The frugalist revolution
It is a sure sign I am getting old. At age 43, I am still working and I do not think it is a problem. [...]
Insights
‘Insights’ is the weekly newsletter of The New Zealand Initiative. Every Friday it provides comment pieces on domestic and global policy issues and the state of the world as such. It is a newsletter serious enough for a think tank – and lighthearted enough for an enjoyable Friday afternoon read. Please subscribe to ‘Insights’ by visiting the website of The New Zealand Initiative: www.nzinitiative.org.nz
Dissecting the 21st century’s Great Untruths
It had to take an evolutionary psychologist and a lawyer to dissect (some of) the craziness of modern society and polity. Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff’s new book The Coddling of the American Mind is required reading for anyone wishing to understand 21st century politics, not just in the US but globally. [...]
Still the lucky country
Australia has demonstrated that reality can easily keep up with the fiction of House of Cards. Frank Underwood’s Washington seems almost civilised against the snake pit that is Canberra. [...]
Bridges’ right to travel
At the risk of making myself unpopular, I have absolutely no problem with Simon Bridges’ expenses bill. Except that it was leaked and that some other politicians are trying to turn it into a scandal. [...]
Freely speaking
Since New Zealand just had to discuss the meaning of free speech, perhaps it is worth defining what free speech is. And what it is not. [...]
Is it 2008 again?
If the business community believes that our policy direction is so bad it makes them feel like it is 2008 again, New Zealand has a problem. The Government must act quickly to address legitimate concerns and dispel misplaced ones. [...]
Project Localism
The chances for decentralisation have never been better. [...]
Brexit shootout
As the Brexit negotiations move towards extra time, it takes a team captain with better oversight, strategy and nerves than Theresa May. [...]
Millennial ignorance
A large majority of Australian millennials find socialism attractive. And they believe that capitalism has failed. [...]
Housing reform vs populist gimmickry
It is hard to introduce populist policies without hurting the economy. That is the takeout from the Government’s decision to water down its planned restrictions on foreign property buyers. [...]
