Rinehart has no public policy experience beyond lobbying and rent-seeking. She is a businesswoman but not an economist nor an expert on politics or political economy. She has no expertise on social issues or social work or psychology. She is neither a lawyer nor a tax expert. In fact, it would be quite remarkable if Rinehart could offer valuable insight on social policy and economics. I don’t think the public quite appreciates how difficult it is to be both supremely successful in business and able to offer expertise on a wide variety of other topics. But in Australia -- and globally -- we often expect business leaders to offer insight and value on topics they have no specialty in. Would you ask Justin Bieber for investment advice? Is economist Paul Krugman the best person to help build your home? And should venture capitalist Tom Perkins really be helping you study for German history? If you answer no, then why would we turn to business leaders to help fix economic or social issues? Rinehart’s views on the economy -- tax cuts, lower spending and wage cuts -- share an uncomfortable cohesion with her denial of climate change. They are a thinly veiled attempt to make herself richer at the expense of other Australians. Rinehart has framed this as a left-versus-right debate, but the reality is that Rinehart is simply wrong on welfare, has failed to read the literature or understand the budget data, and has failed to address the real welfare issue: aged pensions and aged care. Australia’s challenges simply cannot be addressed with a prescription of tax cuts and lower spending. But misguided and opportunistic politics is one thing. The real concern is that people will look at Rinehart’s success and use that as evidence that she must know what she is talking about. Unfortunately, really smart people can be incredibly silly on topics outside their specialty. Instead, we should look to actual experts to provide clarity on the issues of the day.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 05:52:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015