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Over
the weekend a friend asked me whether I rated George Megalogenis, a former
economics writer for The Australian,
as a decent economic thinker. No way. That people with Megalogenis’s low
level of economic thinking get respect as economic commentators should bother
anyone who holds economics in high esteem. My criticism of Megalogenis
applies equally across the political spectrum. Economic arrogance and
stupidity is not confined to one politically oriented group.
For
example, he supported the destructive carbon tax and the daft idea that it
would compel businesses to “switch to cleaner energy sources.” The idea that
the tax would instead force them out of business did not occur to him anymore
than the idea that the tax would lead to the dissipation of capital. But
Megalogenis was not alone in this lunacy. In 2008 the Centre for Independent
Studies published a monograph by John Humphreys making the same utterly
absurd claims. Since then Alan Moran, Judith Sloan, Steve Kates, Sinclair
Davidson, et al., have piled it on the carbon tax and also the assertion that
so-called “cleaner energy sources” can support the economy.
But the
funny thing is that while these free market warriors sneer at the green
fanatics refusal to consider alternative views they themselves never uttered
a word of criticism of John Humphreys’ CIS paper—and that includes their
media mates, particularly Andrew Bolt. Even now they adamantly refuse to even
mention it by name. To this very day the Institute of Public Affairs makes a
particular point of avoiding any reference to Humphreys’ paper.
The
only reference to its existence was by Sinclair Davidson who had the gall to
describe it as a “carefully narrowly construed argument”. Utter rubbish.
According to Humphreys a carbon tax would have “little or no economic
cost[!]” and that the tax was “necessary” in order to “[t]o combat man-made
climate change.”
Perhaps
under the influence of an illegal substance Humphreys even imagined that like
manna from heaven new “energy sources” would flow from the effects of a
carbon tax. In fact, John Humphreys appears to do a lot of imagining. In 2009
he even conjured up in his mind a situation where he could “imagine entire
workplaces getting together and jointly agreeing” to help fund a scheme to
fight what he calls “anthropogenic global warming”. Regardless of the
deficiencies in Megalogenis’s economics he never sought to substitute fairy
dust or imaginary situations for economic policies.
Then in
2011 Sinclair Davidson proudly announced on Catallaxy that “John Humphreys
and Tim Andrews have set up a Stop Gillard’s Carbon Tax page.” Ain’t that
just amazing. No apologies, no explanations, no nothing. Davidson and his
pals just airbrushed John Humphreys sorry record on the carbon tax out of
existence. No wonder they now refuse to even acknowledge the very existence
of Humphreys’ shabby paper. When Tim Andrews was asked to explain why
Humphreys was working with the Stop
Gillard’s Carbon Tax organisation he was unable to give a coherent
answer. Evidently bad economics and double-dealing are not the province of
anyone political group.
Sinclair
Davidson once sneered at George Megalogenis for making the silly statement
that the Gillard government was allocating capital between labour and
capital. But as we can see, Davidson is in no position to sneer at anyone.
Sinclair Davidson and Julie Novak made gross errors in a piece they did
regarding Australia and the Great Depression.
They have stubbornly refused to acknowledge their errors. Those who do not
have the moral courage to publicly defend what they write should at least
have the decency to cease criticising others. And that goes double for
Professor Sinclair Davidson.
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