International junkets for public servants are not my cup of tea. But I will make an exception for the New Zealand Transport Agency, Waka Kotahi. Read more
One key to happiness is not letting your expectations run ahead of what is possible, as that only leads to disappointment. But what has been announced thus far makes for a depressing Budget Day. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative hosted a symposium on literacy education practice and policy yesterday. The attendees numbered about one hundred and included teachers, representatives of literacy advocacy groups and a representative from the Ministry of Education. Read more
There’s a crisis that everyone’s talking about. Far too many Māori and Pacific young people are not thriving in our education system. Read more
As they say, it is better to learn from other people’s mistakes than to make them all yourself. It is one of those truisms so obviously correct it has been falsely attributed to at least a dozen people. Read more
Those on the economic right sometimes wish for flat taxes. If inflation continues to run at 7 percent and the country’s tax thresholds do not change, we will eventually wind up with one. Read more
Successful economies have low unemployment. However, these are no ordinary times, and New Zealand’s ultra-low unemployment rate of 3.2% should worry everyone. Read more
Last week, Inland Revenue Minister David Parker gave a speech titled “shining the light on unfairness in the tax system”. His speech defended an Inland Revenue investigation into the “tax paid by the wealthiest New Zealanders relative to their economic income”. Read more
Like Lewis Carroll’s Red Queen, Elon Musk is fond of impossible things. And not content with simply believing them, Musk likes actually to get them done. Read more
American businessman Bert Lance is credited with popularising the phrase, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Lee served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Jimmy Carter. He would have scratched his head at Labour back-bencher Duncan Webb’s Companies (Directors Duties) Amendment Bill. Read more
Let’s start with a quiz. Over the past 12 months, which of these currencies performed the worst against the US dollar: the Zimbabwe dollar, the Russian Rouble, or the Euro? Read more
Reading through Wellington council’s draft economic wellbeing strategy isn’t great for an economist’s mental wellbeing. Our capital city faces a lot of challenges. Read more
A week is not just a long time in politics. It is a long time for democracy. Read more
If only the Government’s public relations staff were as good as Lotto New Zealand’s. Twice each week, Lotto asks us to imagine those millions of dollars coming our way in the Powerball draw. Read more
Revolutionary economic policies used to be reserved for centre-right politicians. The Zeitgeist was best expressed by Ronald Reagan: “We've gone astray from first principles. Read more