Funding the Future

Economics, as it is now taught, is almost total rubbish. No wonder the world is in a mess when political decisions are based on this nonsense.

Economists assume that we don't need to make decisions, because since we are possessed of perfect knowledge, knowing what to do is innate to us. But that's nonsense. So, how do we decide what to do?

Tax havens - or secrecy jurisdictions - are an abomination on the global economic landscape that should have been consigned to history long ago. 

People still like to talk about having 'money in the bank'. But they haven't. They just have a bank statement from a bank, with a balance owing to them, which represents an IOU, and nothing more. That might be the hardest lesson in economics to learn. 

The assumption that all economic growth is good is clearly misplaced. But how do we convince politicians and economists who are obsessed with growth that this is the case?

Rachel Reeves' record as Chancellor has not been good. Today provides her with another opportunity to get everything wrong.

The wealthy say they are terrified of the national debt, but they aren't really. It only exists because they don't pay enough tax, and they'd hate that even more.   

Many people on the UK's left want wealth taxes. The trouble is that would take years to deliver. Taxing income and gains from wealth more makes a lot more sense. 

What would the world be like if we set out to eliminate the causes of war? We've tried it before. Why can't we try again?