1. So I was on the Jeremy Vine (BBC) show today. They had me debate this think tank guy, Mark Littlewood from the 'Institute of Economic Affairs'. Sounds very prestigious, eh?
— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019
2. He was convinced that inequality is not an issue, the rich should pay less in tax, and threw some misleading statistics at me.
— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019
3. The weird thing was that he was introduced as some kind of neutral expert. I had to point out that he’s in fact a corporate lobbyist who takes money from Big Tobacco, climate deniers, etc., and sees Brexit as an opportunity to make Britain a paradise for billionaires.
— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019
4. Actually, this ‘Institute of Economic Affairs’ just received an official warning from the Charity Commission, because they use taxfree donations to spread their libertarian propaganda. Which is illegal in the UK.
— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019
5. Makes you wonder: why do these people even get airtime? Good news is that they seem like a relic of the past. The things he was saying may have been radical in the seventies. Now it’s just BO-RING.
— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019
The #GiniCoefficient refered to is not ‘misleading‘ invention by @MarkJLittlewood, but a widespread measure of inequality. I expected more from you than these ad-hominem attacks.
— Clara von Bismarck-Osten (@claravobi) March 19, 2019
By oversimplifying things you lower yourself to the level of the lobbyist you so fiercly blame. Inequality is an intricate phenomenon. It deserves close attention.
— Clara von Bismarck-Osten (@claravobi) March 19, 2019
Do your homework next time you‘re invited on a show and check the data – ‚many people think like me‘ is not enough to convince
— Clara von Bismarck-Osten (@claravobi) March 19, 2019
On @OurWorldinData you can find a fantastic summary of the available data on the subject. @MaxCRoser is managing the page.
— Clara von Bismarck-Osten (@claravobi) March 19, 2019
I actually did my homework, but didn't get the time to make all my points. Here's what World In Data (fantastic website indeed) writes, and this is what I mean when I say it's misleading to look at the gini-index in this case. pic.twitter.com/amsgTblf1V
— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019
It‘s good you clarify!
— Clara von Bismarck-Osten (@claravobi) March 19, 2019
Extremely good and helpful work on this is done by Stephen Jenkinshttps://t.co/QS6uLo6mh4
and alsohttps://t.co/hgeoGMOXgd— Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) March 19, 2019