Summer reading and listening for Dec 28
CCCFA fallout continues; Councils that imposed charges punished by 3 Waters; The ‘good’ things about inflation; Plenty of fun things
TLDR: This is one of my occasional collections of my summer reading and listening for paid subscribers. They will be heavy on fun things and always have a summery pic at the top, often involving photos of Kaka. They’re not guaranteed to be timely or comprehensive. The full daily newsletters restart on Jan 17. I welcome any of your long reads and fun things in the comments below.
News etc
This piece from Rob Stock on the CCCFA fallout is useful. I can’t see the slowdown lasting long. The banks won’t tolerate flat to falling lending.
Kapiti Coast Council is one of the few that took the pain of imposing water charges, and feels it is now being punished for that via 3 Waters. Fair enough. (Stuff)
Longer reads and listens
This is a great read from Matt Stoller on the supply chain crisis in the United States, and how the US Congress is, shockingly, doing its job properly in response. A fascinating series of insights into America’s trucking industry and how America’s political economy works. Sometimes.
Chart of the day
An interesting insight here from David Skilling on one of the ‘good’ things about inflation
“Although financial repression is not yet a deliberate strategy, these outcomes are consistent with a move over time to a new macro policy regime – where fiscal policy is the primary policy instrument for economic management, central banks support this by keeping interest rates low, and inflation is higher than it would otherwise be. The potential for ‘fiscal dominance’ is something to watch for: the higher the debt levels, the more attractive this strategy is for governments.” David Skilling in his blog.
Numbers of the day
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