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."

Friday, January 14, 2011

Club Troppo's "inequality edition", care of yours truly

I still think I am right, goddammit! The logic is solid. And, contrary to what Beats & Pieces claims, I am not worked up about this. Fwiw, I found Beats & Pieces' response as intellectually unsatisfying as Matt Cowgill's effort, which I was a little surprised by. I don't have time to write another critique (refer to my reaction to Matt below), but my impression was that this is reasoning ruled by emotion rather than rationality. Having said that, Beats & Pieces strikes me as a pretty logical character. I try not to have fixed views on anything insofar as I am happy to be swayed by compelling new information. While robust, even spirited, debate is a very healthy thing, super strongly held convictions (and ideology) should be treated with considerable skepticism. Anyway, this is the Club Troppo summary edition. I just landed in Sydney.
at 7:18 PM