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12 October 2011

Boettke o Nobelovcima

Za one koji hoće još o najnovijim Nobelovcima, izjasnio se i Peter Boettke -- a po mojoj oceni teško da danas ima boljeg metodologa i istoričara ekonomske misli od njega.
Njegov sud je sličan onima koje smo Ivan i ja ovde izneli -- izgubila je nauka, dobila je lažna naučnost ili scientism. Evo Boettkea:

But both Sargent and Sims represent scientism run amok, and the attitude (especially of Sargent) has further killed scholarship in economics and political economy in the search for more rigorous science.

Intervju sa Richardom Sulikom

Radi se o predsedniku jedne od manjih slovačkih političkih stranaka i čoveku zbog koga je Slovačka odbila da pristane na European Finacial Stability Facilty (bailout fond).

Elem, Sulik je dao sjajan intervju za nemački Spiegel. Nekoliko citata:

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What will you do should the EFSF reform pass despite your opposition?
Sulik: For Slovakia, it would be best not to join the bailout fund. Our membership in the euro zone, after all, was not conditional on us becoming members of strange associations like the EFSF, which damage the currency.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: If the euro only causes problems, why doesn't Slovakia's government just pull the country out of the euro zone?
Sulik: I don't see the euro as the problem. It's a good project. Everyone involved can benefit from it -- but only if they stick to the ground rules. And that's exactly what we're demanding.

I ovo:

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Does one of your reasons for not wanting to help Greece have to do with the fact that Slovakia itself is one of the poorest countries in the EU?
Sulík: A few years back, we survived an economic crisis. With great effort and tough reforms, we put it behind us. Today, Slovakia has the lowest average salaries in the euro zone. How am I supposed to explain to people that they are going to have to pay a higher value-added tax (VAT) so that Greeks can get pensions three times as high as the ones in Slovakia?
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What can the Greeks learn from the reforms carried out in Slovakia?
Sulik: They have to make cuts in the state apparatus. The Slovaks could also give them a few good ideas about the tax system. We have a flat tax when it comes to income taxes. Our tax system is simple and clear.