As Swan weighs in, inflation still the only winner

Jim Chalmers doesn’t appear to understand economics. This is unsurprising given his doctorate is in political science, an area of little use to the treasurer of any economy. Dr Chalmers doesn’t seem to realise that inflation is due to overspending by state governments and his own federal government. He has overseen the last 12 interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank that have smashed our GDP; however, inflation is persistent because he refuses to curtail his own spending. He now very naively boasts that his own government spending has kept us out of the per capita recession we are currently experiencing and that will last for many more months to come. In the past two years he has made the average Australian voter much poorer, reducing their savings, increasing their debt or, worse still, sending their businesses into bankruptcy or insolvency.

Paul Haege, Darling Point, NSW

If you’re the treasurer and you have Wayne Swan’s support, then it’s time to check your figures and review your policies. Swan’s performance as federal treasurer left a great deal to be desired.

Tom Moylan, Dudley Park, WA

Now there’s a reference for you: Wayne Swan backs Jim Chalmers against the Reserve Bank. Wow! (“Punching itself in face: Swan backs Chalmers, blasts RBA”, 6/9). Swan would have to go down in the history books as one of the most inept treasurers this country has seen. I seem to recall seven budgets and not one achieved what Swan said it would.

Regardless, Chalmers taking cheap shots at the Reserve Bank would be laughable if it weren’t so serious. Apart from questioning the decision-making of Michele Bullock, a governor he appointed, he has demonstrated to the globe that his government’s fiscal policy and the central bank’s monetary policy are in direct conflict.

Thankfully governor Bullock appears to be reasoned and pragmatic. Apart from her clear expertise, she can and does stand on her own two feet, unafraid to state her case and defend it. She communicates in an accessible manner and doesn’t hold a hidden political agenda. Give me Bullock over Chalmers any day.

As for Swan, will he please go back to sleep; we don’t need his “expert” opinion.

John George, Terrigal, NSW

Labor’s ideological causes, particularly its renewables superpower fantasy and empowerment of unions, weaken the key attributes of dynamism and flexibility necessary to enable a government to make adjustments to pull fiscal policy into line with the central bank’s monetary policy. The first has entrenched and monopolised a subsidy-dependent, inflationary and inefficient energy system, undermining competition, investment and innovation, while the latter has brought rigidity into industrial relations, undermining the ability to create productivity-enhancing workplace agreements. It is difficult to see the RBA achieving its goal to tame inflation by equalising supply with demand when the Albanese government has so disastrously embedded it into today’s society as a result of its fixation with ideologies. (“Why RBA’s ‘best medicine’ remains a bitter pill”, 6/9).

Ron Hobba, Camberwell, Vic

Unlike Paul Keating’s immortal “recession we had to have”, we have had a simpering denial by Treasurer Chalmers that there is in fact a per-capita recession under way (“Attention, Treasurer! Bullock reads riot act on high inflation”, 6/9). Much more important than headline-grabbing epithets would be a realistic and honest analysis of why this happened and how to fix it. Unfortunately for voters, the looming federal election’s pall obscures the truth. Chalmers’ economic adumbration suggests that more government spending can fix inflation and boost the economy.

It is reminiscent of an apocryphal Asia visit by US economist Milton Friedman, where the government had deployed men with shovels instead of machinery to dig a canal, “creating” hundreds of jobs. When a spokesman indicated it was a great success, Friedman suggested getting them to use teaspoons instead.

Chalmers fails to understand wealth creation, the effect of high tax rates limiting workers’ disposable income and its effects underlining the cost-of-living crisis.

Craig Mills, Kew, Vic

When Wayne Swan criticises the Reserve Bank, Michele Bullock must realise she’s taking the right course of action.

Andrew Strauss, Darling Point, NSW