lev.lafayette's blog

There is a barely noticeable meme making the grounds that promotes the virtues of Modern Monetary Theory. As with other low-quality memes, it's basically a text screen saved as an image which, of course, sends anyone who knows even a modicum of systems programming into exasperation about levels of computer illiteracy. But what is also frustrating is the astounding ignorance of monetary theory.

Ending the inequality of power and wealth in the world is a complex and challenging task that will require a multi-faceted approach. Here are some potential solutions:

Promote economic policies that reduce inequality: Progressive taxation, minimum wage laws, and other policies that redistribute wealth can help reduce economic inequality.

Q: What would be some ways that economic resources could be harnessed to make quality of life better for all?

A: Investment in infrastructure: Economic resources could be used to invest in and improve infrastructure such as roads, public transportation, and access to clean water and electricity, which can greatly improve the quality of life for all members of a community.

Tony Abbott (2011): "It's actually pretty hard to do this [implement a price on CO2] because carbon dioxide is invisible and it's weightless and you can't smell it"
https://www.smh.com.au/national/he-says-she-says-in-a-faux-election-camp...

If the opinion polls and betting markets are to be believed, the Labor Party will be returned to government for a third term on November 26. It is certainly true that in the course of the campaign the Coalition has narrowed the odds, but Labor has started with a significant majority (Labor 55, Coalition 27, Greens 3, Independent 3). A key (and strange) decision of the Coalition was to put Labor last in preferences, even behind extremist parties and the Greens; the last time they did that they elected Adam Bandt, who has been there since.

The latest opinion poll from Resolve shows Victorian Labor polling at a primary of 42% (1 percent down from four years ago) whilst the Liberals are at 28% (down 7 percent).

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/labor-heading-for-danslide-2...

The reason for this is relatively simple.

Labor's vote has dipped a little, but where it dips it tends to go to the Greens, which flows back to Labor on a TPP basis.

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, does not believe that Ukrainians are a separate nationality from Russians and therefore re-integrating Ukraine into Russia is justified, regardless of the will of the people who actually live there. This ideological justification is used for the strategic and economic gains that Putin and his allies assume will flow from the annexation of Ukraine, starting in 2014 (with Crimea) and most recently with the "special military operation" of this year.

It should be clear that Australia's housing system is in a broken state, and this much was pointed out for years. The increase in housing prices is now 20 percentage points higher than the increase in wages in 2021. Housing has become increasingly unaffordable and renters are punished by a system that concentrates more and more housing stock in fewer hands.

There are 14,000 nuclear weapons on Earth. The US has about 5.8K, Russia 6.3K, and the rest are distributed between France, China, the UK, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea*.

There are about 4,500 cities with at least 100,000 people. Even if you assume 3 bombs per city (as some are bigger than others), every city on Earth would be destroyed in an all-out global nuclear conflict.

The Adam Smith Insitute has recently released a report where they argue that the moon should be privitised in order to combat global poverty.