Journalism and other writing
IN THE 2016 election year we will hear a lot more about one of Australia’s hitherto practically unsung federal-state imbalances.
The much sung one, of course, is the fact that the Federal Government raises the bulk of the taxes, but the states are the ones with the responsibility for spending them – schools, hospitals, police, most roads and so on. It goes by the rather ugly name of vertical fiscal imbalance. Continue reading “Population now likely to be bigger election issue”
THE average financial adviser will not tell you this, but one investment beats virtually anything else. Its effective rate of return is about 27 per cent. Yes 27 per cent. It is achieved by making sure you pay your credit card off by the due date every month. Continue reading “Nation in hock should wean off credit cards”
US Republican candidate Donald Trump’s call to prevent all Muslims from entering the United States gives rise to the question: what are the limits of toleration in a liberal democracy? To what extent can a liberal democracy tolerate religious bigotry? It is a double-edged question. To what extent can a liberal democracy tolerate the bigotry espoused by Trump? Equally to what extent can a liberal democracy tolerate a religion (or sect of a religion) that espouses repression of women and homosexuals; the death for adultery and apostasy; and amputation for thieves. Continue reading “How much intolerance can we tolerate”
THE Paris climate conference should give us greater cause for optimism about preventing catastrophic climate change than all the talks and conferences before it. Continue reading “Paris — economics makes climate pledges easy”