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| Last Updated: Aug 15th, 2008 - 11:26:43 |
Newsletters
:
2005 Newsletters
:
4 November 2005
Thought for the Day
As Frédéric Bastiat, the great French economist, said: ‘If you want to know something about the moral status of a state action, you have to think, “What would we think about it if a private person did the same thing?”’
Nov 1, 2005, 11:43
Newsletters
:
2005 Newsletters
:
4 November 2005
Please Help
When we look at all the countries of the world and see how they get on over time we notice that they behave like companies. Some become rich and powerful and some disappear altogether. Countries also get richer and poorer and it is instructive to examine what is happening to countries over the last few decades and extrapolate the direction that they are going to see where they may end up.
100 years ago New Zealand was the second wealthiest country per capita in the world and by 1950 had dropped to third place. Not bad. However we had dropped to number 18 in 1973 and to number 37 by 2000. Things look bad. However by 2004 New Zealand had clawed back two places to number 35 and with strong GDP growth we might think that we had some show of continuing this upward trend.
Unfortunately we were wrong! Six years of greater bureaucracy, more regulations and more taxes have taken their toll and we are worse off than ever at number 38.
Our GDP growth rate is expected by all the economists to be much lower in the next few years so we must expect that New Zealand will continue to drop lower and lower down the wealth list.
We are aiming for mediocrity as Just Another Poor Pacific Island. (JAPPI)
We seem to lack the political will to do the hard yards that will bring us rewards. Are we living in a fool's paradise? Time will tell.
If you are concerned about this direction of our economy then send this newsletter on to a friend and ask them to help us explain the facts to our politicians and tell them that the legislation they pass will either make us wealthier or poorer. Political decisions drive the economy. Poor decisions and we continue to get poorer.
It is time for a change! Send this Newsletter on to a friend.
Nov 4, 2005, 12:13
Newsletters
:
2005 Newsletters
:
4 November 2005
Wal-Mart Warms to the State
How very interesting to see that Winston Peters has managed to persuade the government to raise the minimum wage to $12.50.
Our politicians do not seem to understand that raising the minimum wage just makes it harder for the workers at the bottom of the wage scale to get a job. Yet they claim to be doing the best thing for these same people.
This article is a delicious irony of this situation in the USA.
Isn't it time that politicians were required to pass Economics 101?
Nov 2, 2005, 10:43
Newsletters
:
2005 Newsletters
:
4 November 2005
Does the West Know Best?
When ten new member states joined the European Union in May 2004 they not only turned the EU into the world’s biggest market, but the accession of these central and eastern European countries also provided the necessary impetus for a fundamental re-evaluation of the EU’s economic and social model. In the twelve months since accession, the original fifteen have witnessed at closer hand the tremendous social and economic reforms that have taken place in the eastern states. Will they finally have to sit up and take action?
In February 2005 the Stockholm Network and the Centre for New Europe collaborated to bring together some of the leading experts from eastern and western Europe to attempt to reach an answer to the question, does the West know best? Our authors reached a unanimous and unequivocal answer: the West does not know best at all, and would do well to learn from its neighbours in the East.
This set of speeches, based on the aforementioned proceedings, aims to ascertain what, if anything, can be learned from eastern European reforms in the fields of health and social security, tax, competition and regulation, and the labour market. Could the introduction of market mechanisms in the provision of healthcare really have solved the problem of an ageing population in Slovakia, as Martin Bruncko argues? Or is it the case that reform along market-oriented lines has in fact not yet gone far enough, as Matus Petrik claims? Is the European social model doomed, as Johnny Munkhammar suggests? If so, what action must be taken? Is western Europe ready for the introduction of flat taxes? These questions and more are addressed in this series.
All those with an interest in the future direction of Europe would do well to pay heed to the analysis and conclusions set forth in this volume. For if one thing is made clear here it is that, as Pavel Hrobon argues, the West can learn from the demonstration that radical reform is possible and that it can have extremely positive results for economic growth and prosperity. Let us hope that politicians nationally and at EU level will listen.
This series will continue in following weeks so that we can get a better idea of some of the thinking that is going on in other countries. In this modern world we can all learn from what we see working in other societies and adopt the best and most appropriate for ourselves.
Oct 31, 2005, 10:47
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