Ever wondered where Flanders gets her more interesting ideas?
You know those whacky, just might work in a month of sundays type ideas.
Here could be the answer……..The BBC’s favourite economist Paul Krugman lays it on the line…Not Plan B, or Z or X….but Plan UFO…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jzvMGuRXvs
Having watched the video can’t help thinking they’re here already.
He was making a humorous analogy to support his theory of borrowing and spending our way out of a Depression. Nothing to do with the madness of “Two Eds”.
Much closer to her nonsense was Zakaria’s insane statement that public sector workers paying taxes will solve anything.
Why do they pay taxes anyway? Why don’t they just get nett as gross and save the admin costs?
IIRC there is a whole buildings worth of tax inspectors in Cardiff doing PS taxation. Madness.
My thoughts exactly. I could explain this to a small child with bottle caps and a circle drawn in the sand, but highly-credentialed elites don’t get it.
“There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them.”
I didn`t think that Flanders was too bad in regard of Hayek.
But the likes of Krugman, Blanchflower always get a free pass and plenty time to give us their “alternative take” on how best to rescue the economy.
Now then-remind me again-for how many years has “their alternative” been tried upon us all? How many years did Labour get not only to drop us in this mess, but to ensure that there`d be no prospect of saving ourselves as well…allowing no option of fire doors for their tinderbox?
Yet the likes of Krugman and Sachs still get their twenty cents…and no-one to counter their voodoo magic tree of money for nothing.
Well Krugman (Keynes) is correct in that in a recession/depression the Govt. does need to step in to restore confidence. The problem is that Keynes also said that in the good times you save ready for the bad times. Labour spent in the good times (remember Brown’s catchphrase was “no more boom and bust”) and now there is nothing left for the bad times. What Keynes never anticipated are the levels of debt the Western world is running and the effects of an economic stimulus on an already debt burdened economy. To be fair I think SF said as much in the first programme. We are all in uncharted waters now. So it looks like we are going to be like Japan in the 90s for the next 10 years – a liquidity trap and a prolonged period of stagflation.
But Flanders didn’t spend as much time showing how Keynes got it all wrong as she did with Hayek. Still, even if she admits Keynes never intended for permanent, ever-increasing massive debt, that hasn’t stopped her from recommending a seemingly infinite amount of borrowing and spending. Nor does is stop other economic illiterates at the BBC – like Mark Mardell – saying that it’s still the way to go. Judging from the reaction of his fellow Beeboids at the BBC College of Journalism, they all agree with his foolishness. Maybe “Two Eds” needs to spend more time explaining reality to her colleagues. If she truly gets it, that is.
I note that Stephanie Flanders latest blog post at the BBC website does not allow any comments. Presumably to stop people pointing out all her errors and mistakes.
What governs the enabling of comments on so-called interactive blogs, and when not, would indeed be interesting to discover.
Certainly it is quite easy to see why and when the plug gets pulled on any that do allow them.
Odd that they are so blatant with the censorship, as sensible opinion or correctives seen by perhaps a thousand online seldom influence propaganda broadcast to the nation.
I imagine the department in the BBBC that receives the complaints is staffed by a few people who sit with their hands over their ears and say “lalalala” as they press the autoreply button followed by the delete.
“lalalala” and “inshallah” I would suggest.
I’ve said it before and will say it again, BBC Gamesmakers Nicky Campbell and his fellow chuckling Clitheroe Kids are useful weathervanes of BBC inhouse opinion.
Just this week they were shooting the breeze on the subject of economics and in particular the recent financial crash (when you know who were in power).
And who would have guessed, deep thought from Salford reckons the Tories were quite happy to match all Labour spending plans and David Cameron would have made just the same moves/mistakes as Gordon Brown.
So there you have it. QED as far as the Beeboids are concerned. Labour completely absolved of blame.
No one piped up to question David Cameron’s claim to be a true Tory or indeed to point out that although the Tories may be slightly more wary of the ever increasing size of state spending, the BBC themselves are at the epicentre of every hysterical outcry over every slight curtailing of government spending. In such an atmosphere how could a leader of any opposition ever suggest any cut backs?
