Tim Worstall

At the ASI. The correct answer to some other idiot subsidising the production of something is “thank you very much”.

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But why hasn’t Buffett proposed also that the very rich make large gifts to the federal government to offset what he considers ridiculously low taxes on their incomes and wealth? My guess is that he and the others who pledged to give away their wealth to charity would have little confidence in how the government [...]

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Why have so many of our politicians, Labour and Conservative, sought to introduce a market into health? I am not against a private element in the NHS, which may bring innovation and good practice, provided it is within the framework of a public service – complementary but not wrecking. But why have they been bewitched [...]

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The Observer says: were obtained by non-profit-making investigations company Spinwatch, Non-profit making? Seems so: Spinwatch is an independent non-profit making organisation The choice of language there shows idiot leftism at its best. Not making a profit is actually quite easy. General Motors managed it for years. What they mean is “not for profit”, that is [...]

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I wonder what attracted him to her? Entirely a mystery.

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Dame Fiona Reynolds that is. Here she is talking about the changes in planning law: This blatant manipulation of numbers is infuriating, and makes it crystal clear who would profit most from the changes. Lessee, more houses being built means more houses for people to live in. The beneficiaries would therefore be the people who [...]

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Second, to say that as a result the refusal to consider the pension reforms I recommend – requiring that at least 25% of all new pension contributions made in the UK go into new investment that will result in new investment and job creation in the real economy – is absurd. The result to pensioners [...]

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Edinburgh tram project: a right royal mile How did a city famed for its citizens’ prudence and excellent buses come close to disaster over its tram network plan? By allowing the politicians to plan something.

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You’re absolutely correct here: Let’s get one thing straight. The NHS does need constant reform – always has and always will. Megalomaniac politicians of all parties love mighty structural upheaval, but what works is detailed, expert and quite dull. Health economist Prof Alan Maynard, observer of many pointless upheavals, has made the case for evidence-driven [...]

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Oh dearie me. Green tomato marmalade Add chopped crystallised ginger to this if you like, though it’s good just as it is. Makes about four 450g jars. 5 lemons 1.5kg green tomatoes, cored and cut into 5mm dice 1.7kg granulated sugar Erm, no, sorry, but I’m afraid that’s not allowed. Here. “Marmalade” is a mixture, [...]

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A very silly report indeed from the US, about how corporations are paying their CEOs more than the corporations pay in tax. The Guardian, natch, picks up on it: The authors calculated that the CEOs of the 50 companies that laid off the most workers since the onset of the economic crisis took home 42% [...]

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At the ASI. Nice little report on why green jobs are costs not benefits.

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This is fun: However, the controversy appears to have been unnecessary, since administrators now believe that the value of the collapsed bank’s assets should be enough to compensate priority creditors in full. In fact, the bank has more than double the assets needed to compensate foreign depositors from Britain and the Netherlands, according to the [...]

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Blimey, now we’ve got the cheese eating surrender monkeys considering tax incidence. C’est de la très bonne dialectique économique. Il entame son raisonnement en faisant le distinguo, souvent oublié, entre celui qui paie l’impôt et fait le chèque et celui qui en supporte la charge. Dans le cas de l’impôt sur les sociétés (corporate income [...]

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Read my book Hard Work – all about crossing the class line. I have never, ever pretended to be anything other than what I am, from a family of middle class academics and writers, and lucky. Hmm. So this book, Hard Work then. Toynbee took whatever jobs she could find, often offered for less than [...]

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That’s good then. The figures, compiled by the Consensus Action on Salt & Health (Cash) campaign group, came after the Department of Health announced bread accounts for more salt in our diet than any other food, making up almost a fifth of our daily intake. So bread is around and about as salty as human [...]

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Read it all here. Just as one example, company part owned by major Obama donor gets fast tracked to a half billion $ loan guarantee. Then goes bust.

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Dr. Clarke again: In 2010, Labour actually increased its vote in raw terms among those ranked as AB on the social grade [NRS]. Labour’s vote also held up well among those at the bottom of the social grade [DE]. The real loss for Labour actually occurred among their skilled & semi skilled workers. They lost practically all [...]

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Apparently there were some crusty student types camping out in part of Glasgow University. Ho hum, hadn’t heard a peep. Anyway, they’re claiming they’ve won and that this is wonderful for all. One of the things they claim to have proven is: From day one, our occupation sought to be more than just a protest. [...]

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Women’s strike Can you imagine if all the women in the country went on strike at the same time? Well, IT might carry on relatively unperturbed. But the health system would grind to a halt, schools would be emptied, newspapers would go unwritten, and the lack of hairdressers would lead to the worst hair day [...]

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