I have constructed the table above from forecasts for Total Managed Expenditure and Financial Transactions taken from the Office for Budgetary Responsibility’s latest publication (it accompanied Wednesday’s Budget). It shows how newly issued student loans are now split into two components for the purposes of presentation in the National Accounts. The portion of loans that […]
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Back when he was just a lowly fan, before he became the architect of Doctor Who’s resurrection, Russell T Davies decided to try his hand at writing a Doctor Who script. Envisaged as a two part story for Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor and Bonnie Langford’s Mel, Davies wrote the entire first episode along with a full synopsis of the second. Then he put it on his shelf and promptly forgot about it… until now! Unearthed during a Lockdown related clean up, the script has now been completed in collaboration with Scott Handcock. The resulting story, Mind of the Hodiac, will… Continue reading
It’s back on 12 March 2021 – the next DWCA Western Sydney Tavern! You can meet up and hang out with organizer Dallas Jones and other Who fans from about 6.30pm at the Lone Pine Tavern, Rooty Hill, located at 15 Rooty Hill Road, Rooty Hill, NSW. The plan is for attendees to meet in the dining area, so look for a table with a TARDIS model. The Lone Pine Tavern is within a short distance of Rooty Hill Station for those people who want to come along via public transport and the venue has plenty of parking for those… Continue reading
Without any new Who on our screens for some time, a variety of publishers are working overtime to ensure there is plenty of reading material available for fans in the interim. The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (562) features a focus on illustrators and their role in visualising the Doctor Who universe. For anyone who has seen The Dalek Book and The Dalek World publications from the 1960s, you’ll instantly recognise the ever so slightly wrong illustration of a Dalek, recreated for the DWM cover (complete with alien writing on the head, which was actually replicated from an image… Continue reading
Last week’s Supplementary Estimates contained another note of interest for student loans. Under “Note K: Contingent Liabilities” (p. 90) we find that a fifth contingent liability has been added to those associated with the now abandoned sale of student loans. The sale of student loans necessitated warranties and indemnities to secure interest and obtain valuefor […]
It’s budget day here in the UK, and traditionally that means commentators write what they would do instead. Here’s the MMT view
The UK government published its “supplementary estimates” for 2020/21 yesterday. These allocate additional budgetary resources to departments. Education has been given an extra £13.531 billion to cover the estimated losses on student loans issued in the year (April 2020-March 2021) and the likely downwards revisions to the value of already existing loans. The department had […]
I’m the guy who controls all the electricity and the demand is really high right now.
There is no justification for paying public funds on government securities. Welfare payments should be democratically targetted, not market purchasable.
I’ve written a 900-word primer on supportive housing and Housing First. Here’s the link to the English-language version: https://nickfalvo.ca/a-primer-on-supportive-housing-and-housing-first/ Here’s the link to the French-language version: https://nickfalvo.ca/une-introduction-au-logement-supervise-et-le-logement-dabord/
In a February 18th front page article in the business section of the New York Times, Eduardo Porter surveys the potential for a job guarantee program. After starting with the caveat issued by Republican politicians—why trust your life choices to bureaucrats?—the piece goes on to present opinions of various experts on employment programs. It is […]
Precisely how Parliamentary authority to spend ends up as a payment in somebody’s bank account, including the banking transactions that occur across the Government Banking Service to make that happen.
Six years in court to get the minimum wage isn’t acceptable. People need a guarantee of a living wage job. Here’s how Uber would fare againt a Job Guarantee.
Bonds have already been sold to hoover up the money. So selling more bonds will just hoover up the previous bonds. Why pretend otherwise?
This food timeline started as a way to explore the revolution in Australian food that has occurred during the baby-boomers’ lifetime, but has since expanded to include more about the previous decades (and century) as well. Also included are overseas events and trends that had an impact here. The entries are brief, but there are lots of links if you want more information.
Finally, a pillow for liberals!
Amazon takes on a warehouse trying to unionize in Alabama.
I visited a doctor about my susceptibility to surfers ear. I had been idly wondering if grommets would improve them and perhaps the GP or an ear specialist would be able to offer some suggestions. The GP had nothing to say on the matter but her eyes lit up when she noticed that I was now over 50. “It is time for you to have some tests” she told me. As a health professional I was well aware that my old man excretions were now due for examination. She gave me the requisite pathology paperwork and I was on what we in the trade irritatingly call the Health Journey.