Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
03 Sep 2016 Leave a comment
in health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: antiscience left, cranks, GMOs, marijuana decriminalisation, New Zealand Greens, Quacks
If the Auckland Council can ban the release of GMOs, can it ban the growing of marijuana for recreational and medical uses? Where does it stop? Green MPs such as Steffan Browning should think more deeply about that before they embrace local democracy in all its fury.
02 Sep 2016 Leave a comment
in health economics, politics - USA Tags: agricultural economics, antiscience left, cranks, GMOs, Quacks
Source: USDA ERS – Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.: Recent Trends in GE Adoption.
01 Sep 2016 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economic history, labour economics, politics - USA, welfare reform Tags: 1996 US welfare reforms, child poverty, family poverty, single mothers, single parents, social insurance, welfare state
Source: Did Welfare Reform Increase Extreme Poverty in the United States?
Source: Did Welfare Reform Increase Extreme Poverty in the United States?
31 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, RMA, zoning
Source: IMF Global Housing Watch
31 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in labour economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, urban economics Tags: homelessness, social insurance, social safety net, welfare state
Source: 24 August 2016, Most homeless people working or studying, News, University of Otago, New Zealand, table 4.
30 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in labour economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, urban economics Tags: child poverty, family poverty, homelessness, New Zealand Greens, New Zealand Labour Party, social insurance, welfare state
I cherry picked my previous data on homelessness if the New Zealand sub-Reddit is to be believed and from which I am banned and cannot reply. Plotting the data in full is to cherry pick it. The chart below is simply the first two rows of the source data. The subsequent rows deal with those in emergency accommodation and in temporary accommodation.
Source: 24 August 2016, Most homeless people working or studying, News, University of Otago, New Zealand, table 4.
When I shared this data on Carmel Sepuloni MP’s Facebook page, she rightly and constructively said
Thanks for your comment Jim. Unfortunately the number living rough has increased since 2001. We want to focus on improving the future, which is why we are holding our homeless inquiries so we can best understand and address this issue:
Rather than pointscoring, the issue is what to do to fix the problem. How desperate is much of the rest of the Left to beat up this issue as the fault of John Key. This is an an important issue that should not be used for point scoring by sufferers of John Key derangement syndrome.
Homeless people are those who I charted above. They are sleeping rough or in a car. They have slipped through the social safety net which is obviously not working for them. If you are in emergency accommodation, the social safety net is working. The issue is making that safety net work better in terms of moving quickly into more permanent accommodation..
29 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in defence economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: British politics, Ronald Reagan
28 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of love and marriage, politics - USA, Public Choice
28 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in health economics, industrial organisation, politics - USA Tags: intellectual property rights, monopoly and competition, patents and copyrights
27 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, politics - New Zealand, urban economics Tags: affordable housing, housing affordability, land supply, New Zealand Greens, New Zealand Labour Party, price controls
The Labour Party (and Greens) both plan to build 100,000 affordable homes and sell them within a specific price range. In Auckland, where houses cost in excess of $800,000 on average, they hope to enter the market at the $550,000 point with still quite reasonable housing.
What I ask you is how will Labour and the Greens make sure the affordable houses both are proposing are not snapped up by well-to-do buyers rather than families currently locked out of the market? What will the rationing mechanism be?
Source: KiwiBuild – New Zealand Labour Party.
How will Labour and the Greens ration these desirable houses given that they are priced well below the competition? If two buyers both offer $550,000 for the house, which bid will be accepted?
If the next best available house in Auckland is worth more than that because it is not sold by the proposed Housing Affordability Authority, the first bid for these houses will be $550,000 which is the maximum the government under a Labour Party is willing to accept? What happens then?
It is basic economics that if you price at less than the market clearing rate which in Auckland is somewhere near $800,000, people will queue to buy what you have unless you raise the price. The exercise of building 100,000 affordable houses makes no sense unless the purpose is to undercut what the market currently supplies.
As the houses are to be sold by a government agency, there can be no black market nor dilution of quality to even up supply with demand. How will a deadlock in price bids be resolved if the maximum bid for an affordable house starts at $550,000?
Labour acknowledges the possibility of flipping by restricting resale for 5 years. But what stops investors just waiting 5 years as there is any significant price gap between these affordable houses and the private market alternatives.
What stops more affluent buyers living in these houses because they so much cheaper than the competing options in Auckland? If you miss out in bidding on one affordable home, do you go back to the end of the queue for the next that is built or get some priority?
27 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in economic history, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, welfare reform Tags: 1996 US welfare reforms, child poverty, family poverty, single parents, social insurance, welfare state
Source: Poverty Has Declined a Lot Over the Past 30 Years | Mother Jones from Poverty After Welfare Reform | Manhattan Institute.
26 Aug 2016 2 Comments
in applied welfare economics, economic history, labour economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: homelessness, neoliberalism, social insurance, vast right-wing conspiracy, welfare state
People living rough doubled under Labour! Fell under the National Party led government despite the global financial crisis and the return of neoliberal oppression.
Source: 24 August 2016, Most homeless people working or studying, News, University of Otago, New Zealand, table 4.
26 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in economics, politics - New Zealand, technological progress, transport economics Tags: drones
25 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, labour economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: child poverty, family poverty, homelessness, social housing, social insurance, welfare state
There is a difference between not having a roof over your head and being in emergency or temporary accommodation. It disrespects those who lack a roof over their head tonight to equate their grave misfortune with those fortunate enough to already be in emergency accommodation. Once they are in emergency accommodation, that shows that the system is working. Finding them somewhere to stay pending finding something more permanent.
Source: 24 August 2016, Most homeless people working or studying, News, University of Otago, New Zealand, table 4.
https://twitter.com/childpovertynz/status/768631393459040256
https://twitter.com/PhilTwyford/status/768672477807456256
.
25 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, labour economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, survivor principle Tags: expressive voting, market process, New Zealand Greens, price signals, rational irrationality, The meaning of competition
The Greens are most upset that a Labour party private members bill to specify a minimum wage for contractors was voted down by one vote in parliament yesterday.
If you earn than the minimum wage as a contractor, that is a signal wrapped in an incentive. Your poor hourly earnings is a signal to you that maybe you should get out of that contracting business and go back to being an employee where you will be paid at least the minimum wage.
Many small businesses make no profits at all in the first year or so as they build the business. The founders of the business get by on savings, which they anticipated when they drew up their business plan. No one expects a business to make an immediate profit or always be profitable.
Contractors are entrepreneurs chancing their arm. They need crisp signals about whether they are succeeding, failing or could succeed if they try harder or do something different. A minimum wage for contractors masks those important market signals of success and failure.
If your dream of owning your own business is not even paying the minimum wage, maybe it is time to get out of the contracting business.
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