Business
Ultra Vires
Back in the early 1990’s I was working for Girobank, at that time still part of the Post Office. Looking back it was a really interesting place to work, still with many civil service customs. [more…]
Economics
Culture
OTF Party: What Makes/Made Us Quintessentially English/British?
“Being British is all about driving a German car to an Irish theme pub to drink Belgian beer then going home buying an Indian takeaway to sit on a Swedish sofa in front of a [more…]
Economics
Saving in gold is the only reliable way to save
For the longest time, according to conventional and widely embraced wisdom, all responsible and prudent members of society had to have a savings account. All those hardworking taxpayers and all those forward-thinking and sensible individuals [more…]
21st Century
A New Generalplan Ost
“What are you doing next week?” asked the voice on the other end of the phone, “Nothing that I cannot move or delay,” I replied; recognising the voice as Linas, a Lithuanian with whom I [more…]
Economics
Let’s stop kidding ourselves
Columnists write glibly about the “cost-of-living crisis” as if it were an affliction visited upon our unsuspecting community and that, as usual, it is the duty of government to cure it. The fact that the [more…]
Economics
Thinking Properly About Public Welfare
The debate over publicly funded welfare can be solved very quickly. There is constant demand for more welfare: more money for longer periods of time for those out of work, more money for the handicapped [more…]
Economics
Meiyouren Yuedu Pinglun, Part Two
没有人阅读评论 Meiyouren Yuedu Pinglun (Nobody Reads the Comments) So what do Chinese people think about their country? Below are translations of three comments appended in Chinese (and hence not intended for foreigners) to a video [more…]
Economics
Is gold too expensive to buy right now?
This question has been at the center of a great many conversations I’ve been recently having with clients and friends. The way I like to answer it is with another question: Expensive compared to what? [more…]
Economics
Meiyouren Yuedu Pinglun, Part One
没有人阅读评论 Meiyouren Yuedu Pinglun (Nobody Reads the Comments) “SINCE 1978 China has liberated more people from poverty than any other country in history, partly because China before 1978 consigned more people to poverty than anywhere [more…]