The Pandemic and Swedish Fiscal Policy

When I wrote about long-run policy lessons from the pandemic, I mostly focused on the incompetence of the bureaucrats at the FDA and CDC. I also wrote that Sweden had a very sensible approach. Politicians did not panic. They advised prudence, but kept schools open and did not mandate lockdowns. Interestingly, Sweden also had better […]

The Pandemic and Swedish Fiscal Policy

Marxist Economics Is Dumb

TweetHere’s a letter to the Wall Street Journal: Editor: You report that, in response to Google’s firing of 28 workers who protested that company’s affiliation with the Israeli government, a spokeswoman for the group that organized the protests said about the firings that “this flagrant act of retaliation is a clear indication that Google values…

Marxist Economics Is Dumb

The US debt is worse than it was after WWII

Over the last few years I’ve made a number of posts about the ever growing US government spending, deficits and debt, which has reached the point where US Debt is now rising $1 trillion every 100 days. But there are many people who look at the debt as 120% of GDP and shrug their shoulders that […]

The US debt is worse than it was after WWII

NIMBYism explained

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/sRwF4ebHk823WtAL/?mibextid=xfxF2i

No Knife But A Bloodletting Nevertheless.

Hosking went after Radio New Zealand this morning and it was bad.The Mike Hosking Breakfast, 0600 till 0900 has three producer/support staff, Radio NZ Morning report has 16 production staff to cover the same five day time slot, yet the state run highly subsidised show falls way behind in ratings.. That 16 figure for production […]

No Knife But A Bloodletting Nevertheless.

A Socialist Explains Why Socialism Can’t Work

Not that the socialist in question, Professor Richard D. Wolff, realises that’s what he’s doing in the Q&A video below – and he’s not talking about traditional Communist Command and Controlled Economies. What he’s actually describing is a very pure form of socialism, the sort only vaguely imagined by Marx, Engels and other communists when […]

A Socialist Explains Why Socialism Can’t Work

Cuba Libre

Martin Gurri has a very good, deep-dive on the current situation in Cuba. The wreckage of the Cuban economy really can’t be exaggerated. The perpetual blackouts are an apt symbol of a country that is headed for the dark ages. For the first time since the revolution, Cuba is begging the United Nations for food aid. Nearly […]

Cuba Libre

Anthony Willy on the SOE case and partnership fiction

Former Judge and barrister Anthony Willy has an excellent post on the famous SOE case which is held up to have decided that the Treaty of Waitangi was a partnership. He demolishes this argument by quoting, well the actual judgment. The case was about acting in good faith. Well worth a read.

Anthony Willy on the SOE case and partnership fiction

Spotlight on the Courts

Muriel Newman writes – “Houston, we have a problem!” New Zealand’s Supreme Court – the highest court in our land – has been captured by activist judges. What is heartening, is the emergence of a wide range of eminent legal voices all openly criticising the Court and calling for this problem to be addressed. But […]

Spotlight on the Courts

NZ’s problem is too much spending, not a lack of tax

Labour and Greens in 2017 campaigned on capping core crown expenditure at no more than 30% of GDP. This was their election pledge. At one Budget I asked Grant Robertson about the policy and he (admirably) replied it was a limit, not a target. The latest forecast had expenditure at 33.4% of GDP. That 3.4% […]

NZ’s problem is too much spending, not a lack of tax

How credible is the Milei plan?

Here is a good Substack essay by Nicolas Cachanosky, excerpt: Inflation expectations depend on what is expected to happen to the budget in the months to come. It is natural, then, to ask whether the observed surpluses are sustainable in the months ahead. Answering this question requires looking at two things. First, how was the fiscal […]

How credible is the Milei plan?

Eat the Rich: Warren Plan Would Impose Wealth Tax, Captivity Tax, and $100 Billion for Increasing Tax Audits

The wealth tax is back.  We have previously discussed the constitutional and policy concerns surrounding the push by Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) to introduce a wealth tax that would start with billionaires. It would not likely end there. The law would also apply the same type of California approach to wealthy families […]

Eat the Rich: Warren Plan Would Impose Wealth Tax, Captivity Tax, and $100 Billion for Increasing Tax Audits

Do Me a Personal Favor: Please Pre-Order *Build, Baby, Build* Now

I started writing Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation, in the early weeks of Covid. Now, with the kind cooperation of the Cato Institute, my second non-fiction graphic novel releases on May 1, 2024. That’s less than six weeks away.The official coverPlease forgive my laughable arrogance, but I assure you that…

Do Me a Personal Favor: Please Pre-Order *Build, Baby, Build* Now

100 Years of Rent Control in Sweden

Bet On It reader Vanja Månborg knows a lot about rent control in Sweden. If you think Sweden is a country of thoughtful technocrats where government intervention works well, reading his guest post may make you think again. Here’s Vanja:Sweden has had rent control regulations since 1917 with less than two decades of pause between…

100 Years of Rent Control in Sweden

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