The world's most important central banker talks his toughest yet about cranking up interest rates to kill off inflation. This spooked fund managers and traders who believe he'll go soft in the end
“I do wonder sometimes whether my substack earnings are designed to pay for all my substack and other subscriptions!” - the future of capitalism isn’t it? You won’t buy a mattress for a few thousand from one of many competing companies. Instead, you’ll pay $50 a month until you die (or learn to sleep on the floor) from the one remaining mattress company that was bought by private equity exercising it’s monopoly to less effectively make worse and less mattresses whilst raising the price. Cheerful Monday thoughts :)
Kia ora Bernard, can you clarify something -- you say "John Burns Murdoch has done a brilliant analysis of global mortality stats that shows America’s opioid, gun crime and obesity epidemics have lowered life expectancy there in recent years". I'm not a FT subscriber so I can't get into the article, but the chart you show only lists data for drugs, violence, and road deaths. Nothing on obesity. Was there data on this in the article?
Why I'm asking: I hear a lot about the effects of the obesity epidemic. But "obesity" isn't a well defined medical term and the research around the health effects of weight gain isn't robust as far as I can see. (It's a tricky one to run controlled studies on). People tend to have a powerful emotional commitment to the idea that BEING FAT MUST BE BAD FOR YOU. So one runs into a lot of motivated cognition around this. One does not run into a lot of strongly supported dispassionate research.
Thank you for sharing the (as usual) excellent writing of Danyl Mclauchlan. Coincidentally, I'm in the middle of reading David Graeber's 'Utopia of Rules'. These are a series of long-form essays, and a fascinating explainer for why bureaucracy exists and - as per Danyl's focus - the incentives that cause its corruption.
Bureaucracy is such an easy target for the opposition. Especially as I agree with Danyl that there 'appears' to be a lot of waste this government term. Even if we generously grant than Labour are pointing our country in the right direction with all this spending, they have done a shockingly bad job of communicating *where the money is actually going*. And I expect they'll lose the election on that alone. National and Act will repeal a bunch of stuff and all we will have from billions spent is a bunch of richer lawyers and consultants, plus some thick reports hidden away at the bottom of filing cabinets.
Heaps of good, thought provoking stuff here thanks Bernard - in particular today your quote from Danyl Mclauchlan. As a mental health professional in the early to mid 2000s, we lost the battle. The best practice community mental health model we had worked really hard to establish at our NGO, was swept into the bin as new management established a best business practice. So they told us. Professional health staff were not wanted and the office based work force spread like Omicron. I keep wondering how our government seems so trapped in this fruitless position. Am thinking I might need to have another go at properly reading Jane Kelsey's 'The Fire Economy'.
Bernard, a fascinating audio on the genius of Michael Collins & how he financed the Irish revolution of 1919 - 22. It seems we both have an interest in recent Irish history? If Collins had lived & implemented his vision for the Irish Free State, rather than Valera's sterile vision, the Irish Republic would be streets ahead of where it is today. I predict that within 5 years there will be Shinn Fein governments in both Northen Ireland & the Republic, which will fulfil Michael Collin's prediction that the Irish Free State of 1922 was a stepping stone to a united Republican Ireland.
This kala is definitely worth sharing. Your information and analysis is very helpful in trying to understand the chaos. Really appreciate what you do.
“I do wonder sometimes whether my substack earnings are designed to pay for all my substack and other subscriptions!” - the future of capitalism isn’t it? You won’t buy a mattress for a few thousand from one of many competing companies. Instead, you’ll pay $50 a month until you die (or learn to sleep on the floor) from the one remaining mattress company that was bought by private equity exercising it’s monopoly to less effectively make worse and less mattresses whilst raising the price. Cheerful Monday thoughts :)
Kia ora Bernard, can you clarify something -- you say "John Burns Murdoch has done a brilliant analysis of global mortality stats that shows America’s opioid, gun crime and obesity epidemics have lowered life expectancy there in recent years". I'm not a FT subscriber so I can't get into the article, but the chart you show only lists data for drugs, violence, and road deaths. Nothing on obesity. Was there data on this in the article?
Why I'm asking: I hear a lot about the effects of the obesity epidemic. But "obesity" isn't a well defined medical term and the research around the health effects of weight gain isn't robust as far as I can see. (It's a tricky one to run controlled studies on). People tend to have a powerful emotional commitment to the idea that BEING FAT MUST BE BAD FOR YOU. So one runs into a lot of motivated cognition around this. One does not run into a lot of strongly supported dispassionate research.
Thank you for sharing the (as usual) excellent writing of Danyl Mclauchlan. Coincidentally, I'm in the middle of reading David Graeber's 'Utopia of Rules'. These are a series of long-form essays, and a fascinating explainer for why bureaucracy exists and - as per Danyl's focus - the incentives that cause its corruption.
Bureaucracy is such an easy target for the opposition. Especially as I agree with Danyl that there 'appears' to be a lot of waste this government term. Even if we generously grant than Labour are pointing our country in the right direction with all this spending, they have done a shockingly bad job of communicating *where the money is actually going*. And I expect they'll lose the election on that alone. National and Act will repeal a bunch of stuff and all we will have from billions spent is a bunch of richer lawyers and consultants, plus some thick reports hidden away at the bottom of filing cabinets.
Far out, thanks for sharing that Ode to Joy.
Heaps of good, thought provoking stuff here thanks Bernard - in particular today your quote from Danyl Mclauchlan. As a mental health professional in the early to mid 2000s, we lost the battle. The best practice community mental health model we had worked really hard to establish at our NGO, was swept into the bin as new management established a best business practice. So they told us. Professional health staff were not wanted and the office based work force spread like Omicron. I keep wondering how our government seems so trapped in this fruitless position. Am thinking I might need to have another go at properly reading Jane Kelsey's 'The Fire Economy'.
Bernard, a fascinating audio on the genius of Michael Collins & how he financed the Irish revolution of 1919 - 22. It seems we both have an interest in recent Irish history? If Collins had lived & implemented his vision for the Irish Free State, rather than Valera's sterile vision, the Irish Republic would be streets ahead of where it is today. I predict that within 5 years there will be Shinn Fein governments in both Northen Ireland & the Republic, which will fulfil Michael Collin's prediction that the Irish Free State of 1922 was a stepping stone to a united Republican Ireland.