Is optimism a basis for policy?

Friday 12 April 2013

We have a new economic “narrative” from the Government! It is optimism. About China. From Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday:

I am an optimist, I was an optimist even when everyone else was a pessimistic. I thought we would continue to see China grow.

And from Treasurer Wayne Swan this morning:

Of course, despite all the breathless commentary about the potential for a Chinese ‘hard-landing’, we’ve now seen China’s growth consolidate. I’ve always been an optimist about China.

I’m an optimist too but I’d much rather pessimists ran the country with prudent policy.

About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific's leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.