Bob Edlin writes – Thailand’s Constitutional Court reminds us of how judges can be politically powerful. It has removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office, ruling that she “lacks the qualifications and possesses prohibited characteristics” under the Thai constitution. As the ABC reported, her dismissal flings the country into political instability. It also highlights the […]
Kiwis don’t need a Constitutional Court to crimp our elected law-makers – we already have judges who do that
Kiwis don’t need a Constitutional Court to crimp our elected law-makers – we already have judges who do that
02 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: constitutional law, Thailand
A cunning neo-nazi
01 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, gender, law and economics Tags: crime and punishment, Germany, law and order, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination, useful idiots
The Herald reports: A German neo-Nazi will be allowed to start serving an 18-month sentence in a women’s prison after he used a new government policy to register a change in gender. Sven Liebich, who has been photographed at far-right rallies wearing a Nazi-style uniform, will be sent to the Chemnitz women’s prison in Saxony, […]
A cunning neo-nazi
U.S. denies visa to Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas (and other Palestinians) ahead of UN meeting
01 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror, West Bank
This is from CNN, so you know it pained them to publish a piece like this (click to read): Mahmoud Abbas, 90, was elected President of Palestine in 2005 for a four-year term, but somehow has hung on for 16 more years, having been voted an indefinite Presidency by the PLO (Hamas doesn’t recognize him […]
U.S. denies visa to Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas (and other Palestinians) ahead of UN meeting
Do rising house prices damage economic growth?
01 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability
Don Brash writes – In recent years, when addressing Rotary and other audiences, I often talk about the five big challenges facing New Zealand – persistently slow growth in productivity, and therefore in income levels; ridiculously unaffordable house prices; the increasing division of our society into those with a Maori ancestor and those without; the […]
Do rising house prices damage economic growth?
A ‘revolution’ in electioneering? The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act
01 Sep 2025 1 Comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics Tags: bribery and corruption, British politics
Concluding her series on the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act, Dr Kathryn Rix of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project looks at the long-term consequences of this major reform. In the wake of the corruption and expense of the 1880 general election, Sir Henry James, attorney general in Gladstone’s Liberal government, oversaw a landmark piece of […]
A ‘revolution’ in electioneering? The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act
War crimes documentary not to be shown as Hamas own copyright over the images!
01 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, property rights, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
The NY Post report: A new documentary about the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas has been booted from the Toronto International Film Festival — because organizers insist the filmmakers need the rights from the terrorist group to use their horrific footage of the massacre. The festival claims the movie, called “The Road […]
War crimes documentary not to be shown as Hamas own copyright over the images!
The American First Army Gears Up – Germany Retreats I THE GREAT WAR – We…
31 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: World War I
Exports
31 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth miracles, international economics Tags: free trade
The Rhetoric and Realities of Gun Control
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: gun control
Within minutes of the shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic Church Mass on Wednesday, politicians and pundits were calling for new gun control measures and blaming conservatives for the deaths of the children. These are the same calls that have emerged after past shootings for everything from a ban on “assault weapons” to a total ban […]
The Rhetoric and Realities of Gun Control
Single-Member Electoral Districts Cannot Be Unconstitutional Because They Form Part of the Constitution of Canada
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, Public Choice Tags: Canada, constitutional law
Introduction The Ontario Court of Appeal issued a ruling in August 2025 which upheld the constitutionality of single-member electoral districts and lambasted so-called “Fair Vote British Columbia” (which for some reason litigated single-member plurality in Ontario) for having “repackage[ed] failed political arguments as constitutional rights violations.”[1] Justice Huscroft declared unambiguously: “The electoral system is not […]
Single-Member Electoral Districts Cannot Be Unconstitutional Because They Form Part of the Constitution of Canada
David Splinter on how much tax billionaires pay
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, entrepreneurship, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
Here is his comment on the paper presented here: Summary: The U.S. tax system is highly progressive. Effective tax rates increase from 2% for the bottom quintile of income to 45% for the top hundredth of one percent. But rates may be lower among those with the highest wealth. This comment starts with the “top 400” […]
David Splinter on how much tax billionaires pay
Slavery: A human crime, not a British one
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, labour economics Tags: economics of slavery
Rewriting History: The truth about slavery and the British Empire Ani O’Brien writes – You’d think from the way some people talk that the British Empire invented slavery, ran it single-handedly, and then quietly slunk away in shame. That’s the cartoon version of history pushed by activists who want every discussion of colonisation to be […]
Slavery: A human crime, not a British one
The Ongoing Tragedy of Cuban Socialism
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, econometerics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, Marxist economics, property rights, Public Choice Tags: Cuba
I’ve written several articles about the failure of Cuban socialism (2024, 2022, 2021, 2019, and 2016). My leftist friends almost always respond by claiming that U.S.-imposed trade restrictions are the primary reason for Cuba’s terrible economy. Since I like free trade, I certainly agree that trade restrictions are bad for growth (a lesson I wish […]
The Ongoing Tragedy of Cuban Socialism
Why Are Electricity Prices So High?–Dieter Helm
29 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, industrial organisation Tags: British politics, climate activists, wind power
By Paul Homewood Why is the price of electricity so high? It’s a puzzle, because successive politicians (Blair, Cameron, May, Johnson and now Starmer and Miliband) and lots of lobbyists have told us we should have expected quite the opposite: cheap energy, to be achieved by getting out of fossil fuels. First exit […]
Why Are Electricity Prices So High?–Dieter Helm
Running it up the Flagpole: Why the Trump Order on Flag Burning is Unconstitutional
29 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in economics of education, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
In the advertising world, there is an old adage that there are times when you take a pitch and “run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.” That expression came to mind yesterday when President Donald Trump signed an order to punish flag burning. The President may be hoping that the Supreme Court might salute […]
Running it up the Flagpole: Why the Trump Order on Flag Burning is Unconstitutional
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments