Friday Fodder (31/24)

Albo would fail Econ 101; are we in another iron ore winter; what does Raygun have in common with the RBA; Australia's employment recession; could you be an Olympian; China's economic crisis; and how you're able to drink milk.

Making Australia Great Again

One subsidy at a time.

Jim Chalmers' Nixon moment

As the Australian government attempts to manipulate inflation metrics through targeted spending, the RBA finds itself in a balancing act between economic stability and political pressure, echoing historical tensions between Nixon and the Fed.

Friday Fodder (30/24)

Working from home is good for (almost) everyone; QLD Inc wants to operate its service stations, at great cost; lawyers don't make good economists, Google edition; how nations escape poverty; why we should welcome cheap toasters; and the Romans really loved roads.

Bad news is bad news again

A closer look at the recent market rout reveals underlying concerns about Australia's economy, and that the RBA's next moves will be as crucial as ever.

Russia's Black Death

Russia's booming consumer spending will eventually crash back down to earth, following a historical pattern seen in times of war and disaster, including the 14th century's Black Death.

Friday Fodder (29/24)

Rex Airlines' owners should take a haircut; the limits to synthetic AI data; California versus AI; how a cybersecurity firm took out the world's computers; and Paris is showing that it's time to dial back the Olympics.

Good intentions aren't enough

To ease the rental crisis and prevent it from happening again, governments should provide targeted assistance while focusing on increasing housing supply through planning reforms, rather than implementing well-intentioned but counterproductive policies like no-fault eviction bans.

The high cost of Xi's vision for China

Xi Jinping's state-led economic vision is crippling China's growth potential, fuelling overcapacity and wasting trillions of dollars, with far-reaching consequences for China, Australia and the world.

Friday Fodder (28/24)

The Olympics are here, but are they worth it; it's time to stop flogging the greedflation horse; why real wages haven't risen; the future of AI; nuclear is back everywhere except Australia; and an accidental experiment in geoengineering.