One of my favourite books on economics is Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the twenty first century, partly because it is brilliant (although long) and partly because it is packed full of enormous quantities of data. One of key points of Piketty is that the ratio of wealth to income is very important. You can think… Read more
Category:
Neoliberalism
Ideology not money is why affordable NHS healthcare is not a proposition
A few days ago Charles Adams and David Laws wrote a lengthy blog for Progressive Pulse in which they demonstrated why any UK government is quite capable of funding a world-leading NHS healthcare system. In so doing Charles and David did what many people do when confronted with the task of dealing with an important… Read more
Litter Strategy or Statute Law as a Wish List
The Litter Strategy for England is hardly remarkable: “We want to reduce the amount of litter that gets into our rivers and seas. That means we need to work together to stop people dropping litter.” As the historian, AJP Taylor used to say: “Most men can do better than this whilst shaving.” Under “Sending a clear… Read more
Hell, fear, and hyperinflation
Money is our means to undertake economic activity. It incumbent on the agents of government to ensure that money flows to all parts, such that the economy can flourish. Money is not the constraint on what we can achieve—we are—and a growing economy requires a growing amount of money. So why are politicians telling us that… Read more
Chickens Coming Home to Roost
The news from ITV and the Guardian that chicken from 2Sisters Food is regularly date extended and chicken returned is sent out again or simply picked off the floor and repackaged whilst later all sitting happily on the shelves of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, Aldi and Lidl, comes as no surprise. It only goes… Read more
Uber – too big to hail
When the London Black Cab Taxi Drivers took Uber to court it was established that not only was the Uber app not the equivalent of being able to ply for random hire in the street as Black Cabs, with their unique set of more onerous regulations, were able to, but also that the app showing… Read more
Poisonous tendencies
Cross-posted on Brave New Europe. Anyone that has tried to balance a seesaw – not touching the ground – knows about equilibrium. We know how to adjust our position to correct any movement away from perfect balance. The seesaw fluctuates and we cannot relax, but if we react correctly it never moves far from the… Read more
Are we entering the first stages of a failed state?
The unbelievable news that the Home Secretary has ignored not one but two court orders regarding the deportation of an Afghan asylum seeker, first stretches credulity and then provokes disgust. If even the Home Secretary doesn’t respect judicial decisions this is the start of an unaccountable state. And this in a country that originated the… Read more
The real debt to future generations
An action dubbed ‘East 4 West – Grenfell Solidarity‘, took place on 27 June. It involved 22 lots of residents in tower blocks mainly across East London hanging out a banner to express their solidarity with the residents of Grenfell Tower. (Twenty two because one for each residential floor in Grenfell Tower). It was not… Read more
Deceit NOT Ignorance
I feel I must draw attention to the blog by Simon Wren Lewis on Monday this week. It is well worth a read throughout. But it also contains this withering indictment of ‘our’ government. It is a devastating comment, particularly for an Oxford academic and a – hardly revolutionary – ex civil servant. “Some may… Read more