Month: August 2013

By announcing the next Greek package before the election, Schäuble is manoeuvring Germany into his much preferred position of actively supporting closer European integration.

Just like Canberra, Brussels is not the world’s most exciting place. But if the European Union really cared about administrative efficiency, it would make it its proper capital and stop the Strasbourg travelling circus.

Ultimately, fiscal management is about choices: choices made according to principle and responding to circumstance. Swan made easy but poor choices, while English made difficult but sensible choices. As a result, New Zealand’s public finances are in good shape, and the Kiwi economy looks forward to continuing its healthy growth rates.

The best one can say about the euro crisis at present is that it is on hold, contained by the ECB’s promises to defend the euro and some stop-gap measures to keep financial institutions and countries solvent until the German elections.

Many Wellington local politicians are pushing this ‘super city’ idea, but is it really good for local government? Or is it simply the tempting, less democratic prospect of being the mayor or councillor of an engorged Wellington?

As I discovered playing Monopoly, there is no point dragging out a game artificially. Apart from that, my parents got sick and tired of having to play on just in order to keep my strange business model going for no real purpose. Perhaps the Greeks and the Spaniards should also tell the Germans that the game is up?

Not every proposal is automatically dubious just because it originates from your political opponents. A more civilised discourse that is tough but fair is what New Zealand lacks.

Two things are an anathema to free-market economists: government intervention and monopolies. And one thing is even worse: When public services are provided by a central government monopolist.