Steven D. Levitt is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and co-author of a series of books that have the word “Freakonomics” in their titles. Until yesterday I had never read anything by Mr Levitt, and heartily wish that I hadn’t bothered to read this article on his blog because its stupidity…
The Yes Movement & Political Engagement. Supporters of a “No” vote in September’s referendum on Scottish independence and enthusiasts for keeping the UK intact need to read this article from Jen Stout. This is where the groundswell of support for independence is coming from and tells us what needs to happen in the whole of…
http://flipchartfairytales.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/self-employed-the-nouveau-pauvre/#comment-19576 :: Here’s a great piece of analysis from Flip Chart Fairytales which uncovers the truth behind the recent boom in self-employment in the UK. Turns out declaring yourself as self-employed is an effective way to get the DWP off your back. If you move from Job Seekers Allowance to Working Tax Credits they can…
Very encouraging to see Martin Wolf in the Financial Times talking seriously about full reserve banking. His proposals for are a step in the right direction but are only part of the solution. They highlight a set of additional underlying problems that also need to be addressed. He takes no account of one of the main…
Yesterday The Telegraph reported on the current house price boom. The average asking price in England and Wales is more than £262,500 – 7.3% higher than it was 12 months ago. For those of us who struggle with the concept of cumulative growth 7.3% doesn’t sound like a very big number but if you do…
Anyone who’s encouraged by George Osborne’s claims of having steered the UK through the stormy waters of recession into a period of growth that’s “the largest in the G7” needs to read this piece: Comparative Recovery from Flip Chart Fairy Tales. Personally I don’t think GDP is a very useful measure of economic performance but…
Even in the USA the debate about universal basic income is coming out into the mainstream. Here’s a substantial piece on PBS News Hour in which people from right and left talk of the advantages of UBI. Not much discussion about how to fund it but that will come, I’m sure.
Welcome to Collaborative Scotland. I’ve just become a signatory to Collaborative Scotland’s commitment to engage in the independence debate with respect and courtesy, and continue in the same spirit after the referendum regardless of the result. There are many other debates in life where a similar commitment from both sides would save a lot of…
This is a first attempt at drawing a picture of how our crazy money system works. I hope that it helps you to see how money moves through our economy and why we are condemned to fall forever deeper into debt unless we change the way that we use money. Apologies for the quality of…
Here’s another video from Positive Money for those of you who have yet to catch on to the fact that our financial systems are dysfunctional by design. I know lots of people find this stuff dull but if we don’t change the ways that we use money then the financial crises will keep coming, one…
Views From The Boatshed 