Comrade Costello?
Regular reader John Hannoush notes the oddity of Peter Costello’s regular boast that he’s “running a trillion dollar economy”. Did we all miss the transition from market to planned economy?
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I too have noticed this creeping Stalinist tone of Costello’s references to the “running” of the economy. Indeed, in a globally integrated world, I would argue that it is a bit rich for any government to claim that it “manages” the economy. Their most positive contribution is usually a negative one – in getting out of the way and letting market forces operate as efficiently as possible, while standing by with a strong social safety net. In any case, most of those changes – liberalising of capital controls, floating the dollar, beginning the process of tariff reduction – were undertaken by Keating and Hawke. For the life of me, I don’t understand why Labor has run away from its own strong legacy as an economic reformer. Costello and Howard, by comparison, are Keynsian.
No. We’ve always had a planned economy.
[...] ECONOMIC MANAGER? May 24, 2007 Posted by wmmbb in Australian Politics. trackback How good an economic manager is John Howard? Or in claiming to be the indispensable preserver ofAustralian prosperity is not such a proposition a contradiction conceding the ground to his opponents? Then again, has the management of the economy effected a profound transfer of wealth from most Australians contrary to the overtly stated goals and values of the prime minister?The less loaded question is simply to ask what has Howard done to create economic conditions? [...]
If by running, he means “surfing the wave of in a gaudy Hawaiian shirt”, then yes.
I’ve also noticed this, and it’s driving me nuts that the average punter seems to buy it.
He’s got his hands on those levers.
The Bank in his pocket, various other institutions in his pocket (perhaps the same pocket) – etc etc.
Where have I heard that before?
Has there ever been a Commonwealth Treasurer of note who didn’t make claims like that?