The new left economists are as wrong as the old ones

[Peter1469]

The new left economists are as wrong as the old ones

I have been highly critical of Krugman and Piketty. Here is a recent article that agrees with me.

Vast quantities of corporate wealth are hidden offshore by companies and could easily fund a hugely expanded state sector if only the money could be brought back into the system. Innovation does not mainly come from entrepreneurs, but from the government, and the more of that we have the richer we will all be.

In the wake of the French economist Thomas Piketty’s best-seller ‘Capital In The Twenty-First Century’, the Left has a couple of new economic gurus.



Gabriel Zucman is getting a lot of coverage for ‘The Hidden Wealth of Nations’, which focuses on tax havens, while Mariana Mazzucato has built up a big following for ‘The Entrepreneurial State’, which argues that government has played a big role in creating innovation.



In their own ways, both are interesting and original works. The trouble is, both feed two of the Left’s favourite myths – that there is lots of free money hidden somewhere, that can be taxed with ease, and that the state somehow makes us wealthier. And yet neither stands up to any serious scrutiny, any more than Piketty or any of the older economic theorists of the Left ever did.

Read more for the specific criticisms.

[Agent Zero]

The new left economists are as wrong as the old ones

I have been highly critical of Krugman and Piketty. Here is a recent article that agrees with me.



Read more for the specific criticisms.

lol. Matt Lynn?

Isn't he the novelist who also predicted: "(Apple) will sell a few to its fans, but the iphone won't make a long term mark on the industry"?

[Peter1469]

lol. Matt Lynn?

Isn't he the novelist who also predicted: "(Apple) will sell a few to its fans, but the iphone won't make a long term mark on the industry"?

Ad homs are not a logical argument. Anything else?

[Chris]

...that there is lots of free money hidden somewhere, that can be taxed with ease....

Well, we know from some leftists here that corporations and companies just horde all their money, especially from tax cuts. Ignoring the fact that would make their money worthless, it would keep it from the greedy grabby government hands.

[Agent Zero]

Ad homs are not a logical argument. Anything else?

How is that an ad hom?

I didn't attack the person, his character, or motive. He actually said that, therefore I'm attacking his credibility.

[Agent Zero]

Well, we know from some leftists here that corporations and companies just horde all their money, especially from tax cuts. Ignoring the fact that would make their money worthless, it would keep it from the greedy grabby government hands.

Now that's an ad hom!

[Peter1469]

How is that an ad hom?

I didn't attack the person, his character, or motive. He actually said that, therefore I'm attacking his credibility.

What about his arguments?

Other economists have said the same thing about Pikkety's work.

[Chris]

Now that's an ad hom!

Sorry, but I don't like the gubermint.

[Chris]

@Agent Zero, as a leftist, how about you defend this the article says lefties claim: "the state somehow makes us wealthier."