Cleggover blunders again
Martha Kearney just nailed Nick Clegg (again). This time he's claiming he knows how much money will be brought in by removing various tax loopholes, but doesn't know how many people will be affected. He then comes up with a figure of 1…
Hoover: Austrian or interventionist?
Following an interesting debate with Paul Halsall on Austrian economics and the possibility of economic calculation in a socialist system, Paul posted half the text of an Anatole Kaletsky article in The Times, which made various spurious…
Another calamitous consequence of Callamity's time at Ofgem
There is much talk in energy circles of the "capacity gap" - the shortfall between operating capacity and demand that may arise as a result of the imminent closure (mostly within 6 years) of many of our coal-fired and nuclear power stations…
Sir Callamity McCarthy - a real villain of the depression
Fingers have been pointed in the direction of many different culprits for the critical condition of our economy. I am surprised that they have not been pointed more frequently at Sir Callum McCarthy. We don't need to swab him for gunshot…
What Callamity did next
I should have known better than to think that politicians and civil servants would have learnt from Callamity's disastrous tenures at Ofgem and the FSA. In fact, he stepped straight from the FSA into a job as a Non-Exec member of the…
More evidence that it's terminal for Labour
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and then... Polly Toynbee, discussing Labour's and Gordon's failings on Newsnight tonight, was unusually reasonable and realistic. Has she reached the acceptance stage of dealing with Labour's terminal…
Callamity's rewards
In his last year of "service" at the FSA, after his failure had already become plain (with the collapse of Northern Rock), Callamity McCarthy was paid over £480,000, an 11% increase on the previous year. What is he being paid now for his…
Callamity, Part II
Great timing. I blogged last night about the mind-boggling incompetence of Sir Callamity McCarthy. I wake up this morning, and what does the FT have on its front page, but an indictment of the behaviour of the FSA during Callamity's reign…
Are the Tories spending or saving?
On the front page of today's FT is the headline: "Osborne warns of big spending cuts to come". But in a speech yesterday, he announced 10 measures that should be implemented in the Budget to "kickstart a green recovery". Just his first…
Government auctions - good or bad?
I have been having a debate with Paul Lockett on Tim Worstall's site, which I have found very interesting and illuminating. The topic was the TPA's green-tax-calculator, and what it said about costs of carbon in this country. I claimed that…
Carbon tax petition
Nick Monether of Greenfields Consulting has launched a petition on the No.10 website, to press the Prime Minister -"to Adopt a Carbon Tax ratified and harmonised with the EU and the G20"-. As the petition explains: -"The tax payer and/or…
Dollar or Euro votes?
Noticed this poster at a tube station today: My immediate thought was: none of your bloody business. (After a moment's additional thought, perhaps I should moderate that to: none of your bloody business between the two on the right, and…