From Alex Singelton in the Mail:
What a fantastic Budget. Richard Murphy, the pro-tax darling of the trade unions, is enraged by it. Indeed, I could see the steam erupting from his ears as I sat watching it with him at the BBC this lunchtime. And that is a really good sign. You see, Mr Murphy is the ultimate political compass: if he's pointed in one direction, you'll never go wrong by going in the other.
Compliments come in the strangest of forms.
For the record, Singelton was on Radio 2 with me on budget day and I have to say I thought throughout his commentary "what is this rather naive young man who's never been out in the real world doing talking about things of which he has no knowledge?". Then I realised that made him as well qualified as Cameron and Osborne. And that's really scary.
It also somewhat undermines the value of the compliment.
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Larry Summers, who taught Ed Balls and Stephanie Flanders, has co-authored a new paper (see Krugman blog March 22, 2012 ‘Blunder of Blunders’) showing the incompetence of austerity. I know Summers was there removing Glass-Steagall and so his reputation took a hit, but those on the shadow banking not casino banking side of the argument only thought this made things worse rather than being the origin of the banking problem. John Kay labelled Summers a ‘neo-liberal’, but Kay’s not had a good little depression himself, and there is a difference between those who missed the housing bubble and know what to do to fix it, and those who missed the housing bubble and want to make things worse.
I listened to the whole debate on R2. Singleton ranted and wittered like a hysterical schoolgirl throughout. The only time I could imagine that steam was coming out of Richard Murphy’s ears was when Singleton attacked (completely randomly) the civil service with insults and smears. Beyond that Richard Murphy was calm and well spoken. THe other thing that seperated the two men was that Richard Murphy wa able to back up his assertions with fact and figures. Singleton was only able to back up his assertions with assertions.
You’re right – I was damned annoyed with him for slighting millions of workers – and he hacked down on many
Why was he there? Why is he writing in the Mail at all? Where do they find them?
Considering the article’s commentardery is all-but one supportive of *your* interpretation of the budget, I’d say Alex’s compliment is equally valid of you.
I heard your contribution on the Moral Maze this week, which was well argued and the questioner did not trip you up. I imagine it’s not easy to avoid mistakes under those circumstances.
I thought Melanie Phillips ( is she Daily Mail?) was confused when discussing the role of the state and the morality of charity. ‘Jesus and the disciples didn’t need the state to do good.’ Indeed but the scope of individual action is limited. Collective action doesn’t have to be the state but it is a valid way of doing it. When voted for, it becomes even more legitimate.
Thanks