Brendan Burgess
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I have just been notified by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland that they have unanimously rejected my complaint about The Great Wealth Divide.
It was discussed here:
David McWilliams RTE programme on inequality
I attach my formal complaint. Here is the summary:
Complaint about The Great Wealth Divide
Presenter David McWilliams
Broadcast on RTE 1 on 19 September 2015
Complainant: Brendan Burgess
Date submitted to Broadcasting Authority of Ireland: 4th January 2016
Introduction
This programme is in flagrant breach of Rule 19 in the BAI’s code that “Views and facts shall not be misrepresented or presented in such a way as to render them misleading.”
1) There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever to support the key point of the programme that the rich got richer during the recession and recovery and that the working middle classes are being excluded from the recovery.
The programme ignored the evidence that shows that the wealth gap did not increase during the recession and recovery.
2) As there was no evidence to support the programme’s claim, the programme presented a totally misleading comparison of the growth in wealth of the Top 100 wealthiest people with the growth in income of the rest of us over the past year. This is a completely meaningless comparison on five grounds
· Comparing growth in wealth of one group with the growth in income of another group is meaningless – growth in wealth of one group should be compared with growth in wealth of the other group.
· The comparison was made over one year, while the programme claimed that the gap has opened up during the recession and recovery which has lasted 7 years
· Selecting a sample of 100 people is statistically meaningless
· Selecting the 100 richest people today rather than selecting the 100 richest back in 2008 to see how their wealth has changed
· The two wealthiest people who account for 58% of the growth in wealth have little or no economic connection with Ireland.
3) The programme claimed incorrectly that the wealth inequality, whose existence no one denies, and the alleged increase in the wealth gap are the intended result of policy. In fact, government policy measures over the past few years would have tended to reduce the gap.
4) The programme ignored the real causes of the wealth gap:
a. Older people are wealthier than younger people
b. Income inequality. Higher earners build up wealth more quickly than lower earners
c. In particular, people who set up successful businesses become wealthy
d. People who save more than other people on the same income become wealthier
e. People get wealthy due to inheritances and gifts
5) The programme provided no context for the Irish wealth gap – how it compares with other countries and how it integrates with the inequality in income.
6) The proposed solution of increasing Corporation Tax on US multinationals is simply irrelevant to the distribution of wealth in Ireland
Key extracts from the programme
“ … in the recession, we all thought that we were getting poor together. But in fact a small minority were getting richer, much richer than you can imagine. …. But something is not right. …The working middle classes are being excluded from the recovery – it’s not just a feeling, it’s a reality.
During the bust, Ireland experienced a massive transfer of wealth. We now live in a winner take all economy where those at the top have a chance to make a fortune while those in the middle and the bottom get left behind.
We do have our super-rich and there are probably only 200 or 300 of them who are considered very very rich and they have come through the recession. In some cases they have acquired businesses cheaply. They have got debt write downs on other things. They seem to be able to restructure themselves and hold onto their wealth and now that the economy is recovering again and asset prices are rising again, they certainly appear to be getting richer. They are restructuring their personal balance sheets and they are coming out stronger than ever.
Whereas the smaller person who is struggling with a mortgage who maybe has had to take one or two wage cuts , they haven’t gotten anything.
This concentration of wealth is reversing trends of the last century in Ireland [of] upward social mobility and expansion of the middle classes.
The wealth of the Top 100 Rich list increased by €12 bn in just one year. That is twice the increase in income of every single person in Ireland last year. All 4.6m of us.
We have moved from a compassionate, open ended generous type of capitalism to a
hyper-capitalism winner takes all capitalism where the pitch isn’t level but is stacked enormously towards the extremely wealthy.
Actually Ireland does well when it comes to income inequality. Progressive income tax, social welfare and the minimum wage make Ireland one of the fairest countries in Europe.
And there never has been a better time for a tiny proportion of people to make money. There are tax policies to encourage the wealthy to generate more wealth + we have QE the global policy of printing reams of brand new money for the banks to lend out to whoever they see fit.
And finally NAMA. The Irish government policy which seems to me to have been nothing short of a fire sale of Irish assets
None of this is an accident. This concentration of wealth is not unintended consequence of policy, it is policy.
