Ritchie the trade economist

And as for suggesting ‘free trade’ will work, that is risible and exactly the opposite of what countries in Europe and the US did

That will never work and the economists who suggest it will have never encountered the real world

Guess we’ll have to abolish the EU’s single market then as free trade just obviously does not work.

Sigh.

20 thoughts on “Ritchie the trade economist”

  1. One might have presumed there’d be the teeniest clue in EFTA. If the oaf’s historical knowledge extended beyond yesterday week.

  2. Can’t be bothered to check the context, but it doesn’t matter. Unless he is talking about a country in full civil war or summat similar….

    Mr. Murphy is TIm W’s gift who keeps on giving.

    I would be embarrassed to show the world such ignorance, but then I have a modicum of self-awareness.

    Even dear old Mr. Corbyn must be grateful to have him out of his hair.

  3. Thinking about it and not having the context it occurred in I’d say that given that the only way to implement some of his various tax ideas would be for the UK to ignore a multitude of trade and tax treaties this does seem a logical conclusion for him to reach.

  4. Tomorrow: up is down, up was always down and it is neo-liberal sophistry to say otherwise. Candidly, you are banned.

  5. Bloke in North Dorset

    Slightly OT, but I hope the fat twat doesn’t read you’re latest Forbes column because he’s likely to to conclude that as we have a welfare state none of us needs our pensions and savings and therefore he can confiscate them for his people’s green QE, or whatever he calls it now.

  6. For some reason – who knows why – I have a visceral mistrust of anyone who uses the word “risible”.

  7. @BiND
    You may be too late, I believe he’s already proposed that pension funds be funnelled to his National Investment Bank as part of his People’s QE plan

  8. Bloke in Costa Rica

    The thing that gets me is the sheer pompous impertinence of the tone in which he spouts these statements—statements that would, if taken at face value, completely upend centuries of established wisdom. I wonder what the equivalent of an ex cathedra pronouncement is if you’re making it from your shed.

  9. Is it time to fully recognize Ritchie as the William McGonagall of economics?

    I think so.

    Perhaps Tim could spray paint an old bowling trophy and award Ritchie the 1st ever William McGonagall Prize for Economics.

  10. @John F – ‘risible’ always reminds me of Michael Palin’s Pontius Pilate in Life of Brian.

    @Max Ritchie blogs at Tax Research UK, but I don’t think we should link to his articles – it only encourages him.

  11. Comment is actually about your latest article at Forbes about the universal income (way to painful to post there). Important point you’ve missed. If you get the income regardless of whether you work or not, it wont raise the reservation wage. Because it doesnt need to raise your income beyond that income cos you wont lose it.
    if you get E600/month regardless of what you do, then the decision to work is entirely about whether you want more than that.
    e.g. you get E600 month automatically. If you decide you want E900/month, then the job you seek out only has to make you another E300/month. it doesnt have to give you E900/mth, cos you’re still getting the original E600

  12. Theophrastus:

    Thanks you for that – the comparison is spot on. Even down to the dismissal of criticism as coming from “hoodlums … planted by rivals”.

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