Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Our economic black hole

Most discussions about economic issues, and the state of the State is no exception, usually resort to what Paul Krugman in the preface to his breezy offering The Age of Diminished Expectations described as ‘up-and-down economics.’

Professor Krugman said:
“Up-and-down economics is what one encounters on the business pages of newspapers, or for that matter on TV. It is preoccupied with the latest news and the latest numbers, hence its name:”According to the latest statistics, housing starts are up, indicating unexpected strength in the economy. Bond prices fell on the news…” This kind of economics has a reputation for being stultifyingly boring, a reputation that is almost entirely justified.”

But it’s all we get in Tassie. See for example award winning journo Sue Neales tackle an analysis of the latest Mid Year Financial Report released just prior to Xmas HERE:).
It’s little wonder that the level of debate that we are now experiencing and will have to increasingly endure over the next 2 months not only causes boredom but it fails to explain our predicament leading up to an important election for this State.