute joke. If they want to lower the employment rate, they should start with themselves. We’d all be better off.
“Waaaaah, David Seymour won’t call me back now that he got what he wanted!” It’s called being ghosted, guy. Be smarter next time and stop handing politicians what they want on a front page platter.
Need to mention the efforts of the NZ Initiative (formerly the Business Roundtable) as another member of the gang of neoliberal propagandists. Can't have the Taxpayers Union getting all the credit.
Chef's kiss for perfectly encapsulating what's wrong with our society. We can totally blame economists. They've also completely stuffed up our energy system (which is the number 1 cause for climate collapse).
Well stated Josh. As Louise notes economics is an absolute joke. George Demartino has written about this in his book The Tragic Science. Inflation is not solely down to wages because any business has a choice between wages and profit. So larger profits are more of a driver. Economists though are wedded to Rogernomics which has stuffed our country over time. Dividends,CEO salaries and directors fees are never sited in the “wages cost” argument.
"Inflation is not solely down to wages because any business has a choice between wages and profit".
Current inflation is a global phenomenon caused by the knock-on from share values that were vastly inflated by banks (& others) speculating in that market using QE (called LSAP in NZ) money. The reversal of QE,by the resale of bonds has created competition in the financial asset market that ought to drive share prices down. However, corporations have been bolstering share prices by forcing high yields that are commensurate with that high price. Mainstream economists representing institutional investors are hardly going to tell you this story. Governments have also been eerily quiet over this phenomenon e.g. no hint of price-controls in most countries - I guess because it's an international problem, it's nobody's problem in their eyes.
A stock-market crash will come sometime, just as the house-price contraction did, though it will be faster and deeper, because shares don't have utility value like houses to set a lower limit to price. Having encouraged people to make private provision for their old-age, governments will also carry the can when peoples pensions, Kiwisaver etc. takes a huge hit on their investments, so they will keep quiet and when it happens, pretend it was unforseeable- like they did with the 2007/8 GFC.
I worked out in 4th form economics that the idea that the Aotearoa-New Zealand economy will, in general, increase in size is a basic fallacy for a finite country (and by extension for the single planet we all call home).
The fifth Labour Government's Local Government Act 2002, which forces councils to have a quadruple bottom line in their budgets and decision-making (the Act's purpose "provides for local authorities to play a broad role in promoting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of their communities, taking a sustainable development approach"), should also be enshrined in law for central government, and be enacted in all facets of our society. The lived experience of all past and current Earthlings shows that only taking into account the money part of the equation has been disproved to manage our resources sustainably and equitably for all current and future Earthlings...
This is why we need integrated reporting to become mandatory, it aims to include accounting for intellectual, human, social/relationship, and natural costs to the existing framework of only accounting for financial and manufactured capital.
https://www.allenandunwin.co.nz/browse/book/Jane-Gleeson-White-Six-Capitals-Updated-Edition-9781760876784
Fuck yes Josh! A grim but fantastically put together read.
I just don't know why anyone takes economics or economists seriously. How often can you be absolutely wrong and still have that level of respect. It's almost aspirational