Neo-Robinsonian economist. Castlemaine Institute & @UniMelb SSPS. #WellbeingEconomy, climate, social justice, environment, employment. @warwicksmith.bsky.social
Joined March 2009
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Pinned Tweet
Apr 19
The @RBAInfo deliberately creates #unemployment to control inflation. Then our employment services system treats the jobless as if they caused their own predicament and don't want to work.
Unfair and unnecessarily cruel. My latest in @ConversationEDU:
theconversation.com/the-rbas…
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Jun 4
The government is tying itself in knots trying to explain the CGT changes.
But @spenderallegra did it for them *months* ago.
This is the line they should be using:
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Jun 1
The barefoot investor thinks that the budget changes don’t impact the VAST majority of people’s current savings & investment plans
As for those it does? They’ll be fine
“The wealthiest people in the country. Living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world…life is good.”
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Jun 1
Just some info on how much tax we pay in Aus. We sit 5% below OECD average on tax to GDP. We also have lower overall income tax oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en…
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Jun 2
I'm here holding up a torch for an arrow that continues from Joan Robinson.
Short post on the two traditions in the history of economic ideas. The central divide is between classical political economy, reproduction, surplus, accumulation, and the Benthamite/marginalist tradition of utility, exchange, scarcity, and individual choice /1
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May 22
RT @KosSamaras: The end of the Menzies project. Our Financial Review MRP projects a new political future for this country.
In 1944, Rober…
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May 19
Curious if anyone on here knows of any good evidence linking inflation expectations causally with actual inflation. I reckon it’s mostly not a real thing under normal inflation (I.e. less than hyperinflation). abc.net.au/news/2026-05-19/r…
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"It is the export surplus and the budget deficit which enable the capitalists to make profits over and above their own purchases of goods and services. The connection between 'external' profits and imperialism is obvious."
-Michał Kalecki
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May 12
My annual reminder: headlines say a deficit of $31.5b but Treasury actually says a 90% chance of the balance being between $119.7b deficit and $56.7b surplus. #budget26
"Economists put decimal points in their forecasts to show they have a sense of humor." William Gilmore Simms
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Howard's political project was fuelled by CGT wealth effects. But that era is over & demands of young for a decent job, home & good services cannot be waylaid by dreams of being property barons. The party is over. My piece on making wages king in @smh.
smh.com.au/national/tax-refo…
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May 10
First, make up a new definition of something, then attack somebody or something you don’t like for not meeting this made up definition. Have I got the strategy Ben?
May 10
When @JEChalmers aka ‘Jim-spin’ delivers his budget on Tuesday night and he uses language like ‘Tax Reforms’. Their not reform, they are tax hikes.
Tax Reform adjusts on both sides of the ledger. If you want to tax capital higher, then real reform would include lower taxes on labour.
#auspol
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May 9
House prices went ‘through the roof’ early 2000s for largely demand reasons (low rates, easy credit, booming economy). Cld argue supply didn’t respond but that had 0 chance of making much difference at the time particularly given the same price rises happened all over the globe.
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May 7
New ABS data: on most measures, how Australians experience their lives is getting worse. We've got the information, now we need to tie the information to decision-making and budgeting.
Kate Lycett, Georgie Frykberg and I in @ConversationEDU
theconversation.com/less-tru…
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Apr 24
My new paper for EIAC outlining a range of policy options for increasing JobSeeker including:
- Higher rates depending on level of work capacity
- Staged increase to JobSeeker over 4 years
- Full increase to 90% of age pension from 2026.
dss.gov.au/system/files/docu…
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Apr 24
EIAC recommends increasing the rate of JobSeeker and Parenting Payment - recipient rates of serious financial stress 10 times that of age pensioners (HILDA)
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''Even if the crises that are looming up are overcome and a new run of prosperity lies ahead, deeper problems will still remain. Modern capitalism has no purpose except to keep the show going.''
-Joan Robinson
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The way we deal with rising inflation is highly problematic. @RecoEco @unimelb theconversation.com/the-rbas…
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