Ross Gittins
Ross Gittins is the Economics Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.
Ross's recent articles
We've been electing governments that damage our children's future (SMH August 19, 2020)
One of the most dismal ideas for our youth to entertain is that their lives won't be as comfortable as their parents'. Everyone in the older generation knows how much their lives have improved over the decades, and how much better off we are thanourparents were.
ROSS GITTINS.Scott Morrison,Easter and the pandemic(SMH 13.4.2020)
Since its Easter, let me tell you about something thats long puzzled me: how can an out-and-proud Pentecostalist such as Prime Minister Scott Morrison be leading the most un-Christian government I can remember? Fortunately, however, the virus crisis seems to be bringing out his more caring side.
ROSS GITTINS supports Pearls and Irritations.
I read the daily Pearls and Irritations email without fail and usually find various pieces I want to read.
ROSS GITTINS. An economy for the common good.(SMH19.2.2020)
We have to make democracy work for the masses, not just the rich and powerful.
ROSS GITTINS. Zero net carbon choice:do we want to be losers or winners?(SMH 29.1.2020)
You may regard economists as a dismal lot, always reminding us of the cost of this or the risk of that. But theres one prominent economist with a much more positive story to tell.
ROSS GITTINS Why I didn't donate to the Rural Fire Service this time around.(SMH 1.1. 2020)
As the cast were taking their bows at the end of a show before Christmas, one of them stepped forward to say that, as we left, wed be approached by people with buckets collecting for the NSW Rural Fire Service. Normally Id reach for my wallet Id done so a few weeks earlier when they were collecting for an actors charity but this time I declined.
Morrison is perfecting the seal on his own personal Canberra bubble. (SMH 11.12.2019)
If you think Scott Morrisons been busy doing not very much since the election in May, you are much mistaken. In truth hes been very busy doing stuff of not much interest to you. But sometimes it pays to take an interest in things that dont seem of interest.
ROSS GITTINS. Confessions of a pet shop galah: a lot of reform backfired (SMH 11.11.2019)
As someone who, back in the day, did his share of being one of Paul Keatings pet shop galahs screeching more micro reform! every time they saw a pollie I dont cease to be embarrassed by the many supposed reforms that turned into stuff-ups.
ROSS GITTINS. Viking economics: How Nordic nations debunk a Scott Morrison mantra (SMH 9.10.2019)
Id like to tell you Ive been away working hard on a study tour of the Nordic economies or perhaps tracing the remnant economic impact of the Hanseatic League (look it up) but the truth is we were too busy enjoying the sights around Scandinavia and the Baltic for me to spend much time reading the books and papers Id taken along.
ROSS GITTINS. Controversial reforms stalled until politicians win back our trust. (SMH 17.6.2019)
For those who care more about good policy than party politics, there are unpleasant conclusions to be drawn from the federal election. The obvious one is that it was a case of policy overreach leading to failure.
ROSS GITTINS. Morrison's miracle election may turn out to be the easy bit. (SMH 19.5.2019)
The great risk from Scott Morrisons miraculous victory is that it will lead politicians on both sides to draw conclusions that worsen our politics and our policies. Bill Shorten offered us a chance to change the government and change the nation, and was answered with a firm No Thanks.
ROSS GITTINS. Universities: both sides should clean up the mess they've made
Among the many issues needing early attention from the winner of the federal election is universities. Trouble is, neither side seems to have much idea of how to fix the mess both parties spent decades creating, before Julia Gillard brought things to a head with the brainwave of moving to demand-driven funding.
ROSS GITTINS. Stagnation spanner in the works? The tradesman you need to call is Keynes. (SMH 16.2.2019)
Every so often the economies of the developed world malfunction, behaving in ways the economists theory says they shouldnt. Economists fall to arguing among themselves about the causes of the breakdown and what should be done. Were in such a period now. Its called secular stagnation and its characterised by weak growth in the economy, in consumer spending, in business investment and in productivity improvement. This is accompanied by low price inflation and wage growth, and lowrealinterest rates.
ROSS GITTINS. Never fear, Hayne is a new start and not just for the banks. (SMH 5.2.2019)
If you think the banking royal commissions damning report means youll never again be overcharged or otherwise mistreated by a bank, youre being a bit naive. If youre hoping to witness leading bankers being dragged off to chokey, youll be waiting a while. But if you think that, once the dust has settled, well find little has changed, you havent been paying attention. I think we'll look back on this week and see it as the start of the era of re-regulation of the economy.
ROSS GITTINS. Hey pollies: weak wage growth won't fix itself. (SMH 4.2.2019)
The economys prospects are threatened by various risks from overseas about which we can do little and by continuing weakness in wage growth about which the two sides contesting the May federal election have little desire to talk.
