The tariffs also bring to mind several ironies: I only have the time, and frankly the stomach, to put down these few quick thoughts on this one. More later. ** Postscript: Tariffs rather than immigration is the topic of the day, but I was reminded in perusing the Declaration of Independence for this post that…
Two Questions and Four Ironies About Trump’s Tariffs
Two Questions and Four Ironies About Trump’s Tariffs
03 Apr 2025 1 Comment
in history of economic thought, international economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tariffs
Uneducated vs educated
03 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, economics of education, economics of information, economics of media and culture, international economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics, property rights, Public Choice Tags: Brexit, British politics, political psychology
Political battles historically have been framed as contests between left-wing and right-wing ideologies, with clear distinctions based on policy preferences and socio-economic class interests. However, contemporary political dynamics reveal a new axis of conflict: the division between the educated and the uneducated. This emerging distinction marks a significant departure from traditional political alignments, reshaping electoral […]
Uneducated vs educated
Cultural Apartheid
03 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, health economics, human capital, income redistribution, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: affirmative action, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Muriel Newman writes – King’s Counsel Gary Judd has been at the forefront of a battle to defend New Zealand from the actions of Maori tribal leaders attempting to force their cultural apartheid onto our country. He’s defending the Rule of Law from attack by those pushing for ‘decolonisation’ by arguing that since ‘tikanga’ is an ‘amorphous […]
Cultural Apartheid
Now it’s Trump vs. the Smithsonian, and a NYT piece about human races
03 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
On March 17 Trump issued a new executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” And its goal is largely to prevent the dissemination of divisive or negative views of American history, instantiated, for Trump, in the Smithsonian Institution’s new exhibit on sculpture and identity. Here’s the “purpose” of the EO: Purpose and Policy. […]
Now it’s Trump vs. the Smithsonian, and a NYT piece about human races
Prebs is Right – a 4 Year Parliamentary Term is no panacea to NZ’s stagnation. The problem is neither the Nats nor Labour have had a plan since 1993.
03 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic growth, economic history, law and economics, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law
In an excellent article in the Herald, Richard Prebble (or “Prebs” as we call him) argues the proposals presented by National-ACT for a…
Prebs is Right – a 4 Year Parliamentary Term is no panacea to NZ’s stagnation. The problem is neither the Nats nor Labour have had a plan since 1993.
Patients win with private care
02 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: health insurance
Last week doctors and Green MPs were criticising the use of private hospitals to cut surgical waiting lists. This week the numbers show that patients are winning from private care: Partnering with the private health sector is delivering better access and shorter wait times for elective treatment, Health Minister Simeon Brown. “Ensuring Kiwis have access […]
Patients win with private care
Public-Private-Partnerships?
02 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, managerial economics, organisational economics, politics - New Zealand, privatisation, property rights, Public Choice, public economics
New Zealand’s economic development has always been a partnership between the public and private sectors. Brian Easton writes – Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) have become fashionable again, partly because of the government’s ambitions to accelerate infrastructural development. There is, of course, an ideological element too, while some of the opposition to them is also ideological. PPPs […]
Public-Private-Partnerships?
The Protectionism Edition of Economics Humor
01 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tarrifs
It appears that Trump wants to repeat the mistakes of the 1930s with a global trade war. That is going to be very bad news for workers, consumers, taxpayers, manufacturers, farmers, and exporters. But there are two bits of good news. At least for small slices of the populations First, lobbyists will get rich as […]
The Protectionism Edition of Economics Humor
Not much parliamentary scrutiny
01 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in business cycles, econometerics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, inflation targeting, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, unemployment Tags: economics of pandemics, monetary policy
This was the post I was planning to write this morning to mark Orr’s final day. That said, if the underlying events – deliberate attempts to mislead Parliament – were Orr’s doing, the post is more about the apparent uselessness of Parliament (specifically the Finance and Expenditure Committee) in holding him and the rest of […]
Not much parliamentary scrutiny
Equality of suffrage seen as bad by Radio NZ
31 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, discrimination, politics - New Zealand Tags: Age of Enlightenment, constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell has a simple proposed members’ bill to amend the Bill of Rights Act to have equal suffrage extend to local government. Equal suffrage is a fundamental human right. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says: The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will […]
Equality of suffrage seen as bad by Radio NZ
Minimal gender wage gap in NZ!
30 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, econometerics, economics of education, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Canada 2025 election called: What to expect
30 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
If the projections pan out, Canada is about to have a quite normal election for its electoral system.
Canada 2025 election called: What to expect
New Rule: Trump Devotion Syndrome | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
29 Mar 2025 1 Comment
in politics - USA, television, TV shows Tags: 2024 presidential election
Fast Track to Poverty: Green Energy
29 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, rentseeking
At his blog, Matt Ridley explains How the Green Energy Transition Makes You Poorer. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images. Crony capitalism at work A leaked government analysis has found that Net Zero could crash the economy, reducing GDP by a massive 10% by 2030. Yet the spectacular thing about this analysis […]
Fast Track to Poverty: Green Energy
Erick Erickson on the culture wars
29 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of media and culture, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Erick Erickson writes: The press and left call the right “culture warriors,” but we were not the ones who put pornographic material in elementary schools. We were not the ones who demanded kids in colleges attend seminars to learn about their inner racism. We were not the ones who demanded boys get into girls sports. […]
Erick Erickson on the culture wars
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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