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Why is it that Ritchie is so damn ignorant?

The Bank of England Financial Policy Committee said that leaving the EU was a financial risk yesterday. You would think that a statement of the obvious but in a highly charged environment it was contentious.

No one should be surprised: central bank independence has always been a neoliberal sham that suggests that life can be compartmentalised into what is political and what is not; what is rational economics and what is subjective opinion. There are no such divides, whether in the NGO or academic worlds, or in Threadneedle Street. To pretend there are is to lie in support of a world view that is both intensely political and deeply oppressive of alternative views.

At the end of the day, the Brexit campaign is not, I suspect, going to upset that world view. The pretence that the Bank of England is independent will be restored soon as a result.

Sigh.

In the European Union, the principle of central bank independence has a quasi-constitutional basis. Article 108 of the Treaty establishing the European Community states that:

“ neither the ECB, nor a national central bank … shall seek or take instructions from Community institutions or bodies, from any government of a Member State or from any other body”.

The Bank of England can only become non-independent if Brexit succeeds.

Why is it that our 0.2 of a Professor is simply ignorant of every subject upon which he pontificates?

17 thoughts on “Why is it that Ritchie is so damn ignorant?”

  1. a neoliberal sham that suggests that life can be compartmentalised into what is political and what is not

    No, it isn’t compartmentalising in to what is political and what is not. It is compartmentalising what is the responsibility of politicians – the setting of the target state* for the economy – and what is the responsibility of the central bankers – how to aim the economy vaguely in the direction of that target state**.

    * As represented by a slack handful of not particularly representative but simple for the ignoramuses in politics and the media to pretend to understand.

    ** Barring, of course, all the interference in the direction of the economy that comes from political activities regarding changes to taxation, trade, retirement ages, minimum wages which, of course, can’t possibly make it difficult for the central bankers.

  2. Article 108 of the Treaty establishing the European Community states that:

    “ neither the ECB, nor a national central bank … shall seek or take instructions from Community institutions or bodies…

    If Egon Krenz had the energy, he might tool over to Murphy’s place to point out that the ECB postdates the Treaty establishing the EC.

    Just for the fun of being candidly-ed

  3. There is a long and interesting history and debate over the principle of Central Bank independence. It includes a substantial literature on the effectiveness of, communications strategy and desirability of independence. If only the cretin had read it.

    City University, the place that employs a stupid, ill educated moron as a “professor”.

  4. I recsll PQE etc depended on the BoE being told what to do. And if Carney had not liked it, then he could go back to Canada.

  5. Although to answer Tim’s question, there is a meme floating around that people can become expert in anything by a mere 10,000 hours practice.

    Ritchie has decades (at 17,600 hours per decade for an 8 hour working day) of practice.

  6. “…a world view that is both intensely political and deeply oppressive of alternative views”

    Is this the first sign from Murphy of self-awareness?

  7. “Why is it that our 0.2 of a Professor is simply ignorant of every subject upon which he pontificates?”

    Because he has a ludicrously inflated sense of his own abilities and a vicious antipathy to any opposing viewpoint, fatally restricting his opportunities to acquire knowledge.

  8. “deeply oppressive of alternative views”

    Oh God, he now wants to be appointed a Director of the Bank if England.

    Is there no end to his inappropriate ambitions?

  9. Interesting comparison of institutions in the 2014 research assessment exercise (yes I know they’ve tarted up the name)

    For Unit of Assessment 18, Economics and Econometrics:

    City University, 8% unclassified ( that is, drivel)
    11% 1* (that is, nobody would take this seriously)
    25% 2* (that is, not obviously wrong but uninteresting)

    Compare that to other London competitors:
    UCL, 0/0/1
    and even infected LSE, 3/1/3

  10. Bloke in Costa Rica

    “Why is it that our 0.2 of a Professor is simply ignorant of every subject upon which he pontificates?”

    Ooh! Ooh! I know this one! It’s cos ‘e’s a cunt, innit?

  11. Surreptitious Evil
    March 30, 2016 at 2:21 pm

    ‘Although to answer Tim’s question, there is a meme floating around that people can become expert in anything by a mere 10,000 hours practice.’

    Five years at 40 hours per week of study and practice will make you competent enough to earn a living at it.

    60 hrs p/w and you should be able to make a good living.

    80/90 hrs p/w and you should be an expert.

    If you have a natural aptitude/interest in the subject then the 80+ hours you spend seem like no time at all.

  12. To be fair to Carney, he is an idiot. When he made that comment about stranded oil reserves, it felt as if he had never heard of petro-chems, dyes and drugs. Look around and the impact of the oil industry is there in furniture, TV receivers, just about everywhere and yet the Governor of the Bank of England does not know that. His credentials are…..? Maybe they are even as bad as 0.2 Murph.

  13. “Five years at 40 hours per week of study and practice will make you competent enough to earn a living at it.”
    The academic mindset.
    Most everything, you can learn enough to make living relatively quickly. If you ignore the fluff & just stick to the bits earn a living. From there, it’s not hard to become an expert by doing it.
    Life’s about the best education system you can get.

  14. “Ritchie has decades (at 17,600 hours per decade for an 8 hour working day) of practice”

    And he has gainfully spent that time practicing being an awful man.. at which he is now, indisputably, an expert.

  15. In the 1978 version of “The Big Sleep” Robert Mitchum–as Marlowe–is asking too many probing questions of Sara Miles –as one of the Sternwood sisters. She attempts to distract him by sticking her tongue down his throat. Having tasted the goods on offer Marlowe goes right back to the awkward questions. The girl does her nut calling him a heartless bastard or some such.
    Marlowe gravels back in true hard-boiled style

    “Lady I’m a Detective. I work at it. I don’t play at it”

    If you substitute” leftist- moron” for “detective” I believe we will have a concise statement of Murphy’s ethos.

  16. AndrewC

    You beat me to it – the idea that there are ‘Alternative views’ in a state run along the lines espoused by Murphy is a bad joke!!

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