Monthly Archives: April 2017

Andrew Bragg firms as Liberals’ federal director – The Australian Financial Review

Posted: April 21, 2017 at 2:53 am

By Wednesday, the Liberal Party of Australia should have named a successor to federal director Tony Nutt. And barring a radical and unforeseen change of consensus amongst Malcolm Turnbull's leadership group, that person will be Menzies Research Centre policy director Andrew Bragg.

Bragg only joined the federal Liberals' think tank in November (from his gig alongside John Brogden at the Financial Services Council) but in that short time has noticeably raised its public profile. He was an unsuccessful Senate candidate in the NSW Liberals' original half-Senate preselection and in the Victorian seat of Murray in 2016 (which the Nationals ultimately took off the Libs on July 2). Andrew Robb, who co-authored the Liberals' review of last year's federal election campaign, launched Bragg's book on trade policy last month.

Bragg is likely to be first appointed in an acting capacity and given the opportunity to prove his credentials in the lead up to an election year. He hasn't run a political organisation before nor has he run a national campaign but is regarded assmart, a skilful organiser in the industrial sense of the word (a rare talent in a movement anathemic to collectivism), is close to Turnbull yet non-factional and well-regarded by conservatives. He is strongly backed in by Victorian Cabinet minister Josh Frydenberg and allies Alan Tudge and Dan Tehan, as well as Senate deputy leader and campaign spokesman Mathias Cormann. And aged 32, we bet he's heard of Big Data and the interweb thingy.

Ultimately the decision is one for federal executive, a parting prerogative of outgoing president Richard Alston, who has presided over an utter failure of succession planning, a rift over opaque spending that resulted in the Honorary Treasurer Phil Higginson resigning,the Victorian director Damien Mantach going to jail for stealing $1.5 million of party funds while Alston sat on its finance committee, and bequeaths a broke party, all while sitting on the board of CPA Australia. Enjoy your trip to Singapore, Dick!

Last week, Alston slipped the removal of Tom Harley from the chairmanship of the MRC (where Bragg now works) into the executive's resolutions, which passed without notice. We doubt he'd try that one again. But you just never know

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Andrew Bragg firms as Liberals' federal director - The Australian Financial Review

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#MarginSci: The March for Science as a Microcosm of Liberal Racism – The Root

Posted: at 2:53 am

Despite overwhelming data demonstrating that Donald Trump rode a wave of white resentment across age, gender, income and education levels into the Oval Office, there is still a strongand wrongchorus of people on the left who believe we can work with the Trump administration and that our collective energy should be spent engaging Trump voters at the expense of the safety and dignity of marginalized populations.

This move to re-center whiteness despite the data is merely liberal racism veiled as calls for unity. Not only have some activists, organizers and political pundits trumpeted this flawed logic, but its also being espoused by some of our nations scientists, who one would expect to trust the data, if nothing else.

But the turmoil that has engulfed the planning of the March for Science (M4S), which is scheduled to happen this Saturday in Washington, D.C., as well as more than 375 cities across the country, is a prime example of scientists peacocking this liberal brand of racism.

For the past three months, the scientific community, which is largely white, heterosexual, cisgender, able-bodied and male, has been fiercely debating the political nature of the march in the face of a Trump regime, leaving scientists from marginalized backgrounds feeling ... well, further marginalized. In response, scientists who identify as women, disabled, queer, trans, people of color, etc., converged around the hashtag #MarginSci to take their racist and sexist colleagues to task.

You may be asking yourself, why are scientists marching on Washington? Scientists as a collective are generally silent on political battlesuntil you threaten their research funding as Trump has. Upon taking office, Trump made it crystal clear that his administration would be anti-science and could give two Erlenmeyer flasks about evidence-based policymaking. Trump swiftly put science as a public good on the chopping block with research-agency gag orders, unqualified nominees for federal appointments and proposed budget cuts to science-related federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health.

Trumps war on science has been so egregious that it has spurred the dormant scientific community to mobilize and march on our nations capital. However, after numerous science-related crises, such as the Flint, Mich., water crisis and #NoDAPL, it was lost on no one that the scientific community did not stand up en masse until its own interests were on the line.

Some [scientists] may think that racism is wrong, but [they] also have a very superficial understanding of racism. They think its bad to call someone the n-word. [But] they dont care that black scientists have to worry about criminalization at their places of work, simply because of the color of their skin, said Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Ph.D., who is only the 63rd black woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics.

[They dont care] that we are afraid to leave our houses, that we are dealing with siblings and cousins who are under threat of incarceration or death at the hands of the state. They dont care about the long legacy of science abusing African-American, African and Latin American/Caribbean communities. They dont understand that for many black scientists, a March for Science [should have been] a Black Lives Matter march, too, Prescod-Weinstein continued.

