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> It is hard to review, test and maintain code in Excel workbooks, so we should instead write custom software for these tasks?!

Well, maybe before we attempt to send men with guns to further deprive people of their property and liberty (which is, of course, the end goal of Piketty's work and advocacy of a global wealth task) we should determine whether or not his results are, y'know, true?

I know, I know, truth is such an old-fashioned concept.

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What a stunningly off-topic, irrelevant comment.

Ummm, my comment was on-topic, since if Piketty's arguments for wealth-confiscation depend upon his research; if his research is wrong, then his conclusions are likewise unsupported.

And yes, when writing software we should use the appropriate tools for the task. If we're about to advocate the confiscation under force of a significant proportion of the world's wealth, then maybe--just maybe--we should use more complex, more expensive but more complex software development methods than 'bing into Excel and fiddle with the formulæ until they feel right.'

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