Salary Cuts?
Someone on the Right says that wages need to be cut and, predictably, the Left goes bananas: how can people survive if their wages are cut?Someone on the Left says that inflation should be higher and,...
View ArticleLeaving the Euro
What Portugal and Greece need are a more stimulative monetary policy.Ideally, the European Central Bank would step up to the task.Since, it does not, they are best off leaving the Euro zone and...
View ArticleAusterity
1. Austerity is a mood. It is the mood of sacrifice, of bourgeois ascetism. It invokes Protestant sacrifice and a cleansing effort to redeem ourselves of sin.2. Austerity is not a policy, although some...
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A few notes on intrade
1. Intrade is not perfect, which is why I have dabbled in it from time to time. But, remember, the traditional retort to skeptics applies: If you think it is so bad, why aren't you rich trading...
View ArticleDivisions
We tend to think of political divisions as left-right, but there are at least a few other important divisions:1. pundits vs politicians (which is often pundits/public opinion). Left-wing and right-wing...
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MAS
These are spread around Lisbon. They are from the Movement for a Socialistic Alternative.I laugh every time I see one. It lists a few "crimes": BPN (a bank which was bailed out after it was found out...
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Population
While we are playing austerity, the real issue that will bring down the Portuguese economy is still around the corner. This is not just a Portuguese issue, and it affects Germany as much as the PIGS...
View ArticleTaxes in 2013
Here's a little helper utility to let you know how much of your pay check will be paid in taxes in Portugal:Per month (12 salaries)Per month (14 salaries)Per annum Your employer will spend and you will...
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Taxes in Portugal in in 2013 (II)
Following up on my previous post, here is a graph of what rate you pay as a function of your salary (assuming 12 months of salary).I also added a line where I add 15% VAT, assuming you are going to...
View ArticleInterest Payments
How much of Portuguese tax-payer money will go to interest payments in 2013?Zero.Yes, that's right: zero, or almost zero. The interest payments to both private and public creditors will be paid by the...
View ArticleFertility
On the way to work, heard an "expert" on the radio saying that fertility has been falling in Portugal for thirty years. This is the sort of thing we hear all the time, which is why I was surprised...
View ArticleWhy Portugal Should Leave the Euro
Unemployment is at 16%Unemployment is at 16%Germany, Holland, and Finnland will not support the Portuguese social welfare state indefinitely.I really do not care for your arguments of why they should...
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A Country for Old Men
Using the same data I used before I now plotted the average age of Portuguese citizens (estimated):Today, the average age is slightly below 40 and it will increase by about 0.2 years per year until it...
View ArticleA Few Thoughts on Elections
Big elections do not matter as much we give them credit for, small elections matter more than we think. (This is a general principle of mine for life: the big does not matter as much as the small).In...
View ArticleToday's Edition of Portugal Must Leave the Euro
The European Central Bank decided today not to do anything more to stimulate the economy.Notice the stupidity in this reasoning: Owing to high energy prices and increases in indirect taxes in some euro...
View ArticleThe Grand Bargain
The Grand Bargain that can be struck in Europe goes something like this:The European Central Bank (ECB) prints five trillion euros or so and promises not to neutralize them.The ECB gives those 5...
View ArticleTax, Overtax, and the Surtax
At the highest tax bracket in Portugal (over 250k€ for a household), you will be subjected to the tax (48%), the surtax (3.5%) and the overtax (5%)! (In portuguese: a taxa, a sobretaxa e taxa...
View ArticleBook Review Darwin Economy by R. Frank
This is a book whose working title was The Libertarian Welfare State, which is the name of my upcoming book.1. The most interesting part of the book is the importance of positional consumption. The...
View ArticleMissing the Point on School Choice
Here is a reader's comment on a recent edition of The Atlantic. The original author had argued that the improved schools in New Orleans were due to the hits against the teachers' union and reform. The...
View ArticleGetting the Point on School Choice
Today, on my twitter, I saw that @ModeledBehavior had a new post up on Forbes on school choice in Sweden. This is all based on a recent paper by Anders Böhlmark and Mikael Lindahl: Importantly, they...
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