Jun 23, 2020
A gerontocracy is a country run by old people or people who are considerably older than the average. Traditional societies (and communist ones) were typically run by the elderly.
For Plato it was obvious that the old would run Athens as they would bring wisdom to decision-making. In contrast, the Roman republic usually vouched for younger men. Later Roman emperors tended to be young not least because being the boss was a dangerous job; many met with premature and nasty deaths.
Jun 16, 2020
As the lockdown eases, let’s look to the future with confidence. We should soon have a new government and maybe this will bring new thinking. There is little to fear as the local economy and the global economy open up. While we might have to get used to living with Covid-19 rather than talking about “before” and “after”, it is time for big thinking. The lockdown has given us this opportunity.
By coincidence, the financial markets are presenting the country with a unique opportunity and we must take it.
Jun 9, 2020
It is difficult to be confident about the future when our rate of unemployment is 25 per cent, the State’s budget deficit is massive, and geo-politically the streets of the US, our most important investment partner, are in flames. But there are grounds for optimism. If we do the right thing now there is a pathway whereby the economy can recover quickly, and, with political vision, it can be reset to create a more inclusive and ebullient society underpinned by a competitive economy.
At the moment people are traumatised. Trauma tends to shorten time horizons. In a crisis we stop thinking about the future and focus on the here-and-now. Tomorrow becomes today. However, it is important to see beyond this emergency, and appreciate that the economy was vibrant in March. That economy has not died. It remains in “virus-imposed” hibernation. We can waken it.
Jun 3, 2020
As the lockdown rules are eased, the economic and political ramifications of the Great Pandession of 2020 are only beginning to take shape. Some people are traumatised by the experience of the past three months while others look to the future with trepidation.
As is the case with most challenges, much hinges on the plan. What is the recovery plan? At the moment, there seems to be none bar the usual murmurs from the austerity jihadis – the old orthodoxy, who don’t seem to realise that the world has changed. We are not in Kansas anymore.
May 26, 2020
This is not the time for conventional thinking. We are in a pandession. As I wrote recently, a pandession is neither a recession, nor a depression – which are both consequences of economic exuberance. Traditional economic downturns are the wages of inflation.
Such inflation might be exhibited in wages and general prices (as we experienced here in the 1980s after the 1970s inflationary burst) or in house prices (as we experienced here in 2010 after the 2000-2008 credit splurge).
May 19, 2020
As the world economy remains largely closed down, it is essential to understand what we are experiencing. We are not living through a recession. Nor are we witnessing a depression. We are suffering from something new, something I’d like to term a “Pandession”.
A Pandession is a new word because it is a new thing. Language is vitally important when confronted with something novel. If you don’t have the language, you can’t visualise, conceive of or think your way out of it.