Yet despite the inaction of the scientific community prior to Trumps war on science, many scientists and science advocates of color still tried to guide the M4S, but their voices were largely ignored.

Caleph B. Wilson, Ph.D., is the digital media manager for the National Science & Technology News Service. When he initially learned about the M4S, he eagerly signed up to volunteer and offered up his expertise on engaging elected officials, policy issues, science communication and outreach strategy to both the New York and D.C. planning committees, but Wilson said he quickly found that lead march organizers were not amenable to recommendations from scientists of color like himself and others.

There was a faction within the M4S planning leadership that was aggressively opposed to centering diversity and inclusion, said Wilson. This abrasive approach resulted in the very scientists with the most organizing experiencemany who participated in organizing other social- or environmental-justice movements and protestsbeing excluded from the M4S planning.

Since the establishment of the march, M4S organizers have sent mixed signals about the marchs intent and strategy after acquiescing to demands from white male scientiststo keep the march apolitical and nonpartisan. For example, speaking with the New York Times, lead organizer Jonathan Berman, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, said, Yes, this is a protest, but its not a political protest.

On its website, the march has also been referred to as a celebration of science, to the confusion and dismay of onlookers, particularly social-justice organizers and scientists from marginalized backgrounds, who are currently living in imminent danger under Trumps rule. Given the historical complicity of the science-industrial complex in the marginalization of certain segments of the populace, women, the disabled, LGBTQ individualsand people of color grew increasingly and rightfully critical of an M4S organizing structure that appeared ill-equipped and unwilling to actually stand up to the Trump administration in solidarity with the people most impacted by his bad policies.

Scientists, who believed that the march needed to adopt an intersectional approach to ensure it was not only inclusive but also advocated for science for alleven those on the marginsused hashtags such as #MarginSci to draw attention to the hypocrisy of the march and science at large. Although a diversity and inclusion committee was created to address these critiques, the March for Science organizing committee has repeatedly watered down any inclusive rhetoric, much to the celebration of white male scientists, who also took to the internet to harass any scientists calling for intersectionality online. Consequently, a number of scientists who wanted to push for intersectionality within the march were ignored or pushed out or stepped down from the lead organizing committee.

[The lead organizers of the March for Science] did a poor job of shutting down the racists and sexists. If nothing else that we have learned in this political climate, its that racists have become emboldened, even on the left, said Danielle N. Lee, Ph.D., a visiting assistant professor of biological sciences at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.

Lee, who commonly blogs about science under the alias DNLee, has decided not to support the M4S because of what she has witnessed from the lead organizers, although she encourages other black people to decide on their own level of participation. However, she thinks that the dialogue around the march is useful for exposing the racism within the scientific community.

The reason why this is important to talk about and deal with is because they want usand by us I mean folks from marginalized communities, scientists of color, queer scientists,and the rest of whove been relegated as not fully human or not existing, said Lee. Theyre happy for us to physically be on the line. Theyre happy for us to literally show bodies to demonstrate this overwhelming support [for the M4S], but they will not defend our issues or us. So, its like, No, no, you want us to show up, but you wont show up for me, and thats a line in the sand [for me.]

Racism within the academy and science-industrial complex is nothing new. However, the March for Science, through the hashtag #MarginSci, has provided front-row seats to see how scientists from underrepresented populations as well as historically discriminated communities are regarded by many scientists.

What we are witnessing, with the resistance to diversity and inclusion and the March for Sciences fumbling their responses, is the airing of sciences dirty laundry, said Wilson. This battle plays out daily in hiring committees, admission reviews and in individual [laboratories]. The general public has now had a view through the window into these episodes.

While the March for Science is set to happen this Saturday, nobody knows yet what form science advocacy and organizing will take inside and outside the scientific community. Wilson and Lee both expressed the hope that scientists and science advocates from marginalized communities become more active in putting forward science-policy briefs, advocating for specific science-policy funding allocations by Congress and state legislatures, and pushing federal and state agency leadership in order to secure a role in shaping our nations scientific directives.

Our participation as decision-makers, not just as patientswe have also been very much science pioneers, not just in the past but also in the present[is vital to the] support of our professional scientists of color, said Lee.

We need more of our community out there demanding basic information about their neighborhoods. When [politicians] propose policies, [they need to provide] some basic, public information about how these policies will affect our communitythe ecosystem, the peoplethats basic science. We need to demand it. And not only that [our government officials] gather this requisite information, but that our community is participating in [data collection and analysis] by training and hiring research assistants and data gatherers from our neighborhoods, and hiring scientists who look like us, Lee continued.

