We are surrounded by Keynesian economists which means we are surrounded by economists who do not have the first clue about how an economy works. Keynesian – that is, modern – theory is entirely a demand-side idiocy with any notion of how an economy knits together utterly left out. Which is why I found this so inane: Joe Biden Appears to Sneer at Americans’ Intelligence: Questions Collective Ability to ‘Understand’ Supply Chain Issues.
Biden promised to try and “explain to the American people” what supply chain issues America faces, telling the attending press representatives who “write for a living” he is yet to witness a reporter “explain supply chain very well.”
“This is a confusing time,” Biden stated.
Economists once upon a time did focus on the structure of supply, as Austrian economist still do. Now, not one in a thousand ever goes into the role of the supply-side in understanding the way economies work.
Meanwhile, back in Victoria, let me return to that story run in the middle of the weekend: Andrews government accused of blurring budget figures. Let me put up a second tranche from the article:
“Crucially, four-year forecasts in the budget are not sufficient to show when the government expects net debt to peak or stabilise,” the report found.
“This has increased in importance given the layering of the long-term economic and debt impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic with larger transport infrastructure projects.
“Recent Victorian budgets have not presented a transparent and cohesive fiscal framework.
“Components are spread throughout the budget papers, and are vague, making objective assessment of performance difficult.”
The report is set to spark major concerns over the openness of the Andrews government and its financial management with budget forecasts expecting net debt to climb to a record high $156bn by 2024-25, or 20.3 per cent of the state’s economy, significantly higher than the government’s 12 per cent target. The report’s release follows concerns by a number of MPs about the government’s budget process and is set to lead to calls for an overhaul of the way the government reports its financial position. One political source told the Sunday Herald Sun the budget figures were simply not transparent.
“The spin is in overdrive,” one source said. “The budget papers aren’t doing the best to tell Victorians what’s going on.
It’s not as if the financial disasters overtaking Victoria are invisible. They are just ignored, and with Keynesians the only brand of economists anywhere to be seen, we will continue forward as we are until we hit the wall. But at some stage they are going to have to come for your money since they are no longer able to get if from the Chinese Belt and Road bankruptcy provisions.
Same thing everywhere in the US with its $1.2 trillion “infrastructure” bill. Biden laughing at economic ignorance is just one of the many ironies of the moment, as endless workers are being shunted from their jobs because they are unwilling to take the vax.
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