The dangerously futile crusades of the Left over Left
27 Dec 2014 3 Comments
in liberalism, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: GMOs, Leftover Left, progressive politics
Was Moynihan, right? The role of prospective success in assortative mating in family poverty
19 Dec 2014 1 Comment
Martin Place, Sydney, 18 December 2014
19 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in politics - Australia, war and peace
HT: Nick Toonan
The war on drugs: Drug induced mortality rates compared
18 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, political change, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: drug decriminalisation, marijuana decriminalisation, Portugal, war on drugs
What do the top income earners in Australia earn on average?
16 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in income redistribution, politics - Australia Tags: top 1%
Source: topincomes-parisschoolofeconomics
As with New Zealand, plenty of people in the top income brackets in Australia would regard themselves as middle class – entrepreneurs and professionals who made their way up from the bottom.
As with New Zealand, there is a major spike in top earnings around the time of the 1985 tax reform when the top tax rate was cut from 66% to 49% in Australia.
Source: topincomes-parisschoolofeconomics
As for trans-Tasman comparisons, the top 10% and top 5% in Australia do earn more than their compatriots in New Zealand.
The top 1% in Australia are much better performers than the top 1% in New Zealand, but then again wages and incomes are about a third higher in Australia as compared to New Zealand.
The Australian 0.5% are clearly superior to their New Zealand rivals, earning at least 50% more than them on average.
The New Zealand chart is in New Zealand dollars in 2011; the Australian chart is in Australian dollars in 2010.
A reason for the higher earnings of the Australian top 1% is the larger economy offers a greater superstar effect.
Globalisation and technological changes would allow the Australian best performers, including the top managers and top chief executives, in a given field to serve a bigger market and thus reap a greater share of its revenue. But this would also reduce the spoils available to the less gifted in the business. Australia, as the seven times larger economy, allows their best performers to serve bigger domestic markets.
The top 10% are a bunch of bludgers in New Zealand too
16 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of education, income redistribution, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: education premium, top 1%
Source: topincomes-parisschoolofeconomics
One reason why the top 10% in New Zealand have been a pretty ordinary lot compared to the USA is New Zealand’s university graduate premium – the college premium as it is known in the USA – is at the very bottom of the OECD ladder at about 18% – rock bottom 32nd out of 32 – the wooden spoon.
The College premium in the USA is about 64%, as shown in the OECD data below from OECD Education at Glance. Naturally, this high College premium in the USA should show up in well educated, highly skilled people earning a lot more than those that don’t go to college and don’t go to graduate school.
Stats link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932460515
Little wonder that the USA top 10% are breaking away from the pack. This slow increase in the income share of the top 10% since the early 1970s coincided with large numbers, including many more women in long duration professional degrees, going to university.
Prior to the mid-1970s, the College premium in the USA had been falling for about a decade because of large numbers of people going on to College and many of these two graduate school to get a draft deferment.
People married younger then so by the time people were at the end of College or graduate school, they were usually married with children and got of further draft deferment and aged out of the draft system.
The top 1% in New Zealand have been bone lazy for at least 60 years now
16 Dec 2014 2 Comments
in income redistribution, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand Tags: top 1%
Source: topincomes-parisschoolofeconomics
Note: top 1% income share data for adults for New Zealand adults go back only as far as 1953.
The top 1% in New Zealand have had a good 60 years to immiserate the proletariat and what are they done? Nothing!
The top 1% share of national income is much the same as it was in 1953! The Australian top 1% haven’t done much better. Bludgers, the lot of them.
What do the Occupy movement have to protest about in New Zealand if the rich haven’t been getting richer?
Let freedom reign
15 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, politics - Australia Tags: war on terror
This is shot that captures the #sydneysiege: sheer terror/relief of escaped hostages, incredible work of @nswpolice http://t.co/iCffJZ9NuZ—
Caroline Marcus (@carolinemarcus) December 15, 2014
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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