Shay-Akil McLean, a Ph.D. student in sociology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, who studies how inequality impacts human health, hopes that the dialogue around #MarginSci shows black people outside the scientific community that there are people in the academy and in these scientific industries who did not forget about the needs of black people. Said McLean, There are people who are trying to get the scientific community together and recognizing our responsibility [to society.]

McLean believes that theres still hope for the scientific community, too, if it does the work to understand and reject the role that science has played in maintaining the status quo of white supremacy and cisheteropatriarchy: Scientists know the role that they play. For example, there is no reason that engineers should be consenting to design weapons of mass destruction and better forms of surveillance devices that [ultimately] end up being used against black people in the United States.

[But the problem is that researchers] do not want to be held accountable because thats going to cost them some money, given the nature of the society that we live in, said McLean, who also runs a political and science education website, Decolonize All the Things. We sell death. We sell destruction. We sell corruption. We sell crisis for profit. And then we sell you everything that will save you from those things for profit. Thats how capitalism works, and a lot of scientists do not want to lose out on that. Do you want to save the scientific industry or humanity? You cant do both.

Marches alone will not protect the integrity of science or ensure the public well-being of Americans. If the organizers goal is to ensure that science remains a public good for all of us, they must be willing to take a visible stand moving forward against injustice inside and outside the scientific community, as well as make amends for the atrocities committed under the watch of scientists.

And while the March for Science has been embroiled in controversy since it was announced, its calamitous planning can and should serve as a teachable moment for scientists, who wish to reconnect with the communities they live among, study and serve as stewards of our public research dollars.

J. Ama Mantey, Ph.D., is a freelance writer, educator and researcher based in Sacramento, Calif., who likes to write about the intersection of science, policy and black folk. Follow her on Twitter.

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Earth Day ‘Science’ March Dominated by Criticism, Liberal Infighting – NewsBusters (blog)

Posted: at 2:53 am


NewsBusters (blog)
Earth Day 'Science' March Dominated by Criticism, Liberal Infighting
NewsBusters (blog)
While some scientists support the march, others called it a terrible idea and warned it may further enforce the liberal scientist in ivory tower stereotype. Liberals themselves were fighting about the march, demanding to know how it would ...
Satellite Marches - March for ScienceMarch for Science

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"The Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom …

Posted: at 2:52 am

Nebraska has the opportunity to become the next state to carry the torch of tax reform as the states legislature gears up to debate a bill this Friday that, if enacted, would provide needed relief to taxpayers and improvements to Nebraskas tax code.

LB 461, which recently passed out of committee, would lower the top personal and corporate income tax rates from 6.84% and 7.81%, respectively, to as low as 5.99% by 2029, so long as certain revenue triggers are met.

Across the country, recent years have proven to be a golden age for pro-growth tax reform. States like Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and especially North Carolina have all enacted policies that have resulted in lower taxes, allowing residents to keep more of their hard-earned income. States that fail to improve their codes and provide relief to taxpayers are being left behind in the competition for investment, employers, jobs, and people. By enacting LB 461, Nebraska legislators can ensure the Cornhusker State will not be left behind.

According to ALECs 2016 economic outlook index, Nebraska is dismally ranked 32nd in the nation. In fact, all of its neighboring states, from Wyoming (4) to Iowa (29), are ranked as more economically competitive. Passage of LB 461 will help Nebraska close this competitiveness gap. Today, Americans for Tax Reform sent the following letter Nebraska lawmakers calling on them to enact rate reducing tax reform by voting Yes on LB 461:

Dear Members of the Nebraska Legislature,

On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and our supporters across Nebraska, I urge you to support LB 461. Nebraska currently has a top personal income tax rate of 6.84% and 7.81%. LB 461, if enacted, would reduce those rates by 12.4% and 23.3%, respectively, taking both rates down to as low as 5.99 percent by 2028, so long as revenue triggers are met.

There is ample evidence that lower tax rates make states more competitive, and more conducive economic growth. John Hood, chairman of the John Locke Foundation, a non-partisan think tank, analyzed 681 peer-reviewed academic journal articles dating back to 1990. Most of the studies found that lower levels of taxation and spending correlate with stronger economic performance. When Tax Foundation chief economist William McBride reviewed academic literature going back three decades, he found the results consistently point to significant negative effects of taxes on economic growth, even after controlling for various other factors such as government spending, business cycle conditions and monetary policy.

As the Platte Institute has reported, Nebraskans face a higher burden than taxpayers in competing states:

On average, taxpayers in Nebraska pay 52 percent more personal income tax per person, and 36 percent more corporate income tax. Thats $1,125 per person per year in Nebraska versus $541 in the five rival states [Texas, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, and Iowa] for personal income taxes.

