Conservatism
Fruity news – sugar tax success – or not…
I have to disagree that the sugar tax has been a success. It has undoubtedly been successful in reducing sugar in fizzy drinks but the result has been that they are sweetened with sugar substitutes like aspartame and stevia – substances on which there has been a vanishingly small amount of research and such that... Read more
Why shouldn’t MPs also have completely overt bank accounts?
This is 50 seconds of speech and incisiveness that is worth much more of your time, I suggest… For anyone unable to access the speech itself, this is the really devastating concluson: “Never in our history has the government intruded on the privacy of anyone’s bank account without any good reason. And now we’re treating... Read more
The very minimum requirement…
Indeed might this be a general election slogan that could perhaps encourage non-voters to participate – this time at least?... Read more
Pin up of the week
This is none other than Augustin Carstens – General Manager for the Bank of International Settlements. I draw attention to this principally to highlight an excellent article by the economist Ann Pettifor, where she illuminates the ill inflicted on us by central bankers who effectively exacerbate the already poor understanding of money. The article certainly... Read more
State investment would encourage business investment
News that Heathrow airport has changed ownership once more so that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund will get a £1bn stake and Ardian Private Equity will take up to 15% of the whole, suggests that foreign investment in the UK is doing alright… But should we be chasing foreign private investment as Sunak did in... Read more
Gove admits ‘his’ Cabinet Office was unfit:
In just 33 seconds of yesterday’s Covid-19 inquiry testimony: Smooth operator Gove, as usual, seeks to deflect personal blame by his brazen and disarming honesty…... Read more
Political vision
Most psychologists would suggest that we all need hope for the future. Indeed doesn’t the Corbyn led Labour Party’s enormous membership suggest hope? One of the first public speeches he ever gave was in Camborne in Cornwall – somewhere which was remarkably well attended, although little recorded, and somewhere where the current prospective Labour candidate,... Read more
Fiscal Rules are always ‘self-imposed’
I’ve noticed a sudden outburst of new thinking on the R4 ‘Today’ progamme this morning… They are calling fiscal rules ‘self-imposed’. They always are, by definition, of course. And if Hunt or Rachel Reeves were asked why they needed them, I expect there would be some rubbish about markets. As we know the markets only... Read more
The UK leech in charge is the Bank of England Governor:
In the light of today’s really underwhelming and deluded budget I thought this American article made some good points. After observing that most Americans know an awful lot about George Washington’s life, the author remarks: But it’s very unlikely that you heard about how George Washington died. After eating dinner in cold, wet clothes, he... Read more