This wealth gap, this great divide, did not just happen by accident. It is the direct result of policies and political decisions made globally, in Europe and right here at home. And it won’t get fixed by accident. Every country has a choice. Closing the gap means meeting wealthy individuals and companies half way. “
It was discussed here:
David McWilliams RTE programme on inequality
I attach my formal complaint. Here is the summary:
Complaint about The Great Wealth Divide
Presenter David McWilliams
Broadcast on RTE 1 on 19 September 2015
Complainant: Brendan Burgess
Date submitted to Broadcasting Authority of Ireland: 4th January 2016
Introduction
This programme is in flagrant breach of Rule 19 in the BAI’s code that “Views and facts shall not be misrepresented or presented in such a way as to render them misleading.”
1) There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever to support the key point of the programme that the rich got richer during the recession and recovery and that the working middle classes are being excluded from the recovery.
The programme ignored the evidence that shows that the wealth gap did not increase during the recession and recovery.
2) As there was no evidence to support the programme’s claim, the programme presented a totally misleading comparison of the growth in wealth of the Top 100 wealthiest people with the growth in income of the rest of us over the past year. This is a completely meaningless comparison on five grounds
· Comparing growth in wealth of one group with the growth in income of another group is meaningless – growth in wealth of one group should be compared with growth in wealth of the other group.
· The comparison was made over one year, while the programme claimed that the gap has opened up during the recession and recovery which has lasted 7 years
· Selecting a sample of 100 people is statistically meaningless
· Selecting the 100 richest people today rather than selecting the 100 richest back in 2008 to see how their wealth has changed
· The two wealthiest people who account for 58% of the growth in wealth have little or no economic connection with Ireland.
3) The programme claimed incorrectly that the wealth inequality, whose existence no one denies, and the alleged increase in the wealth gap are the intended result of policy. In fact, government policy measures over the past few years would have tended to reduce the gap.
4) The programme ignored the real causes of the wealth gap:
a. Older people are wealthier than younger people
b. Income inequality. Higher earners build up wealth more quickly than lower earners
c. In particular, people who set up successful businesses become wealthy
d. People who save more than other people on the same income become wealthier
e. People get wealthy due to inheritances and gifts
5) The programme provided no context for the Irish wealth gap – how it compares with other countries and how it integrates with the inequality in income.
6) The proposed solution of increasing Corporation Tax on US multinationals is simply irrelevant to the distribution of wealth in Ireland
Key extracts from the programme
“ … in the recession, we all thought that we were getting poor together. But in fact a small minority were getting richer, much richer than you can imagine. …. But something is not right. …The working middle classes are being excluded from the recovery – it’s not just a feeling, it’s a reality.
During the bust, Ireland experienced a massive transfer of wealth. We now live in a winner take all economy where those at the top have a chance to make a fortune while those in the middle and the bottom get left behind.
We do have our super-rich and there are probably only 200 or 300 of them who are considered very very rich and they have come through the recession. In some cases they have acquired businesses cheaply. They have got debt write downs on other things. They seem to be able to restructure themselves and hold onto their wealth and now that the economy is recovering again and asset prices are rising again, they certainly appear to be getting richer. They are restructuring their personal balance sheets and they are coming out stronger than ever.
Whereas the smaller person who is struggling with a mortgage who maybe has had to take one or two wage cuts , they haven’t gotten anything.
This concentration of wealth is reversing trends of the last century in Ireland [of] upward social mobility and expansion of the middle classes.
The wealth of the Top 100 Rich list increased by €12 bn in just one year. That is twice the increase in income of every single person in Ireland last year. All 4.6m of us.
We have moved from a compassionate, open ended generous type of capitalism to a
hyper-capitalism winner takes all capitalism where the pitch isn’t level but is stacked enormously towards the extremely wealthy.
Actually Ireland does well when it comes to income inequality. Progressive income tax, social welfare and the minimum wage make Ireland one of the fairest countries in Europe.
And there never has been a better time for a tiny proportion of people to make money. There are tax policies to encourage the wealthy to generate more wealth + we have QE the global policy of printing reams of brand new money for the banks to lend out to whoever they see fit.
And finally NAMA. The Irish government policy which seems to me to have been nothing short of a fire sale of Irish assets
None of this is an accident. This concentration of wealth is not unintended consequence of policy, it is policy.
This wealth gap, this great divide, did not just happen by accident. It is the direct result of policies and political decisions made globally, in Europe and right here at home. And it won’t get fixed by accident. Every country has a choice. Closing the gap means meeting wealthy individuals and companies half way. “
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