If that werent bad enough, your constituents have been hit with 20 federal Obamacare tax increases over the last eight years. As such, individuals, families, and employers across Nebraska are greatly in need of the sort of income tax relief that enactment of LB 461 would provide.

A reduction in the personal income tax would allow taxpayers to keep more of their hard-earned income, while increasing the job-creating capacity of small businesses that file under the individual income tax system.Meanwhile, a corporate rate reduction would make Nebraska more attractive to employers, job creation, and investment. Corporate tax relief will benefit the broader populace, as the burden of corporate taxation is borne by people in the form of lower wagers, fewer job opportunities, and reduced returns on savings and investment. Enactment of the type of rate-reducing tax reform found in LB 461 would helpNebraska compete with the likes of Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, Arizona and other competitor states that already boast lower tax burdens and more hospitable business tax climates than Nebraska.

North Carolina provides a great example of how much progress can be made in a short period of time, and should inspire those seeking to provide relief to Nebraska taxpayers while improving the state tax code. Just four years ago, North Carolina had the highest personal and corporate income tax rates in the Southeast. Thanks to tax reform measures enacted in 2013 and 2015, North Carolina now has a flat personal income tax rate that is the lowest in its region, with the exception of Florida and Tennessee, which do not levy an income tax. North Carolinas present corporate tax rate, at 3%, is now less than half of what it was just four years ago, and the personal income tax rate has been reduced by nearly 30%.

In addition to having the lowest personal income tax rate in the region, North Carolina now has the lowest corporate rate in the nation among states that levy such a tax. Going into 2013, North Carolina had the 44th ranked business tax climate in the country on the non-partisan Tax Foundation's business tax climate index. Thanks to the reforms enacted since 2013, North Carolina now has the nations11th best business tax climate.This remarkable improvement in North Carolinas tax code was achieved with the same sort of revenue triggers that LB 461 uses to provide tax relief for Nebraskans in a fiscally responsible fashion.

Americans for Tax Reform urges you to vote YES on LB 461. ATR will be educating your constituents and all Nebraskan taxpayers as to how lawmakers in Lincoln vote on LB 461 and other important fiscal and economic matters throughout the legislative session. Please look to ATR to as a resource on tax, budget, and other policy matters pending before you. If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Gleason, ATRs director of state affairs, at (202) 785-0266 or pgleason@atr.org.

Sincerely,

Grover G. Norquist

President

Americans for Tax Reform

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Council Election 2017: Kirriemuir and Dean (Ward 1) – The Courier

Posted: at 2:52 am

Kirriemuir and Dean sees one of the more intriguing and competitive battles for council seats.

Council leader Iain Gaul has decided not to stand for re-election after 14 years as a councillor and rivals to the SNP party are sensing an opportunity to gain his seat.

Six people will compete for three council seats, compared to just four contenders in 2012.

It is the only council ward in which the Conservatives are fielding two candidates, with incumbent Ronnie Proctor joined by Angus Macmillan Douglas.

Current SNP councillor Jeanette Gaul is joined by Julie Bell. The Liberal Democrat candidate is Liz Petrie and Labour is fielding Gordon Watson.

Kirriemuir has benefited from major investment through the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme which has improved the appearance of buildings in the town.

The town has also focused on becoming dementia friendly, with the development of a community hub and opening of a sensory garden as part of the 250,000 initiative.

The closure of the recycling centre in Kirriemuir has been a hot topic in the town, with a replacement centre to serve people in Kirrie and Forfar likely to be sited in Padanaram.

There have also been concerns about loss of other local amenities in the town, with a community asset transfer plan currently being put together for the former Failrie House council complex.

In recent years Kirrie has also seen the closure of its Royal Bank of Scotland branch, with the TSB also warning customers that it will be closing its branch in the town in June.

With the ward taking in many remote homes, it also has a number of people who have been affected by the councils decision to stop some food waste collection services.

The Courier invited each candidate to submit a short introduction to themselves and, if they wished, a video explaining why they deserve your vote.

I want to change how we deliver local democracy and we need to engage more women in politics to properly reflect society and to achieve that. Women make up 52% of the population, after all. So I decided to get involved and the SNP was a natural home Ive been a voter all my life.

Working with people and partnerships are my strengths, I think, from years of working in broadcasting, the health service and local government. Ive campaigned on mental health and wellbeing for years too, and I have my own small therapy practice.

Local elections are absolutely critical to our day-to-day lives. We need to work harder to connect people with councils and our local services schools and learning, housing, health and social care, for example. We need to listen and learn, to be inclusive and co-operative. Ive already been having those conversations locally, about doing politics differently.

