2016

My Christmas wishlist

We had a fantastic year at the Initiative but there is much more work for us to do next year. At the top of my Christmas wish list are better debates and better ideas for a better New Zealand. [...]

New housing strategy needed

Unaffordable housing does not have to be the price we have to pay for living in a globally connected city. And telling people on average incomes to just put up with it is the modern equivalent of Marie Antoinette's 'Let them eat cake'. [...]

Give Trump a chance

According to most commentators, the election of Donald J. Trump signifies the end of the West, the end of the international post-War framework, or at least the end of the United States. I beg to differ. [...]

The end of the campaign, not the end of the world

Have we ever witnessed a stranger US election campaign? What started off looking like a bad joke has now become a possibility: Reality TV star and self-proclaimed business genius Donald Trump becoming the 45th US President. [...]

Top 10

On capitalism by another name, explaining Trump, the perils of health hype, understanding inequality, Brexit's language barrier, Ikea economics and more. [...]

Belgium proves Brexiteers right

The CETA fiasco has seriously diminished the EU’s reputation as an organisation to do business with. Any other country thinking about doing trade deals with the EU will now think twice. [...]