Never back an opponent into a corner

Because when you have removed options for shared agreement all that remains are “nothing to lose” alternatives.And the world just witnessed American President Trump and Vice President Vance personally humiliate Ukrainian President Zelensky, and remove the Ukraine’s options for achieving a shared agreement to end the bitter war with Russia.The…

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Hot in the Tropics

“So lets go check out this place”, I said to myself this morning after two strong coffees. It was this, or Plan B involving sparking up PlayStation and cracking open a beer. And at 10:30am on a Saturday, Plan B just seemed unseemly.Komoot (a cycling app I’ve got) suggested I…

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A Smooth Sea Never Made a Skilled Sailor

Its been almost two months weeks since I moved to Noumea. It’s time for a bit of retrospection: what’s gone well, what hasn’t, what have been the obstacles, lessons learned, and the rewards gained. What has gone really well The Organisation of Opportunity The Pacific Community (SPC) is such an…

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Big problems in little New Zealand

I and every economist with a bit more than pudding between our ears saw the economy crashing coming mainly because of the Reserve Bank doing this and this clown doing everything I’ve accused him of in this.Grant and Jacinda started this with REALLY bad economic management, which all the lefties…

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More Fijian Fun!

I’m loving Suva! Check this out:I’m sure lots of happiness is had at the fine and reputable Happy Motel (and a cheap hourly rate) I’m in Suva for workWhen ever we travel, work gives us a per diem amount which can spend how we choose on accommodation, food, taxi and…

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Comparative Grocery Pricing

So, here I am in New Caledonia. And as any right-thinking economist does, when they do their shopping, I’ve sourced comparative prices from New Zealand so I can check for systematic price differentials. šŸ™‚Here’s the shopping bill from the local supermarket, Carrefour market, expressed in South Pacific Francs (XPF):I’ve typed…

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New Zealand’s Next Lorde?

The first thing which struck me is how good Te Pāti Māori’s Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke voice is! Her’s are not my politics: I’m all for the conversation ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill has started.The modern set of Treaty of Waitangi’s principles have been developed by courts since 1975’s and have been accepted by…

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Night at the Sassy Kava

So there I was…It’s not every day you find yourself in Fiji. Especially when this morning you were getting your kitchen installed, after your wife had just melted down about how bad the kitchen was.I bagged my stuff and tools of my trade and shuffled out the door of a…

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When was Inflation Beat?

Yeah! Good News! New Zealand’s nailed inflation.Don’t get me wrong – I dislike inflation, and everything about it. I don’t like how sustained persistent inflation is created by the government spending money it doesn’t have and buying up large on both the taxpayer and consumers ticket (inflation is a tax)….

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The Game

I read somewhere that, regardless of the political environment, the top 1-5% of a society will always succeed.They might be the generals in Pakistan, Myanmar or some other dictatorship. Or American Ivy-Leaguers, with their path mapped out by family and familiarity connections. In England, they’re the Ox-bridge or Eton brigade.Regardless…

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