ROSS GITTINS. Don't assume more expressways and trains will fix traffic jams. (SMH 1.12.2018)
When Marion Terrill, of the Grattan Institute, set out to find out how much commuting times had worsened in Sydney and Melbourne, she discovered something youll find very hard to believe. But it would come as no surprise to transport economists around the world.
ROSS GITTINS. Our oldies have never had it so good (SMH 5.11.2018)
Dont let anyone tell you Scott Morrison is out of touch. When he says that, if he had the money, hed increase the age pension rather than the dole, hes reflecting the views of most older Australians. Everyone knows its the old who are the deserving poor. Except it aint true. It was true once, but not for many years. You might expect the Prime Minister to be better informed than the average punter, but Morrison is from the new breed of politician who see a leaders job as to reflect the voters...
ROSS GITTINS. World growth a toxic danger for the environment. (SMH 27.10.2018)
If the worlds population keeps growing, and the poor worlds living standards keep catching up with the rich worlds, how on earth will the environment cope with the huge increase in extraction, processing and disposal of material resources?
ROSS GITTINS. Tax reform is pushed by rich males, for rich males (SMH 24.10.2018)
I know its a shocking thing for an economics writer to confess, but Ive lost my faith in the Search for the Golden Tax System. I no longer believe that reforming our tax system is the magic key to improving the nations economic and social wellbeing.
ROSS GITTINS. Why businesses are behaving badly. (SMH 6.10.2018)
While we digest the royal commissions evidence of shocking misconduct by the banks and insurance companies, theres another unpalatable truth to swallow: they have no monopoly on bad behaviour.
ROSS GITTINS. Nowhere to hide now for banks. (SMH 3.10.2018)
Last week must have been a terrifying wake-up call for Australias ruling class not just our politicians, but also the chief executives and directors of our big corporations, both publicly and privately owned. If theyre half as smart as theyre supposed to be after all, were told they got their jobs on merit their performance of their duties will be much improved going forward.
ROSS GITTINS. How market forces have failed the nation (SMH 19.9.2018)
How will the era of neoliberalism end with a bang or a whimper? With a royal commission or three. But dont worry. Royal commissions always make a lot of noise. With the memory of the governments embarrassing delay in yielding to public pressure for a royal commission into banking still fresh, Scott Morrison got in before theFour Cornersexpose to announce a royal commission into aged care. Whos to say this will be the last? A royal commission into electricity and gas prices is mooted. Maybe sometime in the future we'll see...
ROSS GITTINS. Long way to go to get banks back in their box (SMH 17.9.2018)
Have we learnt from the mistakes of the global financial crisis, now 10 years ago? Yes, but not nearly as much as we should have.
ROSS GITTINS. Morrison's surplus secret: bracket creep kills the tax cuts. (SMH 15-16.9.2018)
The mystery revealed. Consider this: how does the Morrison government cut income and company taxes and avoid big cuts in government spending, but still project ever-rising budget surpluses and ever-falling net public debt over the next decade? With publication of the Parliamentary Budget Officesreporton the May budgets medium-term projections, we now know. Short answer: by assuming loads more bracket creep between now and then.
ROSS GITTINS. How we could revive faith in democracy (SMH 6 June 2018)
How much is our disillusionment with politicians, governments and even democracy the result of our pollies 30-year love affair with that newly recognised mega-evil neoliberalism? To a considerable extent, according to Dr Richard Denniss, of the Australia Institute, in the latest Quarterly Essay,Dead Right.
ROSS GITTINS. Inequality: Nothing to see here is not the true picture (SMH 3.9.2018)
This week the Productivity Commission issued a stocktake of the evidence on inequality in Australia. Its findings will surprise you. But it wasnt as even-handed as it should have been.
ROSS GITTINS. Clever tax strategies may be legal, but they aren't productive (SMH 9/7/2018)
The developed worlds economists have been racking their brains for explanations of the rich countries protracted period of weak improvement in the productivity of labour. Ive thought of one that hasnt had much attention.
ROSS GITTINS. Cash and kind: How governments shift income from rich to poor. (SMH 7/7/2018)
Everyone knows the gap between high and low incomes has grown. But much of what we think we know about why its happened, and what the government has been doing about it, is probably wrong.
ROSS GITTINS. Memo Canberra: it's not taxes, it's wages, stupid. (SMH 2/7/2018)
With the season of peak political bulldust already upon us, and the media holding a microphone to all the self-serving and often stupid arguments the politicians are having with each other, heres a tip: if you want sense about our economic problems and their solutions, turn down the pollies blathering and turn up the considered contributions from the econocrats.
