Standing on the Shoulders of Giants?

What do John F. Kennedy, George Soros, Mick Jagger and Greg Selinger all have in common? They are all alumni of the London School of Economics, one of the most prestigious educational institutions on the planet.

Great thinkers from this institution have spread the mantra of trade liberalization. This philosophy has enabled one-time moribund economies such as South Korea to prosper faster than ever before. It is my personal hope to see many more economies follow suit. The LSE’s George Akerlof articulated one of my favourite economic tenets – Informational Asymmetry.

Knowing of Mr. Selinger’s educational pedigree, I am all the more perplexed at his lack of leadership in the terms of prudent fiscal management. The most recent budget seems to be a stinker in the eyes of many. Our finance minister should have been well versed in the economic incentives that would inevitably lead to cost overruns when the NDP decided to pursue their forced unionization on the Floodway expansion. Surely someone from the LSE can appreciate the gravity of the stewards of our capital markets being unwilling to call the public inquiry into Crocus that would restore investor faith in said markets.

The great Sir Isaac Newton once said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of Giants.” Having studied in the hallowed halls of an institution which housed 14 Nobel Prize winners and countless heads of state, surely Mr. Selinger himself should be able to see just as far. Unfortunately for Manitobans, the administration of which he is an integral part sees fit to persistently spend faster than the rate of inflation, a no-no in the mind of most economists. In the face of record revenues and federal transfer payments, even now he must use remove another $37 million from the rainy day fund. Why hasn’t he been able to see far if he himself is standing on the shoulders of giants?

I see trouble on the horizon if Mr. Selinger doesn’t start reversing many trends he helped create. Of course the LSE does offer many fields of study other than economics. Surely, however, someone in charge of an entity with over NINE BILLION dollars in revenue would have SOME sort of solid economic background or training, right? He did after all, go to the right institution for it…