The Beeb set the rules of the game to suit their favoured player: Labour.
Witness the NHS managers flap on Thursday.
John Appleby of the NHS Finance Directors bunch was fair in his comments and refused to say that the NHS would be suffering a crisis two years hence, despite the goadings of Evan Davis to say so.
No surprise then that he alone was NOT given the soundbite section in the next news bulletin at 8am…but funnily enough, his bunch was quoted as saying just that-there would be a crisis in funding in the next couple of years or so.
In other words-you may not say it-but it`ll be attributed to you anyway…imagine poor John had to use his Oystercard to get out of W11 with some bad body language from Quentin the latte boy , as he left the building….boo!
And another from Evan on Thursday prior to NHS Finance Man!
Some General from the 19th Light was on to discuss the dismantling of his Infantry Unit.
Brave Evan-who knows about such things-gave our General the third degree…morale of his men, balck day for the military, cuts and traitors sealing the psychic deaths of our Tommies with the stroke of a pen in Whitehall.
Not a bit of it…General Chamberlain gave a full account of why it would not damage him or his men…part of a review, new ways of war etc…no grief thief he, no crap about vulnerable young men being let loose upon us with guns and all that.
Oh Evan was SO miffed, you`d not believe it girls.
Evan could “not get his head around” this man acquiescing in the end of his Unit…what?…do his lower rankers agree with him..the bemedalled toff may not really know the mood of his men…unlike Evan and the BBC of course.
I do hope Chamberlain brings his bayonet with him next time he`s asked into the BBC to weep and wail about the military covenant-cuts bagels beautifully , so I`m told.
I jest of course-Chamberlain failed in his duty to speak for the BBC, so won`t be telling us anything again until Bob Ainsworth returns in trails of lavender to destroy what remains of our Army.
But to hear Davis reduced to misplaced empathy and passive projection techniques in order to parallel his own fears about a mighty traditional monopoly on perpetual war footing 24/7 being sentenced to historys bin…was a fine thing.
The BBC does indeed see itself as the cultural Army that will not accept cuts…these military types could learn much from the courageous stands of Mason, Davis and Wark…no, they really could ,Justin!
Peter Hitchens:-
“TV for Gnats..or ‘The Resurrection Men dig up Karl Marx'”
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2012/09/put-him-back-the-resurrection-men-dig-up-karl-marx-ive-always-liked-the-expression-resurrection-man-used-in-la.html
The thought of a “third degree” from Evan Davis has quite put me off my breakfast.
Off topic: SML… goodness me. The question today was, ‘Should the Church move with the times?’ What ‘times’ would that be, then? The BBC times? The Liberal and multicultural times wherein self-indulgence and hedonistic selfishness are increasingly the norm, or the Islamic times where stoning, beheading and calling for the death of homosexuals exist? The BBC are so keen to criticize the Christian faith and its morality, but they seem to steer clear of the Islamic tenets on gay marriage and women Imams which are far more aggressive, discriminatory and harsh than any other religion in the universe.
Also… what a lovely little jolly-up we all had on the Andrew Marr Show, this morning with Liebour leader Red Ed. I should have popped round with a cup of tea to join in the fun… but, I didn’t because I thought it was meant to be a professional and impartial interview: oh, a pig just flew past my window…
Wow, Ed Bandwagon would ‘tax bankers bonuses’.
News just in, Ed, they’re already taxed.
Paul Krugman, he used to be an economist didn’t he?
Now a card-carrying Democrat shill who believes that the poor performance of the US economy is because those nasty nasty Republicans keep blocking The One’s brilliant policies and who routinely describes those who do not adhere to The Cult of Warmism as ‘deniers’.
But of course lauded by Labour ‘activists’, MPs, and ‘bruvvers’ all of whom have suddenly become experts in economics themselves. Once the economy is back on track and as a Keynesian he recommends cutting public spending perhaps they’ll stop deifying him and shift their allegiance to whatever branch of economics is advocating increased public spending at the time.