I can’t be bothered to go into detail about the UK budget, other than to say that fat man and his friend the badger have taken us all to Carey St. It’s our fault for letting loonies run the country into the ground. Or am I being a tad too harsh again? This is NOT [...]
Category Archives: Economics
Call me Ishmael, but I'm pleased that the Japanese whaling fleet missed its quota
April 15, 2009 – 10:49 am
I’m no Cousteau, as you will plainly see from this article, but it has come to my attention that several species of the world’s fish stocks are running close to extinction. The success of the whaling moratorium serve as an example that positive action can lead to permanent results. By John J Kelly Over Easter [...]
The big money is at the end of the rainbow, same as it ever was
March 3, 2009 – 4:58 pm
Writing in Wilmott, Rudi Bogni argues that banker-bashing may be a convenient way to mask the inconvenient truth that the demands on our financial systems are unsustainable. Western productivity was not up to the task of generating sufficient wealth to fuel perpetual growth, nor is it likely to be. It required a collective suspension of [...]
Yes, the middle classes are revolting, but I don't predict a riot
February 25, 2009 – 4:50 pm
Riot shields ready to dodge the flying quiches. Set tasers to stun those unemployed analysts. Truncheon the bourgeois materialists. They no longer matter. We’ve bled them dry. By John J Kelly. Recently, The Guardian reported police warnings of a ‘summer of hate.’ Sources of Intelligence (in short supply in the police) ‘indicate’ that middle class [...]
Unless we kill them now, Zombie banks will roam the earth, eating our future and boring us witless
February 22, 2009 – 3:26 pm
The financial system as a whole is rotten. Predicated on the now-doghoused dogma that markets know best and light-touch regulation is all that’s needed to produce the best of all possible worlds, the regulatory structure failed to prevent banks, insurers and investment funds from acting recklessly. During the good times, investors as well as [...]
British Rail Fares 50% higher than Europe – why oh why etc.
February 19, 2009 – 7:04 pm
There should be a sign upon disembarking at London St Pancras International train terminal: “Welcome to Britain, where everything’s a lot dearer and a little bit rubbish.” By John J Kelly A report by Passenger Focus has told us something we already know: British rail passengers, especially commuters, pay 50% more for our generally uncomfortable [...]
Credit crunch contrition from the commentariat
This morning an Editorial Intelligence (EI) briefing on ‘The Credit Crunch Commentariat‘ debated whether the media had talked us into recession or had downplayed the crisis and thus exacerbated its impact. “What, pray, is all the fuss about?” wrote Ex Economist editor, Bill Emmott, in the Guardian in August 2008. “Unemployment is down, the economy is [...]