Here are all the sponsors for the Australian Conference of Economists this year. All public sector agencies. Now economics is a discipline fundamentally about policy – or I think it is – so it’s no scandal, but it’s still pretty striking that there’s not a private sector sponsor among them – or perhaps there are and they’ve fallen below the ‘bronze medal’ radar. Anyway, it’s a bit of a pity.
The Economic Society of Australia (NSW Branch) acknowledges the support of our ACE10 sponsors:
· The Treasury (Gold Sponsor)
· Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Silver Sponsor)
· Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (Silver Sponsor)
· NSW Treasury (Silver Sponsor)
· Productivity Commission (Silver Sponsor)
· Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (Bronze Sponsor)
· Reserve Bank of Australia (Bronze Sponsor)
· Australian Bureau of Statistics (Satchel Sponsor)
· Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (Name Badge Sponsor)
Would krill sponsor the IWC any more than private enterprise sponsor gatherings of economists or climatolgists nowadays? Morgan Sachs and Co might be worth tapping up to sponsor economics and climatology gatherings but they probably figure it’s a captive audience anyway.
Definitely worth trying the Peoples Democratic Republic of Gas Manufacturers though-
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100821/ap_on_bi_ge/un_un_carbon_cutting_scheme
very shortsighted, particularly given the requisite talent pool in the near future (ecology, environ, regulation- i.e monetizing “public” goods).
Is there an obvious similarity between those who largely populate the fields of economics and climatology now? Basically if you publicly fund a bunch of jumped up weather men to congregate often and muse over the BIG PICTURE then over time they will develop a fatal attraction for, if not overarching control of that which they seek to understand, then certainly a large degree of interference in it. We have now reached the glaringly obvious position where there is hardly a publicly paid economist or climatologist that doesn’t concur with a global ETS and yet a modicum of commonsense should have warned them all against such monumental self-importance and hubris, that was so evident at Copenhagen and prior to that with the GFC. With no personal cost to their fatal attraction for some overarching distillation of truth, out of so much chaotic complexity, there was an inevitable tendency toward megalomania in their prescription.
Here’s a poignant example of grappling with such complexity with a view to interest rate settings-
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/WEEKEND-ECONOMIST-Our-rates-distraction-pd20100827-8Q8HC?OpenDocument&src=mp
OTOH/OTO all over the shop trying to make sense of it all which is of little concern except to Westpac itself and its ongoing battle with its competitors and the overall marketplace. On that roundup Westpac’s Bill Evans can’t even answer a simple question as to why Westpac raised their variable home loan rate 0.25% a week before the election and indeed whether or not its competitors will quickly follow suit. No matter because ultimately Westpac will sink or swim on Bill’s considered opinion but not so for our publicly paid weather men. They want to control the world on the narrowest and flimsiest of arguments, as well as track records to date. Where on earth do these overstuffed Groupthinkers get off with such monumental pomposity and hubris and who gave these weather men the right to call themselves economists and climatoligists? What’s next? Joining forces to create the new self-appointed Science of Cosmic Humantology? You’re all just weather men with feet of clay pure and simple.
“In the period prior to the onset of the crisis, hubris developed in parts of the financial sector, and in the investor community more generally, that everything could be precisely measured and priced.”
But not for a moment in your overarching part of the financial sector eh Guy? However if you’ve got any more certain uncertain models Guy will be only too pleased to talk to you now that he’s an expert on hubris.
http://www.news.com.au/business/breaking-news/poor-risk-assessment-led-to-global-financial-crisis/story-e6frfkur-1225912209942
Meanwhile in the parallel universe of climatology, where you might recall a global ETS was the vision splendid for all intelligentsia, despite the odd pleb skeptic thinking that any global edifice built upon some young punk calling round home to change some light globes and shower heads to create some more carbon credits for Morgan Sachs and Co might suffer from the odd moment of hubris, the penny might just be beginning to drop for the sunstruck who forgot to wear their tinfoil hats.
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/solar-PV-AGL-fuel-cell-carbon-abatement-pd20100830-8T5VK?OpenDocument&src=sph
Yes plebs, if you do your sums on those figures and allowing for 25yr performance life of those solar panels (but sadly only a 5yr guarantee on inverters), that works out at $500/tonne saved, right out there in the ether with cash for clunkers. Furthermore you might also get to see a 2.1KW system putting out 47watts of power at 11am on a wet rainy day like me, which unfortunately wouldn’t run a single 50watt downlight you’ve been busy paying my son to adorn your ceilings with of late. No matter because there’s always environmentally friendly backup on hand. Definitely no nukes please, we’re all Greenies can’t you tell?