Monthly Archives: August 2009

Google Reader Bleg

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Nicholas Gruen

Does anyone else have the problem that their Google reader occasionally just loads up a little more than the Google reader logo and then, while it proudly dispalays a sign against a dull yellow background saying “loading” it does anything … Continue reading →

Posted in Blegs, IT and Internet | 7 Comments

See you later Tiger

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Nicholas Gruen

I’m sitting in a queue waiting for a Tiger plane from Melbourne to Perth.  There’s a good chance you’ll not get on the plane if  you don’t arrive 45 minutes early.  They’re a budget airline you see.  Well this is … Continue reading →

Posted in Bargains, Economics and public policy, Life | 22 Comments

Making a difference – not!

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Nicholas Gruen

What is the probability your vote will make a difference? Andrew Gelman, Nate Silver, Aaron Edlin NBER Working Paper No. 15220 Issued in August 2009 NBER Program(s):   LE PE Abstract One of the motivations for voting is that one vote can make a … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, Politics - international | 1 Comment

Equality of Opportunity

Posted on August 24, 2009 by Fred Argy

It seems opportune to revisit my 2006 paper, Equal Opportunity in Australia: myths and reality1. I wrote this brief up-date for NewCritic (put out by the University of Western Australia).

Posted in Economics and public policy | 7 Comments

Was Keynes really a conservative?

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Fred Argy

This question is posed by Bruce Bartlett in Economists View. The answer depends on how you define a conservative. Is it someone who believes in small government? Is it someone with an antiquated, minority philosophical stance – such as on … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy | 2 Comments

The Unforgivable Sin: Ethics

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Jacques Chester

I am ambivalent about recently-axed SIHIP head, Jim Davidson. His history shows that he can be sweepingly arrogant, convinced of his own intellectual superiority, and able to enjoy the very sourest of grapes. When he lost to my former employer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics - Northern Territory | 7 Comments

Monetising a touch of the tar

Posted on August 15, 2009 by Ken Parish

My family is staunchly lower class English on my dad’s side (his mother emigrated from England as a lady’s maid and then started a chicken farm in Greenacre in Sydney’s western suburbs) and bog Irish/Scottish Catholic on my mum’s side. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art and Architecture, Life | 7 Comments