" I find there's a gaping hole or two in her arguments. I'll concentrate on just one here"
Translation: Let me cherry-pick one argument that I can nit-pick and use that to "disprove" her entire case.
Interestingly, TW doesn't mention this bit:
"Some economists argue that the reward for the state comes through taxation. This, in theory, is right. Innovation-led growth should lead to an increase in tax revenue – but not if the companies that benefit the most from innovations don’t pay much tax compared to the income they generate, not only as a result of loopholes but also because of their continual lobbying for tax incentives and tax cuts that they say they need to foster innovation. It’s not a coincidence that groups such as the National Venture Capital Association helped convince the US government to reduce capital gains tax by 50 per cent in only five years in the late 1970s – an “innovation policy” later copied by Tony Blair’s government. (A policy that even Warren Buffett has admitted has had no effect on investment but lots on inequality.)"
TW says "We're only making the observation that if we allow someone who has increased global growth rates so markedly to keep his pile of cash, then this will encourage the next person with an idea that might boost global growth rates to get on with it. This is not a moral nor justice "deserved rewards" style argument. It's a purely utilitarian one regarding incentives that induce people to try."
What he doesn't say is that, rather than the so-called "Trickle Down" effect that is supposed to make us all better off, what we actually get is a "Trickle Up" effect that concentrates more wealth into the hands of a minority, making it *more* difficult for others who want to try to actually get even one foot on the ladder because those at the top can manipulate the markets to undercut newcomers, not to mention leveraging their wealth into political influence.
"economics is is all about incentives and perhaps we might expect a professor of the subject to grok that"
And perhaps we can hope that TW will realise that there's a difference between the incentive to try and the incentive of those who have a monopolistic hold on the market (Google, Amazon etc) to ensure that nobody gets to successfully compete with them.