Last Updated: Nov 19th, 2009 - 11:07:39 Newsletters : 2005 Newsletters : 23 September 2005 Thought for the Day The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order. Alfred North Whitehead British philospher Sep 23, 2005, 10:41 Newsletters : 2005 Newsletters : 23 September 2005 Our Place in the World - Depressing News. Despite all the good news and the fact that we seemed to catch up with the other leading countries of the world between 2000 and 2004 we have now slumped to number 40 in the world in terms of GDP per Capita. Remember that in 1900 we were number 2, in 1950 we were number 3 and in 2000 we were number 37; a disastrous slump in fortunes. Things improved so that we came back to number 35 in 2004 after the hard work of the 80s and 90s paid off. Now we find that we have slumped to number 40 in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. Our wealth is due to the way our governments run our country. Socialism and the welfare state reduce people's wealth on average. Freedom and less government improves our individual wealth. The list from 1 to 40 makes interesting reading. Australia is still well ahead at number 18 and the Aussies are US$7000 richer per Capita than Kiwis. Iceland with no resources is at 12, just ahead of Ireland on 13. The OECD countries continue to slide down the list. Small free democratic tax havens flourish. Our latest election result does not fill me with confidence in our ability to improve our position. Sep 20, 2005, 11:50 Newsletters : 2005 Newsletters : 23 September 2005 Unblocking business It is always very interesting to know where one's country stands vis-a-vis the rest of the world and the World Bank has this helpful exercise in quantifying business regulations and their costs in various countries. Freedom for entreprenuers and businesses to "do their thing" and provide products and services that willing buyers will pay to consume is the essence of economic progress. Politicians have the opportunity of enhancing this process or killing it off. Ever wonder why Africa is so poor and Asia is growing so wealthy? Here lies the answer and the World Bank hopes it can shame the worst offenders into changing their ways. This is an article from The Economist. Sep 19, 2005, 17:42 Newsletters : 2005 Newsletters : 23 September 2005 Whom Do You Trust? In the aftermath of our recent elections I thought this small contribution from an American politician would be interesting. When we consider the realities of what and who our politicians really are how can we possibly persuade them to put Economic Growth at the top of their "to do" list? Sep 19, 2005, 15:27