Decades ago, sociologist Joel Best wrote about how to lie with statistics. The best tricks are those where a statement is word-for-word true but has nothing to do with reality. Read more
The sounds of cricket on the radio are already wafting over campgrounds around the country. Who would wish to spend the holidays anywhere else in the world? Read more
As Mark Twain once quipped: “Lack of money is the root of all evil.” And so entered the governor of the Reserve Bank of Transformable. “Suffer all those short of cash to come unto me,” quoth he. Read more
Last week, the Helen Clark Foundation and the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research released a joint report (the HCF&NZIER report) calling for a higher minimum wage to reduce inequality and lift productivity. The minimum wage increased from $17.70 to $18.90 in April of this year. Read more
Kiwi students are not learning the literacy skills they need and now some schools are paying from their own pocket in a desperate attempt to reverse the dismal trend. Both domestic and international data show a major problem in New Zealand literacy levels. Read more
Imagine an optimistic and hard-working young couple hoping to raise a family in their own house. Thousands of them are flicking through property listings each weekend. Read more
When the Covid-19 crisis first struck Italy earlier this year, this column warned it might set off a chain of events that would wreck the Mediterranean country’s economy. On 10 March (A catastrophe that will cripple Italy), I pointed out that Italy would experience an economic collapse as public debt soared past 150 percent of GDP. Read more
One of the shortest jokes about economics goes like this: Teach a parrot to say supply and demand, and you have created an economist. But there is an even better joke: Teach a parrot to say demand and demand, and you have created a politician. Read more
The holiday season always brings the requisite warnings about the summer road toll. Drive to the conditions, and the faster the speed, the bigger the mess. Read more
All too often, today’s flavour of the month is tomorrow’s failure. This truism appears to be playing out in education. Read more
Last Sunday, Wellington mayor Andy Foster joined a protest at a housing development at Shelly Bay. Wearing suit and tie, he pitched tents to support the occupation but then later told media he thought it was merely a “community gathering.” Regardless, Foster’s attendance at the protest was inescapably seen as going against his own council, which days earlier voted to support the $500 million project. Read more
These days, even the German army cannot afford to neglect its green credentials. Pity if that’s the only thing it is good at. Read more
Dear Mike, In a country where people often hold back opinions for fear of offending others, your breakfast show is a refreshing exception. I am a fan of your clarity and boldness (though, sadly, we still haven’t met). Read more
Air compressor tanks come with a maximum pressure rating. The things are built to handle pressure, but only so much. Read more
Analogies are fun, but good luck using them to change someone’s mind. I’ve heard plenty of conservatives in the US (and everywhere else) say the economy is like a household and the president is like a CEO. Read more