tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post6608206519289370035..comments2024-03-18T15:42:43.140+13:00Comments on Offsetting Behaviour: Ladies and Gentlemen... the Greens' would-be Finance MinisterEric Cramptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-22812454957769418892013-09-19T08:57:38.168+12:002013-09-19T08:57:38.168+12:00Ignorance of technical language, ridiculous commen...Ignorance of technical language, ridiculous comments, and utter hypocrisy.Bunswallanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-69112534281480930242013-09-19T08:56:09.345+12:002013-09-19T08:56:09.345+12:00It's not fair to expect income-earning New Zea...It's not fair to expect income-earning New Zealanders to carry a disproportionate share of the tax burden while some of New Zealand's laziest individuals pay none.Alloytoonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-19903211568801364432013-09-19T08:45:27.679+12:002013-09-19T08:45:27.679+12:00I think calling a tax a tax is ideologically left ...I think calling a tax a tax is ideologically left wing. I prefer to call it theft. Perhaps Russel and I could agree on a politically neutral term like "money the government takes from you whether you like it or not"?Peter McCaffreynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-84159602113121903712013-09-19T04:26:04.559+12:002013-09-19T04:26:04.559+12:00Regarding the general equilibrium comment: I would...Regarding the general equilibrium comment: I would place a small wager that Mr. Norman is a fan of Dr. Keen. See this blog post for an example of what intelligent people who don't know any economics "learn" from reading Debunking Economics. Note the emphasis on general equilibrium.<br /><br /><br />http://squashpractice.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/keenian-economics/Chris Auldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-11042771846015392712013-09-18T17:37:09.656+12:002013-09-18T17:37:09.656+12:00Aha got ya now.Aha got ya now.Eric Cramptonhttp://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-49468557357278527202013-09-18T16:48:07.877+12:002013-09-18T16:48:07.877+12:00Or he is trying make that group bigger by making c...Or he is trying make that group bigger by making comments that tar all economists....Will Taylorhttp://www.tvhe.co.nz/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-59818893903113316852013-09-18T16:35:25.743+12:002013-09-18T16:35:25.743+12:00Oh dear oh dear. Norman's comment on "bur...Oh dear oh dear. Norman's comment on "burden" was just ignorance of technical language (albeit an ignorance that we wouldn't want to see in an aspiring finance minister and one that should give him pause before attributing views to the user of the language), but his ridiculous comment on "general equilibrium model", seems to be trying to convey the impression of someone who has learned some economics, but betraying complete ignorance. Do you think he has confused general equilibrium analysis used to think about the economy-wide effects of a tax with dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models in macro that have come in for some criticism since the GFC?Seamus Hogannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-11060915762121925182013-09-18T16:31:20.662+12:002013-09-18T16:31:20.662+12:00Agreed, which is why I'm convinced he is simpl...Agreed, which is why I'm convinced he is simply using it to communicate to a specific group - people that dislike economists and will never try to even understand or fairly discuss arguments.<br /><br /><br />A group of people who prefer the simple rallying cry of common sense above reason - as all economists are trying to do is reason about social situations, and are often more than willing to admit the wide variety of ways and factors that can be and need to be discussed with these issues.Matt Nolanhttp://tvhe.co.nz/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-78325121607512337762013-09-18T16:28:08.426+12:002013-09-18T16:28:08.426+12:00Jargon that shows up in every Principles text shou...Jargon that shows up in every Principles text should be familiar to a guy who wants to be freaking Finance Minister.Eric Cramptonhttp://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-58882950001242420452013-09-18T14:04:40.278+12:002013-09-18T14:04:40.278+12:00Or the fact a lot of our modern description of the...Or the fact a lot of our modern description of these things comes from Hicks - that wildly right wing economist .... oww wait a second :P<br /><br />It is jargon for him to talk to a specific group - he is an ideology like all his fans, they just like to pretend they are trying to have an "honest adult conversation" about issues. <br /><br />If he provides us a counterfactual description of the world, and how he thinks his view is then superior to what Treasury is discussing with burden, then that is fine - in fact I'd go as far as saying that economists would love it if we had even better ways to interpret, explain, measure, and understand the distributional consequence of tax.Matt Nolanhttp://tvhe.co.nz/noreply@blogger.com