All Stevenson’s arguments in favour of a wealth tax are based on personal anecdote. When you look at the actual evidence his case falls apart, says Oliver Dean

Last week, I had the opportunity to host a debate between famed YouTuber and activist Gary Stevenson, and Dr Kristian Niemietz of the Institute of Economic Affairs. The debate centered around whether the ‘super rich’ were destroying the UK and whether a wealth tax could solve Britain’s economic woes. Yet, what became clear to me after listening to Stevenson debate a real economist was that his ideas for a wealth tax are nothing short of a fantasy – and Britons would do well to steer clear of his beliefs.

Speaking with immeasurable levels of confidence, the ex-banker made the claim that economists suffer from an, “inability to think without data”. The reaction from the audience was varied. Some laughed, some sat in silence, aghast at what they had just heard and (for the economically-illiterate in the room) some even clapped.

This raises a very obvious question. If we are not to use data and numbers to make economic arguments, what, then, would Stevenson want us to use instead? Whilst he was quick to establish that he would not want economists to act on “vibes” alone, his heavy-handed statement opened the door to a question that........

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