Karl du Fresne writes – Who remembers the Citizens for Rowling campaign? It was a concerted attempt by the Great and the Good to derail National Party leader Robert Muldoon’s election campaign in 1975. The campaign’s backers didn’t like Muldoon’s combative, divisive brand of politics and argued that Labour’s gentlemanly Bill Rowling, who had assumed […]
Echoes of Citizens for Rowling
Echoes of Citizens for Rowling
07 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics Tags: constitutional law
Solar Farms Paid To Switch Off
06 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics, solar power
By Paul Homewood h/t Doug Brodie/Philip Bratby It’s started already! From The Telegraph: British solar farms have been paid to switch off for the first time as sunny days prompt a surge of clean power that could overwhelm the grid.
Solar Farms Paid To Switch Off
Meet TPM’s “hero”
06 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
Te Pati Maori co-leader Rawiri Waititi shared a video of Ibrahim Traoré on Instagram and declared him his “hero”. Traoré is the leader of Burkina Faso. Here’s his record: How long will it take for people to wake up to the fact that Te Pati Maori is an extremist anti-democratic party? Surely the co-leader calling […]
Meet TPM’s “hero”
Who relies most heavily on welfare?
06 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in labour economics, labour supply, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, welfare reform Tags: social insurance
This short piece is a partial answer to the question posed. It addresses the ‘who’ but not the ‘why’.The following chart uses Census data from Statistics NZ and benefit data from MSD. Both sets are from March 2023.At that time there were 345,417 individuals reliant on a main benefit which primarily comprised Jobseeker (formerly Unemployment…
Who relies most heavily on welfare?
Ouch
06 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: economics of pandemics
Sir Ian Taylor starts his open letter to Jacinda Ardern with praise for the initial Covid response but then he gets critical: . . . People put politics aside and tried to help. Offering real solutions, safe, proven ways to save both lives and livelihoods. Business-led initiatives, technology-enabled tracking, controlled pilot programs. These were not […]
Ouch
The First Modern Battle – The Battle of Hamel I THE GREAT WAR Week 206
06 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: World War I
Same goes for performance management
05 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in labour economics, labour supply, managerial economics, organisational economics, personnel economics
Federal Judge Rules Against Trump on Use of “Invasion” Powers to Expedite Deportations
05 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in international economic law, international economics, International law, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
In Washington, D.C., District Court Judge Randolph Moss has issued a notable decision against the Trump Administration in Refugee and Immigrant Center for Legal and Educational Services v. Noem. Judge Moss rejected the use of Trump’s January 20 “invasion” executive proclamation to block undocumented immigrants from pursuing asylum applications and other legal pathways. The court essentially rules […]
Federal Judge Rules Against Trump on Use of “Invasion” Powers to Expedite Deportations
US Health Care Expenditures: An Ominous Trend Returns?
04 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in health economics, politics - USA Tags: health insurance
In the 2010s, it appeared that US health care expenditures as a share of GDP had peaked. But there group at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that continually carries out and updates these estimates and forecasts. Their most recent projections suggest that US health spending is about to start rising again as a…
US Health Care Expenditures: An Ominous Trend Returns?
Is shoplifting ever okay?
04 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
What happened to law makers being on the side of the law? A Green Party MP thinks it’s okay to shoplift: Green MP Tamatha Paul is giving shoplifting the green light as she opposes the Government’s plan to strengthen penalties, National Party Spokesperson for Justice Paul Goldsmith says. “The Greens are singing from the same […]
Is shoplifting ever okay?
Another Open Letter to Howard Lutnick
04 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, development economics, growth miracles, international economic law, international economics, politics - USA Tags: tarrifs, Vietnam
TweetMr. Howard Lutnick Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DC Mr. Lutnick: Yesterday you tweeted this: Our trade deal with Vietnam is a massive win for America’s businesses, manufacturers, and farmers! For the FIRST TIME EVER, Vietnam will open its market to the United States. They will pay 20% to sell their products here, and…
Another Open Letter to Howard Lutnick
The Weird and Lovely Surge of US Productivity Growth
04 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economic growth, economic history, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, politics - USA
In the long run, a rising standard of living is always and everywhere based on productivity growth. Thus, Austan Goolsbee notedin a keynote address at the “Summit” conference held at the Stanford Institute of Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) in February (“Remarks on Productivity Growth and Monetary Policy,” February 28, 2025): As Goolsbee notes, annual productivity…
The Weird and Lovely Surge of US Productivity Growth
Massive Rent-Seeking in India’s Government Job Examination System
03 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of education, growth disasters, growth miracles, labour economics, occupational choice, personnel economics, Public Choice Tags: India
In India, government jobs pay far more than equivalent jobs in the private sector–so much so that the entire labor market and educational system have become grossly distorted by rent seeking to obtain these jobs. Teachers in the public sector, for example, are paid at least five times more than in the private sector. It’s […]
Massive Rent-Seeking in India’s Government Job Examination System
“The End Goal of Seizing the Means of Production”: Yup, Mamdani is a Hardcore Marxist
03 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, economics of education, economics of regulation, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice
Below is my column on Fox.com on the debate that Democratic New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is a socialist, a Democratic Socialist, or a communist. What is clear is that Mamdani is a Marxist and that is a serious problem for New York. Here is the column:
“The End Goal of Seizing the Means of Production”: Yup, Mamdani is a Hardcore Marxist
Berlin Moves To Ban Autos From Inside The City. Widespread Chaos Looms
03 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics Tags: Germany
Just 12 car trips person per year would be allowed! The Berlin Constitutional Court has declared the “Berlin car-free” referendum admissible, paving the way for a possible drastic reduction in car traffic. Hat-tip: Blackout News Cars may soon be banned in Berlin. Image generated by Grok 3 AI The court found that the aim of…
Berlin Moves To Ban Autos From Inside The City. Widespread Chaos Looms
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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