New York’s profligate new mayor risks fiscal ruin to London’s gain November 6, 2013 SEVERAL cities have declared bankruptcy in the US in the last few years, with Detroit the most prominent example. Based on this week’s mayoral election results, it’s not inconceivable that New York City may join the queue. The new mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has a tax-and-spend agenda reminiscent of the profligacy that led Greece to [...]
Letters to the Editor – 07/11 – Short memories, HS2 alternatives, Best of Twitter November 6, 2013 Short memories [Re: There is sadly mass support for nationalisation and price controls, Tuesday] I wonder if the supporters of nationalisation ever tried to get a phone line installed in the 1970s. Have they compared energy prices now with rates back then, adjusted for inflation? Are they aware that the state monopolies made substantial operating [...]
We can cut carbon emissions but not with inefficient renewable subsidies November 5, 2013 HOPE for a breakthrough at the international climate change talks in Warsaw next week is evergreen: “Where there is a will, there is a way!” the hosts’ environment minister says. But despite this optimism, there is little global will for an overarching agreement akin to the failed Kyoto protocol. Yet there is a very different [...]
Against the Grain: It’s time to fight the claim that consumer choice doesn’t improve public services November 5, 2013 DO CHOICE and competition between suppliers improve the quality of outcomes for consumers? The answer may seem so obvious to City A.M. readers that it’s hardly worth asking. But a powerful strand of political opinion is building up to an attack on the concept. The new Labour shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh said last week [...]
We must not ignore the economic evidence on immigration’s benefits November 5, 2013 CONCERNS about immigration continue to gather strength. A recent poll by Survation for Sky News found that 67 per cent think the coalition’s attempt to reduce net migration to 100,000 per year does not go far enough. More than a quarter feel that immigration in the last decade brought no positive benefit to the UK. [...]
Letters to the Editor – 06/11 – Save capitalism, Best of Twitter November 5, 2013 Save capitalism [Re: There is sadly mass support for nationalisation and price controls, yesterday] I read the poll findings with concern, but without surprise. For my part, I do not believe that the British public has become enamoured of socialist solutions, let alone has developed an enthusiasm for some of the half-baked schemes (such as [...]
This is the eye of the financial storm: UK banks are far from being healthy November 4, 2013 PRIVATISATION at Lloyds, but losses. An internal quasi-bad bank at RBS. Co-op bank falling into the hands of its bondholders. How healthy is the UK’s banking sector? With GDP growth picking up, and crisis in the Eurozone in abeyance, it’s natural to imagine that the worst of the UK’s banking crisis is now behind us. [...]
We should question the CBI’s claim to represent business opinion on Europe November 4, 2013 ONE OF the biggest myths in UK politics is that the free-market and Eurosceptic wings of conservatism are beholden to the interests of big business. Many mistake a shared desire for a lower tax and regulatory burden for a common agenda. Yet in reality, some of the biggest divergences in economic opinion occur between these [...]
Beware the unintended consequences of making a Living Wage mandatory November 4, 2013 IT’S LIVING Wage week, and many are endorsing the principle of raising low pay, whether by boosting the minimum wage, or by forcing local authorities and pressuring other private employers to pay the Living Wage. It’s an attractive proposition, advocated by politicians as varied as Ed Miliband and Boris Johnson. But it is worth pausing [...]
Letters to the Editor – 05/11 – Minimum wages, Startup lending, Best of Twitter November 4, 2013 Minimum wages [Re: Help the low-paid by slashing their tax and boosting education, yesterday] I agree the best way of boosting low-paid income is to increase the tax threshold to, say, £12,000. A minimum wage increase would only lead to more outsourcing and automation. Chris Hobson As the economist Paul Krugman said in 1998, “the higher [...]