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| Last Updated: Aug 15th, 2008 - 11:26:43 |
Newsletters
:
2007 Newsletters
:
19 January 2007
Thought for the Day
Earlier this week the DomPost quoted the British National Statistician lamenting the decline in public confidence in official data. This is hardly surprising as governments of all persuasions employ more and more “Policy Wonks” to spin the facts into something more palatable.
Our official unemployment statistics are that their are 3.9% unemployed and this is quoted by the OECD as gospel and a wonderful example to everybody. Unfortunately our census figures show our unemployment level as 5.1% which is not too bad but a very ordinary result.
Which figure do we believe?
Jan 19, 2007, 13:56
Newsletters
:
2007 Newsletters
:
19 January 2007
Freedom Index
In the recent release of the Freedom Index New Zealand continues to do well except that we are a couple of places down and behind Australia.
Comparing us with "old" Europe shows:
Australia = 3
NZ = 5
UK = 6
Belgium = 17
Germany = 19
Austria = 25
Spain = 27
France = 45
So we are still doing well but trending down.
See the full list at this web site:
[ Visit Website ]
Jan 19, 2007, 13:49
Newsletters
:
2007 Newsletters
:
19 January 2007
Fears of a "Brain Drain"
One thing I have discovered during the past three years of study and editing this newsletter is that governments are the problem. They purport to save us from some calamity and by attempting to do so they make the situation worse and hence encourage us to give them more money to continue the cycle which reduces our well-being.
Our Health system and the Education system are prime examples of this. This observation is now becoming more common amongst a wide variety of people including one senior MP who confided in me that in their opinion governments "just make things worse".
So here is a surprising article on the subject dear to all our hearts - the brain drain - but not between here and Australia. This Romanian intellectual discusses the "brain drain" from developing countries and reaches some very interesting conclusions.
Do we have a world economy which progresses despite the efforts of governments to gain more and more control for their own selfish needs? Is the concept of a national economy part of the desire for control and if we didn't measure one country against another, would it make any difference to us as individuals?
Click the title to read this interesting point of view.
Nov 28, 2006, 13:52
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