I was first elected to Angus Council in 2012. Since then I have worked with many community and business groups, listening to their views, putting successful strategies into action and helping to deliver the best possible services to the people of Kirriemuir and Dean in the face of unprecedented financial challenges.

I have represented Kirriemuir and Dean through Angus Council on the Cairngorms National Park. I am a member of the Dementia Friendly Steering Group and Kirriemuir Area Partnership.

When first elected my only promise to the residents of Kirriemuir and Dean was to work hard for them.

My promise for this election is to work hard for the residents of Kirriemuir and Dean again.

Since December, I have visited some 2,500 residents throughout our ward from the Glens to Newtyle to Kirriemuir.

People raise issues of great concern: the proposed closure of the Kirriemuir Recycling Centre; cuts to social services, which frighten the elderly and vulnerable; council tax increases at a time of service cuts; and substantial increases in business rates, which threaten jobs.

This at a time when Kirriemuir has lost the RBS and businesses are at risk.

I wish you to elect me, so I can try my utmost to stop this decline.

I was raised locally at Douglastown and fortunate to become a divisional director of BP, director of the Scottish Blood Service and finance chair of Abertay University.

I have a record of success. I shall be accessible to residentsand use my business experience to help Angus Council run our essential services effectively and treat council employees with respect.

I knew from an early age that what I really wanted to do was paint. I got my diploma at Duncan of Jordanstone College and Ive been a professional artist ever since.

Along the way Ive had other jobs too raising children was the hardest but Im proud of the results! Plants are great too, I love gardening.

For many years I did interviews for a national market research company. Whatever topic I was asking about, people gave me the added benefit of their views on politics.

I realised we all want the same things from our council proper health and social care, good schools, safe roads, recycling centres, reliable bin collections, and enough homes for everyone at rents we can afford. Not a lot to ask.

As a Liberal Democrat, I campaign for everyone to have these things because everyone deserves them.

I was born and brought up in Kirriemuir and attended Websters Seminary, joining the army aged 15.

I spent nearly 40 years in The Black Watch, working my way from junior private to major. I was awarded the MBE in 1992.

Since retiring from active service I have assisted serving soldiers and veterans with welfare issues. For five years I have been veterans champion for Angus Council, which I find worthwhile and rewarding.

Local concerns are paramount and I have supported many initiatives, assisted with housing, school and road safety issues and assisting those affected by flooding.

If re-elected I would strive for maximum value for money for council taxpayers and more fiscal freedom for local authorities; press for fair, affordable business rates to help local businesses survive; revisit recycling centre proposals; strive to improve rural broadband; and press for regulation of parking by council wardens once legislation becomes effective.

Originally from Sunderland, I have worked and raised my family in Angus for over 40 years.

I have had a long career in social work and childcare, therefore having a wide knowledge of the infrastructure of the local authority.

I was an active trade unionist in Unison and continue in this role by representing retired members.

This election is about making your voice heard at local level not about independence.

My priorities if I am elected as your councillor will be education (to ensure schools are fully staffed), NHS social care (to fight cuts to local health services and care of the elderly), housing (to ensure the building of more affordable homes in our area) and to hold the council to account.

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Republicans Are Trying Again on Obamacare Repeal: Here’s the New Plan – The Fiscal Times

Posted: at 2:52 am


The Fiscal Times
Republicans Are Trying Again on Obamacare Repeal: Here's the New Plan
The Fiscal Times
On Thursday morning, Politico published a week-old summary of an amendment to the proposed American Health Care Act, negotiated between senior members of the hard right Freedom Caucus and the more moderate Tuesday Group, two important ...
Many Americans haven't heard of Freedom Caucus | Pew Research ...Pew Research Center
Updated NH Primary Source: Jasper presses battle with House Republican AllianceWMUR Manchester
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PLP’s ‘mind boggling’ omission of fiscal crisis | The Tribune – Bahamas Tribune

Posted: at 2:52 am

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

An FNM candidate yesterday said it was mind boggling that the Progressive Liberal Partys (PLP) 2017 election action plan fails to mention how it will address the Bahamas fiscal crisis, adding: They dont want Fiscal Responsibility.

Dionisio DAguilar, the Opposition partys Freetown contender, told Tribune Business that the governing party was taking the easy way out by giving constituents and supporters public sector jobs.

He described the Christie administrations policy of constantly increasing the tax burden on productive industries to fund a bloated public sector as a recipe for disaster, with the civil service now too overwhelming for taxpayers to support.

