Unless it gets pulled from the agenda, the Knesset (parliament of Israel) may begin the voting process as soon as 11 June on a measure that would set an early election. This effectively could force an early end to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition of right-wing and religious parties. The two Haredi parties, United Torah […]
Will the Haredi parties really force an election?
Will the Haredi parties really force an election?
11 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
Always Ready, Always There: Democrats Mobilize Against the National Guard Deployment
10 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: constitutional law, economics of immigration, law and order
Below is my column in Fox.com on the deployment of National Guard in Los Angeles. Another round of court challenges are unfolding, but the escalation is likely to continue on both sides. While the Guard’s motto is “Always Ready, Always There!,” California Democrats do not want them between rioters and federal law enforcement. Here is […]
Always Ready, Always There: Democrats Mobilize Against the National Guard Deployment
The Maori Party thumbs its nose at democracy
10 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law, racial discrimination
Michael Bassett writes – Have you noticed how contemptuous the Maori Party’s MPs are of democracy? After all, people who self-designate themselves as Maori are only 17% of the population. And amongst them, only a small proportion vote for the Maori Party. The brutal reality is that much higher numbers of Maori support Labour, while […]
The Maori Party thumbs its nose at democracy
Very Expensive Affordable Housing
10 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, offsetting behavior, The fatal conceit, unintended consequences
In my post Affordable Housing is Almost Pointless, I highlighted how point systems for awarding tax credits prioritize DEI, environmental features, energy efficiency, and other secondary goals far more than low cost. A near-comic example comes from D.C., where so-called affordable housing units now cost between $800,000 and $1.3 million dollars each! One such unit […]
Very Expensive Affordable Housing
HA.,HA., Thump: Hawaii Sued by the Babylon Bee and Other Groups Over Speech Crimes
09 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, politics - USA Tags: free speech
We have previously discussed laws that seek to criminalize “materially deceptive” political content worldwide, including memes and parodies. A civil law was blocked in California, where satirists and comedians opposed a Democratic law barring parodies and other expressions considered misleading. Now, legislators in Hawaii are trying again with a new law (S 2687) that criminalizes […]
HA.,HA., Thump: Hawaii Sued by the Babylon Bee and Other Groups Over Speech Crimes
Hard Landing: The Return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
09 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
Below is my column at Fox.com on the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and what lies ahead in the case. Regardless of the outcome of the criminal prosecution, one thing seems virtually certain: Abrego Garcia will eventually go home . . . to El Salvador. Here is the column:
Hard Landing: The Return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
America’s Housing Supply Problem: The Closing of the Suburban Frontier?
08 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, income redistribution, politics - USA, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Housing prices across much of America have hit historic highs, while less housing is being built. If the U.S. housing stock had expanded at the same rate from 2000-2020 as it did from 1980-2000, there would be 15 million more housing units. This paper analyzes the decline of America’s new housing supply, focusing on large […]
America’s Housing Supply Problem: The Closing of the Suburban Frontier?
Bill Maher’s newest rule
08 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA, television, TV shows
Bill Maher’s “new rule” deals once again with why Democrats have lost power. Maher considers that we need a “liberal Joe Rogan,” but notes that Rogan doesn’t seem to have hewed too close to the Trumpian dogma. He adds that Musk, too, used to be more liberal, and explains their conversion, in part, due to […]
Bill Maher’s newest rule
A hugely important document for NZ to learn from.
07 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, health economics, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA
The Whitehouse recently released a document titled: Make America Healthy Again. The health trends listed are stark – and the needed solutions are clear (even if is going to be like doing an Aircraft Carrier doing a u-turn in the Suez Canal). In many of the crisis stats NZ is not far behind. These are […]
A hugely important document for NZ to learn from.
Ardern: If she insists on being remembered, I will oblige
06 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
One thing children who get murdered never seem short of is names. The latest example is Catalya Remana Tangimetua Pepene, the four-year-old Kaikohe child who recently met a violent death. Late 2023 it was Taita toddler, Ruthless-Empire Souljah Reign Rhind Shephard Wall. Or in 2016, 14 week-old Richard Royal Orif Takahi Winiata Uddin. Examples abound.What…
Ardern: If she insists on being remembered, I will oblige
Productivity growth languishing
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economic growth, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand
I hadn’t had a look for a while at the OECD labour productivity (real GDP per hour worked) data, but the release of the latest OECD Economic Outlook the other day prompted me to spend some time in the (less user-friendly than it was) OECD database. It takes a while for all the data to […]
Productivity growth languishing
The Ultra Vires Reach of the Resource Management Act: Te Tiriti Obligations, Private Citizens, and the Erosion of Legal Boundaries
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law
Zoran Rakovic writes – This essay argues that the New Zealand government has acted ultra vires by interpreting and applying the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) in ways that impose Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations upon private citizens and resource consent applicants without express statutory authority or due compensation. The practice violates foundational principles of […]
The Ultra Vires Reach of the Resource Management Act: Te Tiriti Obligations, Private Citizens, and the Erosion of Legal Boundaries
Labour’s first and most urgent mission is to knock Te Pāti Māori out of the race
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Chris Trotter writes – “Your mission, Mr Hipkins, should you choose to accept it, is to lead Labour to victory in 2026.” Except, as always, the drama of a Mission Impossible movie lies not in the what, but in the how. Of course Chris Hipkins is willing to lead Labour to a win. The real question is […]
Labour’s first and most urgent mission is to knock Te Pāti Māori out of the race
Again, There is No Right to a Stable Climate
04 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, resource economics Tags: climate activists, climate alarmism, nuisance suits
Announced this week was this from Inside Climate News: Trump Executive Orders Violate Young People’s Rights to a Stable Climate, a Lawsuit Alleges. Excerpts in italics with my bolds. Twenty-two young people from across the country sued the Trump administration over the executive orders, which prioritize the expansion of fossil fuels. The complaint, filed Thursday […]
Again, There is No Right to a Stable Climate
RIF Rift: Trump Administration Asks Court to Enjoin San Francisco Judge
03 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
As we continue to await the Supreme Court’s ruling on the national or universal injunction question, the Trump administration has filed another request to block a district court order that prevents it from implementing a “reduction-in-force” policy. The request in Trump v. American Federation of Government Employees could have major implications for other such orders even […]
RIF Rift: Trump Administration Asks Court to Enjoin San Francisco Judge
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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