Via Angela Merkel: Brussels should return powers – Telegraph: Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has raised Conservative hopes for David Cameron’s European policy by saying that the European Union should discuss returning powers from Brussels to national governments. Good, though I am not surprised. Having had breakfast recently with the German […]
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Book review – Heavens on Earth, How to create mass prosperity by J P Floru
In the midst of the row about welfare reform, I finished J P Floru’s excellent new book, Heavens on Earth: How To Create Mass Prosperity. JP surveys the salient history of eight relevant countries: the USA, Germany, the UK, Hong Kong, China, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore. In every case, […]
Read MoreMore unexpected borrowing?
Yesterday, we learned “public sector net borrowing was £0.6 billion in July 2012; this is £3.4 billion higher net borrowing than in July 2011, when net borrowing was -£2.8 billion (a repayment)”. Compared to say May, when we borrowed £17.9 billion, £600 million seems relatively modest. It’s still the gross […]
Read MoreOpening the Made In Wycombe Exhibition
Today, The Made in Wycombe Exhibition opened to the public at the Arts 4 Every 1 Centre on Desborough Road. This is a new venture to promote the brands, products and services produced in Wycombe District. Wycombe hosts furniture, food and drink, software, engineering, design, arts, education and other firms and […]
Read MoreBanking: from Goldman Sachs to David Fishwick?
Two days ago, Greg Smith, a Goldman Sachs executive director, resigned in sensational fashion, writing a column in the New York Times. In the article, he laid out the reasons for his resignation, citing the change in culture at the firm over the ten years he worked there. He wrote, […]
Read MoreWishing everyone a prosperous new year
After so much economic turmoil, the traditional wish for a prosperous new year can be given with considerable vigour. The 2010 Legatum Prosperity Index (PDF) – “the world’s only global assessment of wealth and wellbeing” – showed that entrepreneurship and opportunity are the primary keys to prosperity, that they correlate more […]
Read MoreApprenticeships in Wycombe increase by over 50%
The latest figures for apprenticeships show an above average increase across Buckinghamshire. The average South East increase of 44% was also bettered by our neighbours in Beaconsfield (50%) and Chesham and Amersham (53%). Wycombe’s own increase of 51% should also be seen against the total number of places. We saw […]
Read MoreLearnLiberty.org – Learn about the ideas of a free society
Via LearnLiberty.org, a great project from the Institute for Humane Studies, Dr Nigel Ashford explains classical liberalism, the doctrine of freedom: The ten principles from the video are: Liberty as the primary political value Individualism Skepticism about power Rule of Law Civil Society Spontaneous Order Free Markets Toleration Peace Limited […]
Read MoreThree economic dragons and a three-pronged plan
Via Future Conservatism | Conservative Home. The three economic dragons: Britain faces much more than a debt challenge. Through no fault of their own Cameron and Osborne have inherited three historic economic challenges: massive levels of personal and government debt; the Eurozone crisis; and the long-term rise of China, India […]
Read MoreIs A Gold Standard Deflationary? – Forbes.com
Via Is A Gold Standard Deflationary? Forbes.com: What causes contraction and decline is not using a gold standard system. In the forty years since floating currencies began in 1971, the average American family has made no progress at all–even with two incomes, instead of one. If you measure income in terms […]
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