The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Monday, June 7, 2010

Wayne Swan opposes global bank tax at G20 Summit

Rather surprising. Alan Kohler has the summary here. The logic is a bit odd: tax the industry that was Australia's main saving grace during the GFC (ie, resources) and remains the cornerstone of our unusually positive growth outlook, but don't tax the industry that was the key cause of the GFC, and which required massive taxpayer support. This is clearly a simplification, but it raises questions.