I've been a fan of Mr. Murphy for ages, I always used to read his tax research blog, so of course I follow him on SS now. You're right, his writing is clear, concise and effective, and he has a lifetime of very relevant experience so he knows exactly what he's talking about. I just find it frustrating that someone of his stature still has trouble cutting through to the people who can actually change things for the better.
Byline Times is seriously deficient when it comes to economics, so this item makes a refreshing change, even if it doesn’t get everything. Prof. Murphy, along with others, has been advocating a Green New Deal for many years and he has also written about using ISA’s etc for investment in the real economy rather than in second-hand shares which is what the Stock Market deals in, as a condition of obtaining tax exemptions. His Taxing Wealth Report should be read by every journalist and politician, as should The Self Financing State (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00213624.2025.2533726) or the simplified version for the Layperson, which explains exactly how money is created - no tax or “borrowing” required.
The people who need to read Richard Murphy's Taxing Wealth Report are all those who keep jumping up and down shouting "tax the wealthy!" when the only thing they can think of is a tax on assets. As Richard explains, nice though the idea is, the legal and administrative problems would be an absolute nightmare, and inevitably bog the whole thing down. His simple solution is essentially to equitably tax all forms of income. There's a lot more detail to it, obviously, but that's the core concept.
I completely agree, it is refreshing to have a voice that says something other than the neo-liberal orthodoxy that has completely dominated the discourse on Public Economics for a couple of decades. It has completely hobbled political thinking as well, leaving the less well off struggling and without a voice, whilst “the rich have their mouths stuffed with more gold”.
I do wonder how much of the inertia in govt economics is down to the civil servants who run the treasury. I don't know what actually goes on of course, but I have read comments by people who appear to have inside knowledge that the govt finances are in fact run by the mandarins, and chancellors are actually allowed very little freedom to impose their own ideas. If so, then we will need a govt with the determination to overrule civil servants - which of course they have the power to do.
There’s an excellent piece in today’s National by Richard Murphy which debunks and explains very clearly how Government spending works and why “borrowing” isn’t needed. And, for good measure, how the “Bond Vigilantes” could be put in their place.
Do we at last have some high profile people injecting a little sanity into national economics?
I recommend Richard Murphy’s The Politics of Care Substack, economic sense in plain language with easy to follow graphics.
I've been a fan of Mr. Murphy for ages, I always used to read his tax research blog, so of course I follow him on SS now. You're right, his writing is clear, concise and effective, and he has a lifetime of very relevant experience so he knows exactly what he's talking about. I just find it frustrating that someone of his stature still has trouble cutting through to the people who can actually change things for the better.
Byline Times is seriously deficient when it comes to economics, so this item makes a refreshing change, even if it doesn’t get everything. Prof. Murphy, along with others, has been advocating a Green New Deal for many years and he has also written about using ISA’s etc for investment in the real economy rather than in second-hand shares which is what the Stock Market deals in, as a condition of obtaining tax exemptions. His Taxing Wealth Report should be read by every journalist and politician, as should The Self Financing State (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00213624.2025.2533726) or the simplified version for the Layperson, which explains exactly how money is created - no tax or “borrowing” required.
There’s also the excellent Scottish Political Economist William Thomson who writes regular newsletters from a heterodox viewpoint and who organises the Scottish Economics Festival. (https://www.patreon.com/ScotlandsPoliticalEconomy/posts/scottish-central-170254068?utm_campaign=patron_engagement&utm_source=post_link&post_id=170254068&utm_id=9cc0a859-2d6f-44a2-a40e-9cd68a3849fc&utm_medium=email)
The people who need to read Richard Murphy's Taxing Wealth Report are all those who keep jumping up and down shouting "tax the wealthy!" when the only thing they can think of is a tax on assets. As Richard explains, nice though the idea is, the legal and administrative problems would be an absolute nightmare, and inevitably bog the whole thing down. His simple solution is essentially to equitably tax all forms of income. There's a lot more detail to it, obviously, but that's the core concept.
I completely agree, it is refreshing to have a voice that says something other than the neo-liberal orthodoxy that has completely dominated the discourse on Public Economics for a couple of decades. It has completely hobbled political thinking as well, leaving the less well off struggling and without a voice, whilst “the rich have their mouths stuffed with more gold”.
I do wonder how much of the inertia in govt economics is down to the civil servants who run the treasury. I don't know what actually goes on of course, but I have read comments by people who appear to have inside knowledge that the govt finances are in fact run by the mandarins, and chancellors are actually allowed very little freedom to impose their own ideas. If so, then we will need a govt with the determination to overrule civil servants - which of course they have the power to do.
The well known “Treasury View”.
Exactly 🤬
There’s an excellent piece in today’s National by Richard Murphy which debunks and explains very clearly how Government spending works and why “borrowing” isn’t needed. And, for good measure, how the “Bond Vigilantes” could be put in their place.
Well worth a read. https://www.thenational.scot/comment/26585586.truth-government-borrowing-economists-wont-tell/