Richie Rich 2: Taxwatch

Growing up I used to watch the film Richie Rich a lot. It had Macaulay Culkin as the young heir to an absurdly rich family under threat from a scheming family ‘friend’. It had lasers and butlers and obscene displays of wealth. Think of it as a sort of Home Alone for the 1%. Julian …

WILTW 3

What Ian Learned This Week: An occasional attempt to capture bits and bobs I’ve learned in the past week or so. Most definitely not done every week, but basically whenever I feel like it. Hill figures Reading Hidden Histories, and learning more about features of the British countryside I’m particularly struck by the chapter on …

WILTW 2

What Ian Learned This Week: An occasional attempt to capture bits and bobs I’ve learned in the past week or so. Most definitely not done every week, but basically whenever I feel like it. Gizzard juggling Reading a book about robins and somehow ended up down a rabbit hole of reading about gizzards. Gizzards are …

What I. learned this week 1

A probably weekly hodgepodge of interesting – to me anyway – titbits that I learned this week. Writing this mainly for myself and as an exercise to keep me writing more often. As you can tell from this first one I have a fairly high tolerance for tedious reading and facts. London to Dublin This …

Reviewing Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

I have to admit that reading about the history of cod probably isn’t going to make it high on your list of priorities for a quiet night in. I admit I was skeptical myself, but Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, takes an interesting idea an. The book tracks the history and …

The Greferendum has left me certain of just one thing

I can’t say I have a strong opinion on whether Greece should have voted Yes or No in the referendum. It seems like both outcomes lead to uncertainty, and both have major downsides. One thing I can say for certain though: we shouldn’t be celebrating this as a serious victory for democracy. Greeks teaching us …

Immigration: unequivocally good?

Michael Clemens from the Centre for Global Development on immigration [emphasis mine]: The research we have shows that immigration has had a positive effect on economic growth in Europe overall. This remains true in economists’ most sophisticated forecasts for the future. Christian Lutz and Ingo Wolter forecast a positive effect of immigration on German economic growth. Katerina …