Monthly Archives: November 2008

The Great Which Hunt

Posted on November 30, 2008 by Don Arthur

For decades SNOOTS have been hunting down whiches and replacing them with thats. Whenever a SNOOT discovers the relative pronoun which introducing a restrictive clause, the writer responsible will drop several notches in her esteem. For a SNOOT, knowing which … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | 14 Comments

ISP, telco, VoIP, mobile and mobile broadband packages bleg

Posted on November 30, 2008 by Nicholas Gruen

I have separate contracts for all of the above.  Sounds daft to me.  I note that TPG now has an ‘all you can eat’ mobile for $59.95 and it’s an ISP and provides me with VoIP.  But I get mobile … Continue reading →

Posted in Blegs | 15 Comments

Cutting the GST: a dumb idea from the textbook

Posted on November 29, 2008 by Nicholas Gruen

The financial crisis has been the making of Gordon Browne we’re told. While Hank Paulson was holding masterclasses in crony capitalism Gordon Browne’s rescue package showed how it was done. His recapitalising the banks by buying equity in them was … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy | 14 Comments

Peter Martin can spot a good idea when he sees one

Posted on November 28, 2008 by Nicholas Gruen

But I would say that wouldn’t I?  From today’s Age. IT’S crunch time at the Henry tax review.  . . . The good news is that many of the ideas that will work are quite simple. . . . These good ideas … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy | 7 Comments

Hierarchy, altruism and gender

Posted on November 28, 2008 by Nicholas Gruen

I wish I had more time to look at all this stuff, which is very suggestive of interesting things.  I have a proposal for you, micro-economic reform has been basically right in trying to make markets more competitive, but it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, Political theory | 1 Comment

Small isn’t all bad in banking

Posted on November 28, 2008 by Nicholas Gruen

This is an interesting article about small banking in the US – the US have always had a thing about small banks and there are plenty of them around.  A lot of them are trundling right through the crisis.  They … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy | Comments Off on Small isn’t all bad in banking

Steve Keen and Rory Robertson: one of them is on the way to Kosciusko

Posted on November 28, 2008 by Nicholas Gruen

From Rory’s newsletter I was in Canberra yesterday, presenting at the Federal Treasury and the Parliamentary Library. Over the past year, I’ve often been the most pessimistic person in the room. My second presentation yesterday, however, followed one by Dr … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy | 6 Comments