Weekly roundup Saturday 6 September
When fascism comes it is wrapped in the flag
Weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy.
I am taking a one week break, back with the next roundup on September 20.
Economics
Beware of following Trump: Don’t be fooled by stock market reactions to his policies. MAGA is just bad economics.
National accounts: Unexciting, but they’re what we expect in an economy on a long road to recovery from decades of poor economic management.
Australian politics
Those ugly demonstrations: There’s no point in rationalizing the organizers’ motives. They were a call to “white Australia”.
The government’s Nauru solution: The Albanese administration hasn’t withdrawn from the “competitive cruelty” contest.
Freedom from information: The government would find it easier to deal with FoI if it didn’t overclassify in the first place.
Poker machines: When poker machine gamblers are losing $4000 a year we’re starting to talk about real money and criminal behaviour, leading to poverty. Where is the policy response?
Public ideas
A renaissance person in public life: Barry Jones in discussion with Kerry O’Brien.
The public’s report card on democracy: Democracy could do a better job at convincing people to support it.
A warning from Weimar: Centrist and centre-right parties should avoid the temptation to forge deals with the far right.
Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme
Sleepers wake!: Barry Jones’s 1982 book Sleepers wake! inspired Bach to write a cantata.
If you have comments, corrections, or links to other relevant sources, I’d like to hear from you. Please send them to Ian McAuley — ian, at the domain name ianmcauley.com