The PLPs action plan makes no mention of the Governments continued $300 million-plus deficits, or the $7 billion national debt, let alone specific plans for how it will tackle a looming fiscal crisis that threatens to sink the Bahamian economy and society.

Its mind-boggling that they dont address the two major concerns of the country, Mr DAguilar told Tribune Business of the PLPs election campaign manifesto. They dont want Fiscal Responsibility.

If they are constrained by fiscal responsibility, and have to maintain caps on spending due to a Fiscal Responsibility Act, they cant pad contracts.

This is why the PLP is such a dangerous option. Here we are being told by S&P, Moodys and the IMF time and time again that we need to get our fiscal house in order, we have to stop spending this VAT money, and deal with the debt.

Both Opposition parties, the FNM and the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), have committed to introducing a Fiscal Responsibility Act as part of a strategy to bring greater accountability and transparency to the Governments financial management.

The PLP, though, has been silent on the issue ever since the current administration failed to deliver on Prime Minister Perry Christies February 2015 pledge to initiate public consultation on whether a Fiscal Responsibility Act was appropriate for the Bahamas.

The matter has come back to the fore after an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) paper, published last week, warned that the Bahamas and other Caribbean nations need to impose discipline on their governments via so-called fiscal rules if growing debt is ever to be controlled.

The IDB paper suggested that spending rules, which adjusted the Governments expenditure to keep its fiscal ratios in line with a set debt-to-GDP target, would deliver greatest value for the Bahamas.

Mr DAguilar, backing the imposition of caps on government spending, said Royal Bank of Canadas (RBC) chief Caribbean economist, as well as multiple international agencies, were warning that the Government will never control its expenditure if left to its own devices.

He accused the Christie administration of busting the Budget in its efforts to secure re-election, adding: Theyre promoting people, hiring people without any thought for the country.

Tribune Business previously revealed how the Christie administration has increased the civil service by a net 4,500 persons since taking office in 2012, a development that explains where a sizeable chunk of VATs net $756 million revenue rise is going on an annual basis.

And, in recent interviews, constituents of Prime Minister Perry Christie and Jerome Fitzgerald, minister of education, science and technology, have both revealed how the two men have secured jobs for themselves and their family members within the public sector.

Mr DAguilar accused the PLP of scare-mongering by suggesting an FNM government would dismiss such hires, but described the Christie administrations focus on growing the public sector rather than the economy as a formula for disaster.

The dumb approach is to increase the tax burden on your productive sectors to fund more public sector employment, he told Tribune Business.

Thats a disaster. The civil service will become overwhelming for the taxpayer. Unfortunately, its a dangerous course to be on. What the PLP fails to tell the people is that the Government cant give everyone a job.

Instead of using ingenuity and creativity to incentivise the private sector to grow jobs, theyre taking the easy way out of giving people jobs in the public sector. You cant do that forever, Mr DAguilar added.

Because theyve failed to grow the private sector and the economy, theyre providing jobs in the public sector. While that works for a while, you cant do it forever. You cant grow Government and not grow the economy. Thats a formula for disaster. If you grow the economy, only then will you grow public sector jobs.

The PLPs action plan includes some notable omissions, with no mention anywhere of Value-Added Tax (VAT) or the legalisation of web shop gaming - two issues that some sceptics will likely rank as the Christie administrations greatest achievements.

The party also appears to be promising a further expansion in the size of government through the creation of a Ministry of Communication & Information and Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

When it comes to accountability and transparency, the PLP is pledging that every government ministry will issue Annual Business Plans, which are to include performance targets and timelines about what they intend to accomplish.

These Business Plans will support better accountability for all parts of government on an annual basis and be supplemented by annual Business Reports from each Ministry, the partys action plan said.

These will clearly indicate progress against the previous years Business Plans to further enhance the accountability of Ministries.

The PLP also promised to implement the Freedom of Information Act, and improve efficiency and execution in government through a variety of measures.

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European populists aren’t conservative, they’re faux-right – Washington Examiner

Posted: at 2:52 am

At first glance, conservatives might view the rise of Europe's far-right like a refreshing counterbalance to years of socialism run amok. In truth, these reactionary parties endorse eerily similar economic policies as the left-wing they so despise. Fiscal conservatives need to recognize that the European right doesn't reject the fundamentals of big government they embrace it, making them more "faux-right" than actual right.

This Sunday, France will vote in the first round of its presidential election, with National Front leader Marine Le Pen one of the leading candidates. With far-right parties like Le Pen's rising across the continent with recent or upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Italy, Time magazine declared 2017 to be Europe's "Year of the Populist."

The Netherlands' recent general election provides a prime example of this faux-right phenomenon. Geert Wilders' Party of Freedom took second place, gaining five seats in the country's House of Representatives.

