If a picture contains a thousand words, this column is going to run well over our normal word limit. But the charts do say a lot, so we’ll let the charts do most of the talking. Read more

It would be ludicrous to describe Grant Robertson’s 2019 Wellbeing Budget as austere. Core government spending rose from around $27.50 of every $100 in economic activity to about $29 – a substantial increase. Read more

And so, the state advances. Thirteen steps forward, four steps back, then onward again. Read more

American libertarian author and satirist P.J. O’Rourke used to joke that “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” The problem really is one of trust. Read more

Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister for most of 1968 through 1984, and father of the current Canadian Prime Minister, had a wonderful quip about being neighbours with the United States. In a 1969 state visit with President Nixon in Washington, Trudeau said, “Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. Read more

Even today’s sharpest critics of economics should give economists credit for two substantial wins for liberalism over the past couple of centuries. In 1849, Thomas Carlyle called economics ‘the Dismal Science.” The name stuck, but most people using the term have forgotten why Carlyle gave us that name. Read more

They say that denial is the first stage of grief and that overcoming it matters if you want anything to get better. There has been an awful lot of denial of the serious fiscal problem that the government must start addressing in May’s budget. Read more

History often helps put current controversies in context. In 1968, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Ira Glasser defended racist Alabama Governor George Wallace’s right to speak at a city-owned stadium in New York. Read more

For a few months after last year’s elections, Wellington consultancies seemed to be scrambling to publish reports on city deals. National’s coalition agreement with ACT promised long-term city deals for funding and financing infrastructure but was short on details. Read more

Both the prior Labour government and the current National-led coalition have wanted to deliver more affordable housing. But getting there is like trying to traverse an overgrown forest path. Read more