I have been reading about the German “Economic Miracle” in the late 1940s’…. AMAZING
It had a lot to do with the the strong ideas that Ludwig Erhard had.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Erhard
His economic philosophy became something called…. ” The Social Market Economy”.
Like most economic philosophies or ideas… they get twisted and hijacked by special interest groups, as time goes…(One needs to study the original ideas.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_market_economy

If you study Erhards original ideas, some that he was able to implement, there some real gems of wisdom… that in the sharp glare of the “Global Crisis”, are quite profound and of the same quality as Keynes, Freidman etc…

Sure… times have changed…. but the principles of human endevour and the market economy have not, neither has dark side eg, greed , corruption etc.

Recent History has shown that a “Market Economy ” needs to operate within a broader Social context.
Recent history has also shown how critically important a stable Monetary system with a stable money system is.
Price is the transmission mechanism that balances supply and demand… Very simple idea ..but very complex, fluid, responsive and dynamic in reality. ie.. impossible to control without creating distortions.

Erhard understood all this…. He lived thru some extreme Economic times…
His ideas are worth a look at.
In a philisophical sense it is also about the dynamic balance between the Public Sector and the Private sector….. in terms of size, regulation and Social issues.
You will NEVER hear Phil Goff discuss the size of the Public Sector vs Private sector in the context of “Growth and Standard of living”.

I say… that’s impossible… I have read thru Phil Goffs speech and it is Jam packed with Generalities, catch phrase jargon speak, cliches and contradictions ….. To the point that it is incoherent and does not come from any kind of deep underlying understanding or knowledge.
Just band aid ideas that try to address symptoms rather than causes.

National are not much better…. and neither are the All Blacks…..

I’m not trying be be overly critical…. but I don’t feel there is much depth to Phil Goffs understanding.
It does not take much to realize that if GDP grows by 3% in a yr and the money supply expands by 15% in a yr…. there are going to be distortions ….. bubbles, malinvestments, mispricing of risk, current acct deficits, speculaton, volatility….etc …etc
In fact, in economics this is very basic and it is hard to believe that we have not learnt from the lessons of history.