Econobabble: How to Decode Political Spin and Economic Nonsense

Richard Denniss

feb 2016 · Redback Quarterly Libro 8 · Black Inc.

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Economics is like a tyre lever: it can be used to solve a problem, or to beat someone over the head . . .

What is econobabble? We hear it every day, when public figures and commentators use incomprehensible economic jargon to dress up their self-interest as the national interest, to make the absurd seem inevitable or the inequitable seem fair. This book is designed to expose the stupid arguments, bizarre contradictions and complete lack of evidence upon which much ‘common sense’ about the economy rests in Australia.

Econobabble is for those who, deep down, have never believed that it makes sense, economic or otherwise, to help poor people by slashing public spending on the services they need. It’s for those who have a sneaking suspicion that it would be cheaper to avoid the effects of climate change than to let them happen and then ‘adapt’. And it’s for those who think it would be more efficient to reduce unemployment than to ship jobs offshore or blame those who are out of work.

With humour and precision, Richard Denniss demolishes the tired and misleading arguments of right-wing economic ‘experts’, empowering you to cut through the babble and reach the truth.

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Dr Richard Denniss was until recently the head of the Australia Institute, and is now its chief economist. He has spent the last twenty years moving between policy-focused roles in academia, federal politics and think-tanks. He is co-author of Affluenza and Minority Policy, and writes regularly for the Australian Financial Review, the Canberra Times and the Monthly.