I have already mentioned that I contributed to the Times Higher Education selection of Books of the Year. I admit to being pleased that I was selected to do so in other ways as The Joy of Tax appeared twice:
Doreen Massey, emeritus professor of geography, the Open University
One of the crying needs at the moment is to challenge the prevailing “common sense” of neoliberalism, especially its economic nostrums. Many oft-repeated truisms about tax do not stand up to serious scrutiny. Challenging them would open up the field for debate on economic policy. Moreover, tax is much more than economic policy — it is an element in the construction of our collectivity and in decisions about what kind of society we want. In The Joy of Tax: How a Fair Tax System Can Create a Better Society (Bantam), Richard Murphy takes on all this with gusto, moving from forensic deconstruction of the current common sense to a proposal for a chancellor's statement that might set us on the road to change.Peter Goodhew, emeritus professor of engineering, University of Liverpool
We do not have enough engineers to deliver the future we want, or to overcome the challenges we know we face. A plethora of earnest reports tell us this and attempt to explain the unpopularity of engineering. In David Goldberg and Mark Somerville's A Whole New Engineer(ThreeJoy Associates), we read about the foundation and success of Franklin W. Olin College in Massachusetts, which has broken the mould and is producing more and different engineers. Hurrah! For contrast (can I really mean relaxation?), I devoured The Joy of Tax: How a Fair Tax System Can Create a Better Society by Richard Murphy (Bantam). Now I have an inkling about government spending. Is it really true, as Murphy asserts, that nowhere in the UK university sector do we teach why we tax? Shame on us.
And yes, that is the sort of thing an author wants for Christmas.
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So two professors with even less expertise in economics than you have praise your book…
You very clearly have no idea what you are talking about
Start with this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doreen_Massey_(geographer)
Changing subject a bit, perhaps as the author of People’s QE you won’t be too happy to see it being misrepresented by some as a helicopter drop, which if I understand all correctly is a different principle entirely https://twitter.com/PositiveMoneyUK/status/680758361747501060/photo/1 I can’t help wondering if such misrepresentation, which I’m seeing around, is deliberate on the part of the neoliberal contingent with the intention of sowing confusion and discord.
That is, indeed, a complete misrepresentation of PQE
I will raise it with them
You might want to raise it with Max and Stacey too and, of all people who should know better, Steve Keen. Have a peek at the very recent episode where they discuss it and refer to it as going into individual accounts for explanation. Don’t they actually listen to people they have on the Keiser Report? On this showing, they don’t. This is bad because it’s really important that we present a united front and don’t give the opposition the chance to claim that even supporters of PQE can’t decide what it actually is.
I have mailed Positive Money
If they are abusing the name I will make that very clear
Here’s the Keiser Report url, have a quick listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f0ndVNbDO8&feature=youtu.be
I think Steve is simplifying
But the terms basic income and PQE cannot be conflated accurately
It isn’t BI either as that needs repetition, he’s talking about a one-shot drop into everyone’s bank accounts. It’s not a helicopter drop either, come to think of it.
It’s not Steve’s best moment
Adair Turner is not a man to copy
This is much more than just name dropping – let’s hope that your work is beginning to soften the ossification in current economic thinking so that economics can be moulded into something that delivers for all and not just those at the top.
I don’t think that is a lot to ask for.
To be fair to Steve Keen he’s been talking about Quantitative Easing for the people for at least the last 5 years. I remember seeing him on a panel late 2010, early 2011 using exactly that phrase. I think he wants to do it as part of a debt jubilee and other measures too.
He acknowledged his idea was simply to increase demand and relieve the indebted masses to get the economy motoring again, doing it on its own wouldn’t solve much long term.
Not sure SK knows the Finland thing is possibly not going to be a true basic income, rather it might be more of a universal benefit system a la IDS, i’ve read conflicting reports myself. The fascinating story from yesterday was the Utrecht BI experiment – http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/26/dutch-city-utrecht-basic-income-uk-greens
Be interesting to see how that plays out.
Neither Finland or Utrecht are true basic income
Steve has done this – but not under that term that I recall
Hi Richard
not just the big beasts of academia lining up to big up your book.
http://everythingisconnected.io/the-joy-of-tax/
I only go only hope that my small book ‘Geography’ co-written with Danny Dorling makes just as big a splash when it comes out in March 2016.
Trouble is nobody bought me The Joy of Tax for Christmas – my kids, along with the world and his wife, never read anything I put up on-line – Blackwells next week for me.
Happy New Year – lets hope we don’t avoid or evade the issues that really matter.
Carl Lee
Carl
Many thanks – and I hope you enjoy it
Get me a review copy of your book for the blog….
Best for 2016
Richard