US economy on an unstable knife edge at present

The income and wealth inequality that continues to grow in most advanced nations has led to some new terminology being introduced into the lexicon of economic terms, the – K-shaped economy: When growth moves in two different directions. When this pattern of growth is identified you know how far out of kilter the world has become. Essentially, for most people, times are so tough that even essential goods and services become so expensive that even non-discretionary spending starts to take a hit. Yet, for the top-end-of-town, with the high wealth and high incomes, who are boosted by rising central bank interest rates and rising asset prices (financial and real estate etc), their spending goes crazy as the Porsches roll out the showroom door at an increasing rate. The K-pattern relates to the less well-off heading south and the rich and high income cohorts heading north in terms of prosperity and capacity to consume. The latest data from the US, which exemplifies this trend more than most countries, given its massive inequality, clearly demonstrates this phenomenon.

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Has the UAE seen the writing on the wall (peak oil that is)?

A lot of the post WW2 institutional structure is being challenged at present and/or vanishing altogether. Some of the changing environment will prove to be disastrous for the world, while some of the changes are likely to be beneficial. There will also be pro and con of many of the disruptions. Tomorrow (May 1, 2026), the United Arab Emirates (UEA) will formally leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which many consider will mark the beginning of the end for the cartel that has shown at various times since it was established in 1960, that it can manipulate world oil prices to the advantage of cartel members. But OPEC has been in decline for many years and member states have been doing informally, what the UAE plans to do formally as a Non-OPEC, non-DoC member. The departure will have some negative impact on oil prices once the Iran mess ends. But the most significant aspect I think is that it marks the recognition by one of the largest oil producers that peak oil is past and they need to cash out their remaining reserves and invest in renewables before it is too late. If that is correct, and that sentiment catches on then positives might come from the decision in the medium-term.

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My blog is on holiday today

Today is a public holiday (ANZAC Day) where we remember the efforts of our past generations who fought in wars. This used to be a rather sombre day when some reflections were in order about the men and women who died ‘defending’ our nation. However, it is now a full-on, merch-driven, commercialised glorification of war that has become repugnant to say the least. All of the WW1 veterans are now dead and the WW2 returnees are going the same way. In this modern era, we are confronted with the black/white narrative (we were good they were evil), which obscures the reality of war and the political machinations that typically accompany it. In our national War Memorial in Canberra, we are still displaying the deeds of Australia’s ‘most decorated’ soldier, who happens to be currently charged with several war crime murders in Afghanistan, such is the hold that the war-glorification lobby has with policy makers. In Australia’s case our involvement in several wars has been the product of unnecessary colonial master-servant type arrangements (us being the servant) and/or ridiculous alliances with the war mongering US. At least we are not participating in the slaughter by the IDF in Gaza, Lebanon and the US-IDF in Iran. But it is also clear, that the Australian soldiers certainly did it tough and I have sympathy with that – and personal associations with my grandparents and parents. But, on a pragmatic basis, my blog is taking the day off so I can use the time to finish some work that has impending deadlines.

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Robert Skidelsky death – some recollections

The biographer of Keynes in three volumes – Robert Skidelsky – died on April 15, 2026 at the age of 84. As I explain below, Skidelsky was what we consider to be a mainstream ‘deficit dove’, who are Keynesian and Post Keynesian economists that are comfortable with using fiscal deficits to increase economic activity when there is mass unemployment, but then consider the government must then pursue surpluses on the other side of the cycle to balance out the fiscal position over the full cycle. They couch their recommendations in conservative logic bounded by appropriate movements in the debt to GDP ratio. They are ‘mainstream lite’ and typically oppose Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). As I explain, I met Skildesky in London a few times when MMT was becoming very popular (early in GFC) and we had fundamental disagreements even though he was attracted to certain element of MMT including the Job Guarantee. Here are some recollections.

