Category Archives: Economics
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Another nail in Alex Salmond’s currency coffin
1September 3, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Another day, another nail in Alex Salmond’s currency coffin. Last night, The Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander talked …
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Why we should welcome the introduction of free school meals for all
Leave a commentSeptember 2, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
From today, every single child in the first three year of school will eligible for a free school meal. That …
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Why mobile games are the new route to building an all-consuming entertainment brand
Leave a commentAugust 31, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
A great example of how creative industries are changing is the upcoming life cycle of ‘Best Fiends’, a new games …
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Think all children love summer holidays? Think again.
2August 30, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Back in 2008, the school I taught at got inspected by Ofsted. One of the most shocking statistics that came …
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Should we be offering free summer holiday meals for the poorest?
1August 28, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
I yield to no-one in my insistence that the existence of food banks in this country is a stain on …
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Airbnb are winning, but what if the playing field were levelled?
Leave a commentAugust 27, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
As the summer holidays come to an end, I wonder how many of you will have come back from a …
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Salmond decides the referendum is now on currency union, not just independence
Leave a commentAugust 26, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
By far the wierdest portion of the Scottish Independence campaign last night was when Alex Salmond decided to unilaterally remodel …
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How strong is the case for nationalising the mobile phone companies?
1August 23, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Should we renationalise the mobile phone companies? If you had asked me that until about a week ago I would …
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The economics of seats at the cigar terrace at the Wellesley hotel
Leave a commentAugust 13, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Something that few people understand about restaurants is that rather than selling food, they are in fact selling space. More …
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Universities UK tuition fee impact figures should lead to a discussion about what a university education is for
Leave a commentAugust 12, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
So Universities UK published a report recently that is the first proper attempt to analyse the effect of raising university …
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GDP being back where it was is not a ‘recovery’. Investment needs to recover too.
Leave a commentAugust 5, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
About a fortnight ago the government announced triumphantly that the economy had fully recovered from the recession. To illustrate this …
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Balls says most of us are worse off than in 2010, the Tories’ response is simple yet probably effective
Leave a commentAugust 4, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
In a speech the other day Ed Balls decided to channel that famous leftie Ronald Reagan when he asked the …
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Whole of life health and social care insurance or “Death tax”? Worth a debate
Leave a commentAugust 3, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Two years’ ago, having supported Andrew Lansley’s reforms, David Cameron lost his bottle in the face of opposition from health …
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Flat tax flattened
Leave a commentAugust 2, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Amusingly, Oliver Letwin, one of David Cameron’s closest advisors, has been reported by the Daily Mirror as having suggested that …
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However much profit you make, cashflow is king.
Leave a commentJuly 30, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Cashflow is king for a business. One of the first things that I try and get over to students when …
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Why tax the poor to make our high streets nicer?
Leave a commentJuly 28, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
I grew up in a small town north west of London called Northwood. The high street used to be a …
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Ed Miliband’s greatest achievement – we still have one Labour Party
Leave a commentJuly 26, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Ed Miliband’s greatest achievement as the leader of an opposition party that was just battered at a General Election has …
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Laffer says tobacco taxes should be lower…but follow the money
Leave a commentJuly 20, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
When Arthur Laffer speaks about tax, people listen. So when he delivered his opinion that tobacco taxes could be too …
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Gove’s removal means the election was put above education
5July 18, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
During his time as Education Secretary, Michael Gove would often quote a passage of Machiavelli: ‘There is nothing more difficult, …
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Austerity 2 – you ain’t seen nothing yet
Leave a commentJuly 6, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The UK has one of the largest budget deficits in the world. The amount that our government spending exceeds our …
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The N-H-S – Cameron’s 2010 priority should become Labour’s 2015 focus
Leave a commentJune 29, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
David Cameron, in the run-up to the 2010 General Election, said that his priorities could be summed up in three …
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EU must be joking?
Leave a commentJune 28, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
I enjoyed this video – it tries to explain how the EU works for anyone who doesn’t understand the difference …
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GM food – how long will we ignore science and let people starve?
Leave a commentJune 27, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Despite my wish to provide a balanced view on economic or political issues, I have to admit to finding it …
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Universal Credit and Iain Duncan-Smith, doomed to failure?
Leave a commentJune 26, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
There are numerous books and articles written about the concept of “government failure”. Governments intervene – mostly with the best …
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‘HS3’ – Osborne sells the benefits of a global northern powerhouse
2June 24, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
One of the problems of being, you know, a properly functioning democracy is that governments need to try and …
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50,000 people assembled in Parliament Square to protest against austerity: why wasn’t the BBC interested?
2June 22, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Despite the complaints I have made about the dangers to pluralism in this country (click here and here), I am …
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What we can learn from Jason Millard disqualifying himself from the biggest golf tournament in his life.
Leave a commentJune 21, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The best way to judge someone’s true character is how they behave when no-one is looking. Another way to test …
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Youth jobs and skills plan – how I know Ed Miliband’s onto something good
Leave a commentJune 20, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Yesterday, Ed Miliband announced a new plan to tackle youth employment that addresses the short term problems of youth unemployment …
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Black Cabs vs Uber – Monopoly power or consumer power?
Leave a commentJune 12, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
So, it’s time to get your tissues out because this story is likely to make you weep with sympathy. Here …
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Politics above economics in the energy market hurts consumers
Leave a commentJune 11, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
This should be an article about economics. However, it has an unavoidable political dimension. What is going on in the …
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All eyes on Seattle: A ‘proper’ minimum wage is set at last
Leave a commentJune 9, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
After a two year campaign driven by low-paid fast-food workers that had galvanised the electorate, Seattle’s newly elected mayor, Ed …
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The ECB set negative interest rates: What does this mean?
Leave a commentJune 8, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
On Thursday the European Central Bank announced that it was setting their interest rate at -0.1%. This is not a …
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‘Collective pensions’: Another step towards defusing our demographic time-bomb?
Leave a commentJune 2, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The government have widely trailed an initiative they are intending to put in Wednesday’s Queen’s Speech – to allow workers …
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Regulating the Energy market: Not as easy as it looks
Leave a commentJune 1, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Ed Miliband was right, and supported by ex-Tory Prime Minister John Major, to highlight that the market for gas and …
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Miliband’s minimum wage policy could actually RAISE employment
Leave a commentMay 20, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Ed Miliband’s announcement yesterday of the intention of a Labour government to set a statutory minimum wage target linked to average …
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Balcombe fracking protest acquittals – pluralism restored
Leave a commentMay 18, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The recent release of figures disclosing that of the 114 charges against protesters (including Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP …
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Pfizer – Astrazeneca takeover – the barefaced cheek of Soriot
Leave a commentMay 14, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
When AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot needs to raise money for investment in new drug development, something he would have to …
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Labour’s 48-hour GP pledge – strange politics and economics?
Leave a commentMay 13, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Ed Miliband’s pledge that under a Labour government all patients will get an appointment with their GP within 48 hours is …
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In the rental property market Labour’s ‘cap’ should fit
Leave a commentMay 7, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
In terms of consistency of policy aim – the announcement by Ed Miliband of Labour’s ideas to reduce the imbalance …
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