The Dutch provocateur has enjoyed extensive support in American conservative circles, with trips to the United States sponsored by organizations like the Gatestone Institute, International Freedom Alliance, and David Horwitz's Freedom Center to sum of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, controversially voiced his support for Wilders' tough stance on immigration in a tweet last month, claiming that "Wilders understands... We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies."

For all his popularity among American conservatives, Wilders' platform is embarrassingly scant on details. During the campaign, he promised to "lower rent" without providing any sort of explanation as to how this will be achieved. When reading further proposals, such as returning the "age of retirement back to 65," providing "pensions for everyone," and reversing "past budget cuts involving care," it's easy to see that his Freedom Party is very keen on government interventionism and increasing welfare spending.

Worse, Wilders justified his promised spending increases with dodgy math. His own leaflets promised that budgetary figures for his proposals would be "counted at a later stage." Outside of limiting immigration, his Freedom Party has not supported any policies that could curb spending.

In short, Wilders took many conservatives for a ride, taking advantage of their overzealous concern about Islamic immigration to bankroll his socialist policies.

Sadly, the same con game seems to be repeating in France, with National Front candidate Marine Le Pen a leading candidate in next week's presidential election with notable support from the American alt-right.

American alternative media outlets have been taken by Le Pen for months. Breitbart News has written about her at least 224 times. The site's editor-in-chief, Alex Marlow, even entertained the idea of establishing a Paris bureau for the website last November.

Yet, Le Pen's National Front embraces big-government policies that would make Andrew Breitbart roll in his grave: imposing tariffs, taxing foreign workers, bringing down the retirement age, raising wages in the public sector, banning ostentatious signs of religion in public, and infringing of freedom of assembly.

In fact, one of the reasons Le Pen never formed any sort of anti-European Union coalition with Brexit champion Nigel Farage is because her party rejects his Anglo-Saxon view of markets. While British eurosceptics called for leaving the European Union because it hampered business freedom, the National Front astoundingly claims that Brussels instead favors free markets too much, describing the union as "ultra-liberal." Once detached from the Maastricht Treaty, Le Pen's party would have it even easier to further increase spending, leading France into an inevitable disaster.

Wilders and Le Pen might be just as opposed to social democracy as American conservatives are, but they aren't planning the same limited government. Although President Trump may find common ground with the European far-right on trade and immigration, his administration has nevertheless pursued an agenda of deregulation and discretionary spending cuts much more in line with a conservative fiscal agenda than anything the European faux-right would ever dare to propose.

Let this be a lesson to fiscal conservatives: The enemy of your enemy is not always your friend. We should save our money and support for more principled movements.

Casey Given (@CaseyJGiven) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is the executive director of Young Voices. Bill Wirtz (@wirtzbill) is a Young Voices Advocate studying law at the Université de Lorraine in Nancy, France.

If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read ourguidelines on submissions here.

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European populists aren't conservative, they're faux-right - Washington Examiner

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Focus on achieving financial integrity – The National

Posted: at 2:52 am

Every day the king of Arabic music greets me. He hangs around in my lounge, replete with pearly white teeth, smiling as he Abdel Halim Hafiz gazes into my eyes. Little wonder every woman in the Arab world swooned when he sang all those years ago.

For those not in the know, Abdel Hafez was the Arab worlds Elvis Presley.

Alas, he too is dead, but it is more than his memory that lives on for me. He is a constant reminder that each day we live is gone forever. Because he lives in my home in the form of a hand-painted poster depicted as the hero in one of the movies he starred in titled A Day of My Life.

I rattle on about this because tomorrow is World Book Day. And the book I would like to be reading is the latest edition of Your Money or Your Life. It promises to redefine our relationship with both money and life.

Both the book and the 60s poster nudge me to remember that time is our most valuable asset.

The authors, credited as the founding fathers of the financial independence movement, extol this: achieve a degree of financial independence that allows you to spend your time doing what is fulfilling for you. They did it. The book shares how.

The aim of the authors Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin is to achieve financial intelligence and financial integrity, as well as financial independence. Bringing into focus how our financial life sits in relation to the rest of our life. In its simplest form, this involves figuring out what we spend our money on, then whether it adds to the quality of our lives, moving on to realising that our relationship with money involves more than earning, spending, debts and savings; it also includes the time these functions take in our life.

Nirvana is achieving "financial integrity"; understanding the true impact of our economic interactions, and having that impact reflect our true intentions.

Its a consciousness system of living with decisions around what is really valuable to you. That there is something greater than consumerism.

It is about the sustainable development of each of us.

