Tuesday “Ultimately it is only wealth that can reduce poverty.” Thomas Sowell There is a great deal of blather about reducing poverty by this or that measure and about how to better organise society to achieve this supposedly desirable outcome. Personally I like having some poor people around because they maintain my garden cheaply. Practically … [Read more...]
Regulation Strangulation 2
Tuesday The paradigm shift that is underway in western civilization is composed of minor trends. The distinguishing feature of all these trends is that they are negative. One of the trends is unemployment; it rises inexorably. The free market of yesteryear created businesses; those businesses supplied not only products, but also jobs. It takes a degree … [Read more...]
What is Work?
Saturday Work is physical or mental activity that adds value to the economy. Such things as digging ditches for necessary drains, building roads to somewhere (as opposed to bridges to nowhere), writing software code for a start-up, cooking a restaurant meal, growing wheat etc. There are many other sorts of activities, such as the play of the young, amateur sports, … [Read more...]
Wealth Must be Created
Tuesday The Ancient Egyptians produced food in abundance. Their civilisation lasted for at least four thousand years. The Spanish stole galleon after galleon of Gold and silver from South and Central America. Their civilisation lasted for a few hundred years. The Egyptians created wealth; the Spanish stole it. Stealing is not sustainable; eventually the victims have … [Read more...]