Peter Risdon

In today’s Guardian, Simon Jenkins argues against the proposed reclassification of cannabis from C to B, and at the time I am writing, not one comment disagrees with him.

I haven’t been able yet to find any empirical research into whether or not marginal tax rates do act as a disincentive to employment. Anyone know any?

A listing at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation:
Struggling to pay council tax: new perspectives on the local taxation debate
This study explores how many low-income households are struggling to pay the council tax and why.
And here’s what they found:
“The problem is my wages [£170 per week]. I just don’t earn enough.” (Gardener, male, 20s)

Norman Geras:
Not only is Wright rather selective in what he takes from the Bible, since somewhere in it there will be an injunction against killing the innocent, he himself is innocent of the understanding that guilt is not acquired simply through community membership, much less by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Chris [...]

Very interesting:
Here’s how the “Cravath System” works. Bring lots of new employees in, team them up with mentors, provide real work to do, and give them a choice: either get lots of great experience and get out, or work hard for a higher-up position. Whenever you hear someone aspire to “make partner”, he’s undoubtedly working [...]

A Global Cooling alarmist site!

There’s a story round my neck of the woods, about an incident a couple of years ago just like this one:
ARNOLD A family who dialled 999 when eight men wearing balaclavas burst into their home at 11.15pm were told by the police that they were too busy to come.
Mathew Sims, 24, his partner Sarah Barham, [...]

I’m feeling annoyed with the UK Libertarian Party. Stealing my ideas. OK, I hadn’t actually mentioned them to anyone before, but that just makes it more sinister: thought theft.
Mind you, in this instance I will grudgingly admit this is such an obvious piece of sense it might just have occurred to more than one [...]

Trivialising the reputations of realists, exaggerating those of alarmists.

I haven’t written much about the new UK Libertarian Party, but I think they might face a small test. The much older Libertarian Alliance runs a blog, and recently this was posted on it:
“IF you prefer Ken or Boris as Mayor but want to cause a stir and wake up the political establishment give your [...]