This from the summary of the book: financial independence has nothing to do with rich. Financial independence is the experience of having enough and then some. The old notion of financial independence as being rich forever is not achievable. Enough is. Enough for you may be different from enough from you neighbour but it will be a figure that is real for you and within your reach.

A frequent conundrum Im presented with is that its "impossible" for the person seeking my counsel to spend any less and still live.

Vicki Robin states that everyone who participated in their Your Money or Your Life workshops (that started decades ago, before she and her late partner, Joe Dominguez, wrote the first edition of the book) reported a 20 to 25 per cent reduction in expenses, and that the quality of their lives improved.

This isnt an all-talk theoretical book. It has nine practical "how do I do it?" steps to achieving financial independence. Accuracy and accountability are vital.

In a nutshell:

1. How much money has come into your life and what do you have to show for it?

2. Being in the present: tracking your life energy.

3. Where is it all going: monthly tabulation.

4. Three questions that will transform your life (I thoroughly dislike this sort of "hook". The questions are valuable though I especially like this one:

Would I be spending this if I didnt have to work for a living?)

Respecting your life energy: maximising income.

Capital and the crossover point.

9. Securing your financial independence.

So many of us carry this around inside us: when do I get to be free? When do I get to find out what else is in me? What else do I want my body to experience?

You can find out if your investment-related income covers lifes expenses achievable so much sooner if your "enough" is less.

Dominguez went the route of US treasury bonds which served him well. Times, and the investment climate, have changed since then. He retired at the age of 31 with US$70,000 and never earned from work again (yes, it was a very long time ago). His criteria for investment are:

Your capital must produce income; your capital must be absolutely safe; your capital must be in totally liquid investment. you must be able to convert it into cash at a moments notice, to handle emergencies; your capital must not be diminished at the time of investment by unnecessary commissions, or other expenses; your income must be absolutely safe; your income must not fluctuate; you must know exactly what your income will be next month, next year and 20 years from now; your income must be payable to you, in cash, at regular intervals; your income must not be diminished by charges, management fees or redemption fees.

The investment must produce this regular, fixed known income without any further involvement or expense on your part. It must not require maintenance, management, geographic presence or attention due to "acts of God".

The latest edition is not out so Ill have to wait to find out what changed since Your Money or Your Life was first published what hasnt changed though is that money equals the life hours we trade for it. That we are all profit or loss centres, and that fear of our financial future is real and is debilitating.

Abdel Halim Hafez was an activist in many ways look him up. Now it is your turn. Go on. Be a time activist. Take back your time. Then ask: what do you want? What do you want your life to be? Financial independence gives you the option of finding out. Before your days run out.

Nima Abu Wardeh describes herself using three words: Person. Parent. Pupil. Each day she works out which one gets priority, sharing her journey on finding-nima.com

business@thenational.ae

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Focus on achieving financial integrity - The National

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Is Time Really Money? Financial Advisors’ Daily Digest – Seeking Alpha

Posted: at 2:52 am

Pardon the dj vu, but AICPA has released another survey today, and I'm taking the bait and writing about it - mainly because once again I find myself at odds with prevailing cultural views of money.

This survey, also of more than 1,000 adults and conducted by Harris Poll, examines the cultural relevance of the old adage "time is money." Turns out most Americans (59%) do equate the two, while a significant minority (30%) favor money and a very tiny minority favor time (11%).

As the news release announcing the findings puts it, "the survey explores whether Americans are more likely to opt for extra money in their pockets or extra time on their hands."

While I have often made the case for applying one's work efforts to saving for the future, that should not be mistaken for the notion that people should become workaholics. To the contrary, the whole purpose of saving for the future is so that we can achieve financial freedom, and what greater hallmark of freedom is there than control over our time. Thus, according to this view, time is more valuable than money. Money is just a convenience, a medium through which we manage our economic lives. Because we all have material needs, we must give up some of our freedom in order to obtain money. But freedom is, or should be, the ultimate goal.

I believe that if this were properly understood, our society would be more successful in preparing for retirement, because the stakes would be clear. To make that goal more vivid, I believe it is important to enjoy the freedom that time affords throughout one's life. When I achieve financial independence, I'll have a very clear idea of what to do with my freedom because I will have had decades of experience in enjoying it already!

Sadly, many people who reach "retirement" (I confess, I do not like that word) experience depression because they don't know what to do with themselves. My two cents: Whatever your ideal vision of retirement may be, start enjoying it now to ensure that you will enjoy it even more then.

Please share your thoughts in the comments section. Meanwhile, here are today's advisor-related links:

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Is Time Really Money? Financial Advisors' Daily Digest - Seeking Alpha

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