ROSS GITTINS. The threat of terrorism in Australia is a scam that costs us dearly (SMH 25/7/2017)
This article by Ross Gittins was published on 25 July 2017 in the SMH. Since then, the government has continued to ratchet up fear of terrorism. This is a particular stock in trade of conservatives - promoting fear- fear of Communists, fear of Asians, fear of Muslims, fear of terrorists and now, unfortunately fear of Chinese. Malcolm Turnbull, together with Peter Dutton, has said that random checks on passengers will be made at airports. But a major security risk at airports is the thousands of people employed 'airside' in duty-free shops, restaurants and all sorts of other commercial outlets....
ROSS GITTINS. Parties offer clear choice at next election
The federal election campaign could be as soon as August and no later than May. So which side is shaping as better at managing the economy?
ROSS GITTINS. Budget 2018: This budget is too good to be true
This budget is too good to be true. If you believe Malcolm Turnbull's luck can turn on a sixpence, this is the budget for you. From now on, everything's coming good.
ROSS GITTINS. The boot is on the other foot and big business is on the nose
The misbehaviour by banks and other big financial players revealed by the royal commission is so extensive and so shocking its likely to do lasting damage to the public credibility and political influence of the whole of big business and its lobby groups.
ROSS GITTINS. We have a bad case of misdirected compassion
Why do so many of us and the media, which so often merely reflect back the opinions of their audience feel sorrier for those who profess to be poor than for those who really are?
ROSS GITTINS. Who is to blame for the housing crisis and how to fix it
There aren't many material aspirations Australians hold dearer than owning their own home - but dear is the word. There are few greater areas of policy failure.
ROSS GITTINS. If governments don't get this message they will be tossed out.
A highlight of our trip to New York after Christmas was a visit to the Tenement Museum down on the lower east side, where the movieGangs of New Yorkwas set. It was the area where successive waves of Irish, German and Russian immigrants first settled, crowded into tenements. We were taken around the corner to see inside a tenement building restored to its original condition. As we climbed the back stairs, we were shown a row of dunnies and a water tap in the backyard. This, we were told, was one of the first tenements required to have outside toilets...
ROSS GITTINS. Self-interest standing in the way of a fix for the Murray-Darling
Genelle Haldane, my desk calendar tells me, has said that only until all of mankind lives in harmony with nature can we truly decree ourselves to be an intelligent species. I've no idea who Haldane is or was, but she's right.
Private health insurance is a con job
You won't believe it, but my birthday was on Tuesday and I got a present from the federal government. I also got a card from my state member, sending his very best wishes for reaching such an important milestone in my life.
ROSS GITTINS. A bigger, better public sector will secure our future
There are important lessons to be learnt from the latest news about where our strong growth in employment is coming from. But if we listen to the nostrums of the Smaller Government brigade, we'll get them exactly wrong.
ROSS GITTINS. Economists are giving up on smaller government.
You may not have noticed, but the Productivity Commission's search for a new policy model for reform, in reaction to the breakdown of the politicians' neoliberal consensus, offers better prospects for finally getting the budget under control. That's because, although the commission doesn't say so, its reformed approach to reformrepresents a retreat from a central tenet of neoliberal doctrine for the past 30 years: the goal of Smaller Government.
ROSS GITTINS. Treasury must prevail against 'pushy young punks'
The challenge for Treasury, the Productivity Commission and the rest is to be less doctrinal less true to the one true economic rationalist faith - and more practical in giving advice that satisfies the pollies' ever-present need to do something without the something they do causing a lot of harm,maybe even some good.
ROSS GITTINS. Government losing its resistance to rent-seeking businesses
I'm starting to suspect the federal government of whatever colour has lost its ability to control its own spending.
How we can do better on education. (Jean Blackburn Oration)
When you do so little to require the winners from economic change to compensate the losers, and then, whether by accident or design, you have an influx of immigrants, you end up with Trump, Brexit and the resurrection of One Nation.
ROSS GITTINS. Outlook for Australian politics and government in 2017.
The area of economic reform where the governments performance has been most egregious is on policy to ease our transition to a low-carbon economy and honour our commitments at the Paris conference. Leaving aside Abbotts role in our policy regression, Turnbulls disservice to the nation was to swear off introducing a carbon intensity scheme.
Ross Gittins. Launch of book by Menadue and Keating.
Sydney, Thursday, November 5, 2015 Paul Samuelson, the famous American economist, is said to have remarked that the stockmarket has predicted nine of the past five recessions. I thought of that this week and decided the Canberra press gallery could top it: the gallery has predicted nine of the past two early elections. They were at it again last weekend, reporting that, with the Coalition now riding high in the polls, serious thought was being given to calling an election - per force a double dissolution - early next year. It was an unconvincing proposition and, perhaps...