Excellent news out of the UK. Abrysvo, a vaccine for RSV administered to pregnant women, reduces infant hospitalisation by 80%. From the BBC:A vaccine during pregnancy which protects newborns against nasty chest infections is cutting hospital admissions of babies by more than 80%, UK health officials say.A virus, called RSV, affects many babies in the first…
Medsafe Delenda Est
Medsafe Delenda Est
01 May 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: drug lags
This may come as no surprise
30 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: black markets
RNZ reports:An RNZ investigation into the tobacco blackmarket found packs of cigarettes and loose tobacco being sold brazenly over the counter at heavily discounted prices.By law, cigarettes have to include pictures and health warnings covering at least 75-percent of the front of the packs. But the cigarettes being sold on the blackmarket are a throw…
This may come as no surprise
Shell Speech: Why the Second Comey Indictment is Likely to Fail
29 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech
Below is my column on Fox.com on the second indictment of former FBI director James Comey. Despite being one of…
Shell Speech: Why the Second Comey Indictment is Likely to Fail
The wrestling cartoonist with a vituperative vocabulary who has passed muster with the Greens
29 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand, politics - USA
Bob Edlin writes – PoO was steered by David Farrar, on Kiwiblog, to the Green Party’s selection of a Samoan cartoonist as its candidate for the seat of Mangere in the General Election this year. But neither the candidate’s ethnicity, nor his profession, prompted Farrar’s expression of concern in an article on Kiwiblog headed … […]
The wrestling cartoonist with a vituperative vocabulary who has passed muster with the Greens
Unreported for nearly a year: media misconduct in Parliament
29 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, politics - New Zealand Tags: media bias
Inside the Press Gallery: power, silence, and the accountability gap in New Zealand media On the evening of 13 May 2025, Finance Minister Nicola Willis hosted a pre-Budget drinks event in her parliamentary office. The event appears, in official records, as “EVENT: Press Gallery… Parliament… Invited Guests” at 6pm in her ministerial diary. It was intended to […]
Unreported for nearly a year: media misconduct in Parliament
New Zealand’s alienated 28%
28 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
A new report on social cohesion was released on Thursday. The survey results in it are far from boring or inconsequential. Amongst screeds of important data, two big numbers stand out: 28% of New Zealanders are now in what the report calls the “alienated” camp of politics, and 44% of New Zealanders think the political […]
New Zealand’s alienated 28%
Winston Peters and the art of keeping National on the defensive
25 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
Labour’s decision to support the free trade agreement with India should have surprised nobody. It was always going to be the outcome, with the outstanding question being just when Labour would announce its support for the deal. As this column noted in early February, from the outset Labour has been effectively over a barrel on […]
Winston Peters and the art of keeping National on the defensive
The Washington Post vs Elizabeth Warren
25 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of media and culture, fiscal policy, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
People sometimes will get excited about big-picture tax fights – whether politicians should raise taxes, whether they should add a VAT, or whether they should scrap the IRS for a flat tax. On the other had, there are a handful of tax issues that induce drowsiness but are nonetheless very important for purposes of tax […]
The Washington Post vs Elizabeth Warren
Misuse of HDCA
24 Apr 2026 1 Comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, free speech
Shayne Currie reports: One of New Zealand’s biggest news organisations is appealing a precedent-setting court decision, in which a man convicted of assaulting his partner convinced a judge that an online news article about him and the attack should be removed. The district court judge agreed the man, who did not receive name suppression at…
Misuse of HDCA
The Disbarment of John Eastman: The California Bar Bags a Trump Lawyer and Leaves Troubling Questions
23 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2020 presidential election
Below is my column in the California Post and New York Post on the disbarment of John Eastman. I criticized…
The Disbarment of John Eastman: The California Bar Bags a Trump Lawyer and Leaves Troubling Questions
Breaking: Major Under-the-Radar SCOTUS Decision on Climate Lawfare
22 Apr 2026 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: nuisance suits
There are Supreme Court decisions that arrive with fanfare, and then there are those that quietly rearrange the legal landscape in ways that only become obvious after the dust settles. Today’s decision in Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish belongs firmly in the latter category. It is not packaged as a climate case. It does…
Breaking: Major Under-the-Radar SCOTUS Decision on Climate Lawfare
Why the Cost of Your Coffee Has Soared—and Isn’t Going Down Soon
21 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, international economics, politics - USA Tags: tarrifs
By Inti Pacheco of The WSJ. Excerpts:”Behind the jump: Extreme weather, including droughts in Brazil and Vietnam, had hit coffee crops. And even before any tariff increases, hedge-fund bets anticipating the levies were pushing commodity prices higher.” (droughts cause supply to shift to the left which raises price)”Then in July, President Trump slapped an additional 40%…
Why the Cost of Your Coffee Has Soared—and Isn’t Going Down Soon
IMF and World Bank Misled by Climate Obsession (Lomborg, Bessent)
19 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA
The above video includes a conversation between Bjorn Lomborg and Scott Bessent at the annual IIF gathering (Institute of International Finance). The introduction by IIF CEO Tim Adams starts about 11 minutes in. For those who prefer reading, below is a lightly edited transcript of comments back and forth, along with some added images. TA […]
IMF and World Bank Misled by Climate Obsession (Lomborg, Bessent)
Australia’s ‘Renewable’ Obsession Decimates Industry
19 Apr 2026 1 Comment
in energy economics, environmentalism, politics - Australia Tags: solar power, wind power
Driving Australia’s current trajectory is the mythical claim that so-called renewables – are inherently cheap and that any short‑term pain will give way to lasting price declines. The post Australia’s ‘Renewable’ Obsession Decimates Industry appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
Australia’s ‘Renewable’ Obsession Decimates Industry
“F**k It…Just Do It”: Carville Lays Out Democratic Plan to Add States and Pack Court
18 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: constitutional law
Various Democrats have been openly discussing their plans after retaking power to change the system so they never lose power…
“F**k It…Just Do It”: Carville Lays Out Democratic Plan to Add States and Pack Court
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments