Action Stations: The New Zealand Left has conflated the ten UN members condemning Houthi attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea with the six states involved in the air and naval attacks on Houthi military targets. Veteran leftist Robert Reid, like most New Zealanders, knows full well that the RNZAF possesses no aircraft even remotely…
Hitting The Houthis.
Hitting The Houthis.
20 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
KARL DU FRESNE: The striking outpouring of media empathy for Golriz Ghahraman
19 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand
Karl du Fresne writes – Rarely has the media’s all-pervasive pro-Left bias been demonstrated more emphatically than in the outpouring of empathy for Golriz Ghahraman. In the past 24 hours, the tone of media commentary on the scandal surrounding the former Green MP has shifted with striking uniformity. The focus has conveniently been diverted from […]
KARL DU FRESNE: The striking outpouring of media empathy for Golriz Ghahraman
Avoiding scrutiny
19 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in business cycles, economics of bureaucracy, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: monetary policy
Regular readers will recall that I have, intermittently, been on the trail of the approach taken to the selection (and rejection) of external MPC members when the current crop were first appointed in 2019. I have been pursuing the matter since a highly credible person who was interested in being considered for appointment told me that […]
Avoiding scrutiny
The Right and Wrong Way to Reduce Poverty, Part II
16 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics, welfare reform Tags: child poverty, family poverty
In Part I of this series, I explained that the War on Poverty, launched by Lyndon Johnson and expanded by other profligate presidents, has been bad news for both taxpayers and poor people. More specifically, I shared some academic research showing how it led to a big increase in dependency on government. Let’s expand on […]
The Right and Wrong Way to Reduce Poverty, Part II
‘Say it Nicer’: Hunter Makes a Familiar Last-Minute Offer to Congress
16 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Below is my column in The Hill on Hunter Biden’s sudden offer to appear for testimony in Congress. Biden’s demand presents institutional considerations that weigh against re-issuing the subpoena. This was a valid subpoena issued by multiple committees with independent subpoena authority. Few members relish Hunter and his team turning them into dancing bears for […]
‘Say it Nicer’: Hunter Makes a Familiar Last-Minute Offer to Congress
Going Flat? Bud Light Sales Still Down 28 Percent as Consumers Continue Boycott
15 Jan 2024 1 Comment
in industrial organisation, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, survivor principle, theory of the firm Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Beer analysts are saying that Bud Light is still struggling with the boycott that has reduced its sale by a whopping 28% over the four weeks leading up to Dec. 9 — and heading to the all-important New Year’s sale period. The tragic irony for the company is that Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing…
Going Flat? Bud Light Sales Still Down 28 Percent as Consumers Continue Boycott
Climate Fraud In New Zealand
15 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - New Zealand Tags: climate activists
By Paul Homewood h/t Graeme Hooke How NIWA, New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, lied to their citizens: NZ Climate Science Coalition statisticians have uncovered evidence of scarcely believable deception from our National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA). [The equivalent of the UK Met Office] Last December, NIWA […]
Climate Fraud In New Zealand
DON BRASH: WHY THE MAORI ELECTORATES MUST GO
14 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, discrimination, politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law, racial discrimination
One of the strange omissions from the coalition agreements which marked the establishment of the new Government was any reference to the Maori electorates. Perhaps in one sense the omission was not strange: there had been little or no discussion about those electorates during the election campaign, either by those parties which might have…
DON BRASH: WHY THE MAORI ELECTORATES MUST GO
TVNZ’s naked bias on display
11 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: Age of Enlightenment, correctness, free speech, media bias. political, regressive left
Given the widespread mistrust of mainstream media and accusations of bias, it seems extraordinary that New Zealand’s taxpayer-owned broadcaster TVNZ seems to be going out of its way to prove that it is — as its detractors claim — incurably partisan. Last week, a column by John Campbell appeared on TVNZ’s website titled: “Are we […]
TVNZ’s naked bias on display
Productivity woes….continued
10 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in economic growth, economic history, entrepreneurship, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand
In my post on Monday I drew attention (again) to the fact that New Zealand has made no progress at all in reversing the decline in relative economywide productivity (relative to other advanced countries) since what was hoped to be a turning point, with the inauguration of widespread economic reforms after the 1984 election. If anything, […]
Productivity woes….continued
The Navajo Nation tries to prevent human ashes from being sent to the Moon
10 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, politics - USA Tags: moon landing
Here’s an example of how indigenous peoples, on the basis of their superstitions and religion, try to control modern technology or how it’s used and science. In this case, reported by CNN (click on screenshot below), a commercial enterprise is taking some small amounts of human remains (presumably ashes, though it’s not clear) to the […]
The Navajo Nation tries to prevent human ashes from being sent to the Moon
CHRIS TROTTER: Where the people walk
09 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
Chris Trotter writes – WHAT PASSES for “Left” commentary these days insists that New Zealand is living under a “hard-right” government. Clearly, these commentators are unfamiliar with what constitutes a hard-right government. Equally clearly, they know next to nothing about New Zealand political history. Compared to the governments of Bill Massey, George Forbes, Sid Holland […]
CHRIS TROTTER: Where the people walk
40 years on
08 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic growth, economic history, fiscal policy, inflation targeting, international economics, labour economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand
JOHN RAINE: Ministerial Spring Cleaning and the Parable of the Rowing Eight
05 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics
Matthew Hooton’s recommendation that Nicola Willis cut the cost of the Public Service by 25% (NZ Herald 22nd December) reminded me of a story. Years ago, the engineering community was getting fired up about new Japanese business and manufacturing efficiency methods, and “kaizen” (continuous improvement) and “just in time” were being bandied about. At the…
JOHN RAINE: Ministerial Spring Cleaning and the Parable of the Rowing Eight
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