Tim Worstall

Director Jon Thorisson Eva Joly Institute, Dunhagi 19 107 Reykjavik, Iceland TEL: 00354 821 99 54 E-mail:info@evajolyinstitute.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Board of directors Helen Garlick, Barrister Helge Skogseth Berg, Attorney Jean Michel Matt, Accountant Advisory board Björk, Artist Helena Kennedy, QC Edgar Morin, Philosopher [...]

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Umm, really? The chief economist for the International Energy Agency said Monday that current global energy consumption levels put the Earth on a trajectory to warm by 6 degrees Celsius (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by 2100, an outcome he called “a catastrophe for all of us.”Fatih Birol spoke as as delegates from nearly [...]

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REMOVED: Ron Paul labels Newt and Mitt muppets 30 Nov 2011:REMOVED: Ron Paul labels Newt and Mitt muppets Did anyone see the original? I assume the estate of Jim Henson complained about the libellous comparison of interesting, articulate and intelligent puppets with Mssrs. Gingrich and Romney.  

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However, speaking from the picket lines outside St Pancras Hospital in London, TUC General Secretary Brenda Barber said public sector pensioners were being plundered to tackle the financial crisis. Not that there’s anything wrong with gender reassignment you understand, but the Mrs. probably didn’t expect this when Brendan left for the hospital yesterday morning. Of [...]

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and property is greatly undertaxed compared with other countries. This simply is not true. Property tax as a percentage of total tax collected by the country. The UK collects 11.9% of total tax revenue from taxes on property. This is the highest in the OECD and some twice the OECD average of 5.8%. It might [...]

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Does he really mean this? State employees also face further reductions in their salaries under plans to abolish national pay deals, Mr Osborne warned. Abolishing national pay deals? Really? How friggin’ excellent.  

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Compare and contrast two statements. Richard Murphy: “We can never solve all crime” Richard Murphy: “Yes I am saying there isn’t an efficient level of crime” If we can never solve all crime then there is a level of crime that it is efficient to have. Only if we can solve (or prevent, clean up, [...]

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When private sector financial services have so obviously failed and when the private sector is sitting on tens, if not, hundreds of billions of cash it has not a clue what to do with it is very obvious that paying the private sector to manage the projects we need to fund our economy, to allocate [...]

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One of the readers here is the father of one of these here: Compare and contrast with this version of the old standard (well, standard….everyone changes the lyrics)

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How about we keep those to whom it is a vocation and fire all of those to whom it is a job?

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I do hope he’s being misquoted here: This week I spoke to Richard Murphy, the economist and tax expert, whose new book has the self-explanatory title The Courageous State and brims with imaginative thinking. Using pension funds for national investment, he told me, could be done much more efficiently than the Osborne plan. In exchange [...]

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What’s happened to England’s rugby team this autumn is obviously not just about money. But it’s an excellent example of something free marketeers often ignore, but that research proves: that adopting a market system does encourage people to think about cash and their individual wellbeing. Indeed this is very true. Market incentives do change behaviour. [...]

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Overnight, by a motorway? A cleanup operation is under way after a tanker carrying more than 20 tonnes of yeast extract – believed to be Marmite – overturned on a busy motorway. Average serving of Marmite, 4 grammes, so 250,000 servings to the tonne. Average weight of slice of bread, around 30 grammes, so 7.5 [...]

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I came away thinking it was a splendid place, and also reflecting how much England suffered in the 20th century from its metropolitan bias. A healthy country needs strong provinces such as England had in the Victorian Age, the exceptional century in its history, when so much of the cultural and intellectual vitality of the [...]

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These Herman Cain shagging women accusations. Actually, in at least one case, an accusation of sexual assault on a white woman. 100 years ago they would have lynched Cain even for the allegation. Today they’re still mulling over whether he should be a Presidential candidate. Yes, it’s still possible to see “black man as voracious [...]

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As Ambrose points out: The three main gauges – M1, M2, and M3 – have each begun to decline in absolute terms after slowing sharply over the Autumn. The broad M3 measure tracked closely by the European Central Bank as an early warning indicator shrank last month by €59bn to €9.78 trillion, a sign that [...]

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“Unfortunately, we at www.elviscostello.com find ourselves unable to recommend this lovely item to you as the price appears to be either a misprint or a satire.” “If you should really want to buy something special for your loved one at this time of seasonal giving, we can whole-heartedly recommend Ambassadors of Jazz [by] Louis Armstrong,” [...]

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And given his well known editorial policy I’ll repeat my comment there here: “Let’s be explicit about what he’s saying here: he’s explicitly condoning crime. He’s saying we should simply allow it. He says we’re better off for this criminal conduct.” Not quite. I’m saying we’re better off by ignoring rather than attempting to eradicate [...]

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@oikonomenos Enrique Viaña Remis Ley de Worstall: “Todas las organizaciones terminan siendo dirigidas por quienes son capaces de mantenerse despiertos en las reuniones”

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Beyond the passionate intensity of Ukip and the far left, nobody is speaking with boldness and clarity about how to deal with a eurozone collapse. The [r]est lack all conviction. So that’s Our Jackie then. It’s clear what we need. Would they now step forward, please? It will take some courage to do so – [...]

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