Red's Rag

RRR’s favourite, and entirely non-partisan, academic expert on all things economic in Scotland ('Red' Midsummer) is riding to our collective rescue again. This time Prof Red has, amongst others, a couple of economic Nobel laureates in his sights. In response to the FM announcement on his Council of Economic Advisers, Red opines in today’s Scotsman:

"This is a waste of public money. The announcement is symptomatic of the SNP having greater concern for the trappings of office than problems of governing. Hopefully, Mr Salmond will soon stop the gesture politics and make a statement on matters for which he has responsibility,"

That’s the boy Red - go get ‘em. Professors Mirrlees and Kydland (afore mentioned Nobel laureates) will be sorry they ever showed their faces in this town…What would they know about economics anyway? Professor John Kay – founder of the universally praised Institute for Fiscal Studies – a total joker, right? And as for the economy – well, I ask you – just what has improving the state of the Scottish economy got to do with the job of being First Minister of Scotland? Jack never saw it that way - right? It gets even worse. What an outrageous waste of public money - they are each being paid (and I hope you're all sitting down) the preposterous sum of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...unlike the adviser to the previous Finance Committee as indicated (para 17-19) here. Hum-de-hum...