Tax policy is usually about picking your poison. Set company taxes too high relative to international norms and firms will want to set up abroad. Read more
Last year, the residents of the Hawkes Bay region dodged a bullet. They were not the only ones. Read more
If you are German, it is a little tricky to talk about one of Germany’s greatest philosophers. At least if you’re talking about him in English. Read more
Some New Zealanders might have trouble grasping international affairs without the domestic spin, so here it is. Donald Trump is Winston Peters with money. Read more
It is not easy to say where to pin the blame. Is it media consumers who want more and more hot-takes on the terrors of inequality? Read more
Before making an important decision it is a good idea to take a deep breath and count to ten. Policy decisions should be the same. Read more
I have a solution to inequality. It will take a long time, and I don’t think you’re going to like it. Read more
Distance makes the heart grow fonder, so they say. But sometimes distance can also make you see things more clearly – not just if you are farsighted. Read more
With most major political parties in favour of scrapping urban growth boundaries, land use regulations have captured a fair number of headlines over the past few weeks. And well they should. Read more
New inequality statistics are a bit like Pavlov’s bell. Even the hint of them can induce salivation – regardless of whether the meal winds up being meaty in the end. Read more
With just about everyone proffering advice to post-Brexit Britain, it is unlikely the country will pay attention to this piece. And nor should it, given that Britain will soon be truly free to thumb its nose at advice givers. Read more
What is the difference between Austria and Australia? Well, when the Austrians recently went to the polls to elect a new president, procedures were so flawed that their Constitutional Court told them to hold the election again. Read more
Do you feel like hissing at the people at the front of the plane when you walk past them to the cheaper seats at the back? If you are in the first class seats, do you cringe as people walk past you? Read more
There was a whiff of Monty Python about the Brexit referendum. In Life of Brian, the People’s Front of Judea asks the famous question: “What have the Romans ever done for us?” As it turns out, very little – apart from providing Judea with sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, public health and peace. Read more
‘Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for life. Give him someone else’s fish, and he’ll vote for you.’ Politicians obviously know about this saying. Read more