Archive for category Politics
Is there any room at the inn? (or anywhere for that matter)
Posted by Stephen Clarke in Economics, Politics on 20/12/2011
Yesterday the FSA set out new rules for mortgage lending. The new rules were positively received as a way to prevent the excessive risk taking that occurred in the run up to the financial crisis when people were clearly sold unaffordable mortgages. This tightening of the standards comes almost a month after the Government pledged to back mortgages for first-time buyers, another move that was widely supported as a way to stimulate the housing market. Is there a contradiction though between subsidising lending and tightening up standards?
Sending the Right Smoke Signals
Posted by Stephen Clarke in Health, Politics on 11/11/2011
By Emily Clarke
In 2001 Portugal abolished all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, from cannabis to heroin, in an attempt to reduce the number of drug related deaths and the spread of HIV/AIDS. After several years there was tentative discussion about the success of Portugal’s scheme (see for example the Economist’s article of August 2009) and although I don’t intend to add to the debate about the decriminalisation of drug use here, I do hope to discuss one particular element of Portugal’s policy that I find laudable.
Caution: Penalty for burning bridges is solitary confinement
Posted by Stephen Clarke in Foreign Affairs, Politics on 01/11/2011
By Emily Clarke
The vote that granted Palestine full membership of the UN Cultural and Educational Agency (UNESCO) could potentially have wide-ranging consequences for the role of international organisations within international affairs and their relationship with the United States.
We’re going to need a bigger bazooka!
Posted by Stephen Clarke in Economics, European Union, Politics on 28/10/2011
On Thursday some greeted rises in world stock markets as a sign that the EU’s bail-out ‘bazooka’ had worked in scaring away speculators and reassuring the markets. Today’s news that Italy has had to sell 10 year bonds at a record high price indicates that simply inflating the bail-out fund is no panacea.
Knowledge is power, but only if someone’s listening
Posted by Stephen Clarke in Economics, Education, Politics, Social Cohesion on 27/10/2011
By Emily Clarke
The recent media interest in the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy London Stock Exchange movements has certainly been mixed. From sympathy to contempt to exasperation on the part of St Paul’s cathedral staff at least, the protests and people’s reactions to them are proving difficult to pin down.
Der seltsame Fall des Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde
Posted by Stephen Clarke in Economics, European Union, Foreign Affairs, Politics on 21/10/2011
While British politicians gear up for a debate on whether or not to hold a referendum on EU membership, and discussion swirls around how the British public feels about Europe, perhaps more important is how the German public feels.
