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EU-HSE farce update

On 4 Dec, I explained how a regulatory farce between the EU and the HSE was wasting millions of taxpayers’ money while costing business millions in lost sales. I have now had an update. Thankfully, the Secretary of State has understood the position. Iain Duncan Smith has given instructions which should see this dealt with promptly. The next stage is to deal with two crucial issues: why the HSE couldn’t see the problem they were causing in the first place and [...]

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The EU vs the HSE – another expensive regulatory farce

Yesterday, I heard from a local businessman about the kafkaesque nightmare that has been inflicted upon his industry by the EU – made far, far worse by our own bureaucracy. The firm manufactures water-disinfection systems used in hospitals and other health facilities. The EU has just imposed another round of over-regulation on that particular industry. The new set of rules — the Biocidal Products Regulations – are flawed but what concerns me is the new ban on the use of copper as a [...]

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Inflation jumps unexpectedly? Surprise?

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Via the Telegraph: The Office for National Statistics said its consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation rose to 2.6pc in July from 2.4pc in June, driven by a 21.7pc rise in the cost of flights which saw overall transport prices rise by 1pc. And via ToryOutcast: “UK inflation jumps unexpectedly in July”. Oh yes, completely unexpected that…http://bit.ly/Pgdp1H  (@SteveBakerMP) Good to know that my reader isn’t surprised by inflation. A pity that the people who manage the money supply are.

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Obtaining service from BT

About 2 weeks ago, my phone line failed. One online report and several days later, an engineer arrived unexpectedly on a Sunday morning. So far, imperfect but fine. He restored voice calls but not Infinity broadband. There was apparently something up with a cable in their junction box. He was to report it to another engineer for a repair the next day. There were 2 days until BT’s self-imposed, sluggish deadline. Five days later, broadband was still not up. Irritatingly, [...]

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Labour rigour and high standards for all

Via House of Commons Hansard Debates for 21 Jun 2012, remarks you would not make up: We on the Opposition Benches believe in rigour and high standards for all, but we also believe in a broad curriculum that prepares young people for work, so we will set a series of tests to ensure that the changes meet both. First, Labour wants higher literacy and numeracy standards. The key is to raise teaching quality across the board. Is there any reason to [...]

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Can government spending activities have a positive impact on economic activity?

Can government spending activities have a positive impact on economic activity? Do federal spending programs designed to offset a recession’s negative effects add a boost to GDP growth? Can government purposefully and successfully take steps that will increase employment? In essence, do government stimulus programs really work? With various political parties advocating further economic boomerangs, find out here: The U.S. Experience With Fiscal Stimulus | Mercatus. The key conclusions are on the last page. After describing three hurdles to stimulus spending as an [...]

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The crucial fallacy underlying Labour’s rhetoric

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Having just read Chuka Umunna’s speech yesterday, I am sorry I was not able to make the debate. There is one particular fallacy underlying Labour’s rhetoric and this particular speech’s bluster: government cannot live forever beyond its means. Evidence I have presented elsewhere shows that the total tax burden has been around 42% of GDP for 40 years, whoever has been in power. It looks like there is a practical limit to how much of national income the state can [...]

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Operation Twisted Logic – Detlev Schlichter

Via Operation Twisted Logic, an article by Detlev Schlichter, author of Paper Money Collapse: The Folly of Elastic Money and the Coming Monetary Breakdown: … Like all state bureaucracies, the Fed is in fact struggling with problems that are predominantly of its own making. The Fed is the reason we are in this crisis. Or, more specifically, the present economic crisis is the inevitable consequence of the political decision to adopt a system of unconstrained, constantly expanding fiat money, in which the [...]

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The greatest gift to the Greeks might be to let them go it alone – Telegraph

There comes a moment in any decent tragedy when the penny finally drops. The light breaks. The protagonist suddenly realises what a chump he has been – that he has somehow managed accidentally to marry his mother and kill his father – and that all his assumptions about his life are upside down. And the really awful thing about the tragedy now playing on the streets of Athens is that we haven’t even reached that bit yet. Read more via [...]

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Inflation Is Here, and It Is Going to Get Worse – Frank Shostak – Mises Daily

A great lesson on inflation from Frank Shostak appears on mises.org, including this quote from Ludwig von Mises: Inflation, as this term was always used everywhere and especially in this country, means increasing the quantity of money and bank notes in circulation and the quantity of bank deposits subject to check. But people today use the term “inflation” to refer to the phenomenon that is an inevitable consequence of inflation, that is, the tendency of all prices and wage rates [...]

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Steve Baker is MP for Wycombe. He was previously an RAF officer then a business software consultant. Find out more...

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