Comments on: Oram on the Brash Report

By: lprent

lprent — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:34:51 +0000

My mother didn’t like him for economics when she was at uni. Her kindest comment was that his understanding of the relationship between his charts and reality was a bit tenuous, and he certainly couldn’t communicate about anything to with actual people.

By: prism

prism — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:41:26 +0000

Bored – I think that I read, that Brash till recently if ever, has not had to apply for a job. He was such a bright and competent student of economics that he was offered positions from the start. Not for him the ordinary grind so he lacks the background understanding of ordinary folks.

By: Noko

Noko — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:03:18 +0000

That’s a bit centrist for my tastes.

By: Goff: Scrap the 2025 Taskforce at The Standard

Goff: Scrap the 2025 Taskforce at The Standard — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:26:10 +0000

[...] is a farce and a waste of taxpayers’ money. The Government has disowned it, the critics have panned it. Even Garth George has come out calling for it to be recycled into toilet [...]

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:55:18 +0000

Add Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, Ruth Richardson & Sir Roger Douglas

By: Bored

Bored — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:09:13 +0000

Great work Rod Oram. As an aside I went out to a new restaurant as a treat on Tuesday in Tory Street, the place was packed. Sitting in view were the well-heeled denizens of government departments, corporate types and lobbyists, a couple of well known economists and some journos. Great food and equivalent prices.

What struck me is that this was a representative sample of the capitals movers and shakers, the people who make pronouncements and decisions that affect everybody. In the case of the journos and economists my concern was that they make sweeping pronouncements that relate to how the rest of the population live, yet they are so removed and so privileged. They live on another planet, Brash probably lives in a different universe.

By: Classical Liberal

Classical Liberal — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:24:04 +0000

Have to have Tim Hazledine – author of Taking New Zealand Seriously – the economics of decency
And I’d invite Joseph Heath – author of Filthy Lucre to advise the committee.

By: RedLogix

RedLogix — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:22:22 +0000

Curiously enough I found the Productivity Commission report an interesting read all the same. Much of the discussion is interesting and makes some useful arguments. I actually recommend folk read it.

But repeatedly the line of thought reaches an almost bizarre disconnect when it jumps from describing the problem, to prescribing a response to it. It’s almost as if one part was written by the broader membership of the commission, and the other solely by Brash himself.

Wonder if others are reading it the same?

By: RedLogix

RedLogix — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:10:14 +0000

Keith Rankin
Steven Keen

By: Sanctuary

Sanctuary — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:02:46 +0000

Which raises the question… Who would be on YOUR productivity commission? My twelve names:

Susan St John
Brian Easton
Peter Harris
Peter Conway
Rod Oram
Mark Solomon
Peter Gluckman
Bryan Gould
Alan Bollard
Gareth Morgan
Phil O’Reilly
Jim Mather

By: Sanctuary

Sanctuary — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:54:28 +0000

Rod Oram, first appointee for my productivity commission.

By: Pascal's bookie

Pascal's bookie — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:21:05 +0000

I reckon a pragmatic centrist would probably sack a productivity commissioner that came up with such a report. On pragmatic centrist grounds.