The never-ending battle for liberty
There are no permanent victories in the battle for liberty and the economic prosperity that it engenders.
We wonder whether Guardian readers know this
We know that Guardian readers are being told this - look, it’s right there in the newspaper - but whether they’ll make that mental leap to know it is unknown.
After shrinkflation comes drinkflation
We have all encountered the practice of shrinkflation, where producers reduce the size or weight of their product to avoid having to increase its price.
We have our own motoserras and we’re not afraid to use them
One of the proofs that we are not a party political organisation is that we welcome good policy wherever it stems from.
A UK tariff response? Don’t go there
Ministers tell us that everything is ‘on the table’. And many people believe, even expect, that the UK should retaliate against Donald Trump’s new trade tariffs with tariffs of our own.
The case for slimming the Department of Health
While the UK’s Department of Health campaigns against people becoming fat and urges them to slim down, there is a strong case for slimming down the Department itself.
The solution is that “work of equal value” does not exist
Last week we pointed out that to solve the Birmingham binmen strike it is necessary to pay teaching assistants more.
There’re claims to economics and then there’s actual economics
One of those little proofs that if you put the word “political” in front of another - as with “social” in front, or “studies” after - then you have wholly destroyed the meaning of the word being so modified.
Were you truly wafted here from Paradise? No, Luton Airport
Apparently being able to leave Luton is a bad idea. So says Caroline Lucas: Almost 90% of flights from Luton are taken for leisure - in other words British tourists taking their money out of the country to spend abroad. Expanding Luton is not good for UK growth…
Tariffs and the European Union
Tariffs are a counter-productive policy, both misconceived and damaging to those who impose them. The new tariffs imposed by President Trump will make US goods more expensive for US consumers.
Don’t just do something, stand there!
There’s an old City adage that specific mistakes only come along once in a generation. Folk see the mistake, learn from it, then don’t repeat it.
Luxury paratransit commuting
Many years ago I published a paper entitled ‘The Paratransit Light Vehicle.’ It examined ride-sharing schemes in several world cities. These included the Philippine jeepneys, the Argentine colectivos, the Turkey dolmus, the Israeli sheruts and others.