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A classic case of the Australian government denying that it is the Australian government

Most of the examples of fiscal austerity leave one puzzled as a result of the sheer myopia that is usually present – the ‘save a penny today to spend a dollar tomorrow’ sort of nonsense that history tells us repeats when governments try to reduce spending in areas that it should not. But sometimes one encounters examples of the government pretending not to be the government and making decisions that are just absurd on any basis. Here is one example that is current in the Australian context but which carries general principles that apply everywhere. I am currently doing some work on the proposal of Airservices Australia (ASA) to outsource the provision of its infrastructure to a private partner in the financial sector under what it calls a ‘Value-for-Money’ partnership. The details of this proposal, inasmuch as there is public information released makes you wonder how far the neoliberal lunacy has gone. It is a case of a government deliberately constraining itself in its responsibilities to provide an essential service – essentially denying its unique capacities – then proposing that it can ‘save taxpayers money’ by delivering profits to a private speculator (in essence) and get a better deal. But the arithmetic that delivers this ‘better deal’ is only possible if the government denies that it is the government and tilts the playing field so far that a terrible deal becomes the preferred one. Lunacy exemplified. And all the parties to this deal produce glossy PowerPoint slide shows, and have meetings and all the rest of the ‘private consultancy capture of government’ hoopla that is played out on a daily basis in these days, pretending that it is just normal business. Yet, anyone who actually understood what was going on would realise that this is a scam of all proportions.

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Australian labour market – largely stable but dark clouds present

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest labour force data today (APRIL 16, 2026) – Labour Force, Australia – for March 2026 – which showed that the labour market steadied after last month’s contraction. While employment growth remained positive and was dominated by full-time work gains (as part-time employment fell), the fact that the participation rate fell helped keep the unemployment rate stable. There are now 10.1 per cent of available labour not being used (either unemployed or underemployment), which makes a farce of the RBA’s claims that the labour market is tight. There is substantial scope for more job creation given the slack that is present. However, if the global situation doesn’t improve quickly then that slack will increase sharply.

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A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 7

This is Part 7 of the short series of briefing notes that arose out of discussions I recently had in London about how a progressive political party might want to break out of the shackles that the British Labour Party has bound itself in with its obsession with fiscal rules and an adherence to the fiscal fictions of mainstream macroeconomics. The thoughts, in my view, are relevant for all aspiring progressive political parties that might have fallen prey to the fictional world of mainstream economics and cannot find a way back. In the first part, I suggested a way forward was to shift the focus of what can be done with fiscal policy away from financial matters towards an emphasis on real resource constraints – that is, what productive resources are available for public use. In this sense, the discussion becomes focused on how much nominal spending growth is possible without sparking inflationary pressures as a result of nominal spending growth outstripping the productive capacity of the economy. In Part 2, I focused on aspects of the institutional structure that should be considered to support that shift in focus, including a planning network and a return to a public employment service. In Part 3, I began an examination of the long debate about economic planning, In Part 4, I continued that discussion. In Part 5, I discussed how the age of rapid, networked communication systems eliminate the basis of the pro-market, anti-planning critics. In Part 6, I provided a detailed case study of the role that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in Japan played after WW2 to ensure rapid development could occur within the available real resource envelope. Today, I reflect on industry policy and the way the arch neoliberals are silently conceding defeat.

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A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 6

This is Part 6 of the short series of briefing notes that arose out of discussions I recently had in London about how a progressive political party might want to break out of the shackles that the British Labour Party has bound itself in with its obsession with fiscal rules and an adherence to the fiscal fictions of mainstream macroeconomics. The thoughts, in my view, are relevant for all aspiring progressive political parties that might have fallen prey to the fictional world of mainstream economics and cannot find a way back. In the first part, I suggested a way forward was to shift the focus of what can be done with fiscal policy away from financial matters towards an emphasis on real resource constraints – that is, what productive resources are available for public use. In this sense, the discussion becomes focused on how much nominal spending growth is possible without sparking inflationary pressures as a result of nominal spending growth outstripping the productive capacity of the economy. In Part 2, I focused on aspects of the institutional structure that should be considered to support that shift in focus, including a planning network and a return to a public employment service. In Part 3, I began an examination of the long debate about economic planning, In Part 4, I continued that discussion. In Part 5, I discussed how the age of rapid, networked communication systems eliminate the basis of the pro-market, anti-planning critics. Today’s discussion focuses on the importance of institutional structure in government with a special case study of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in Japan and the role that it played in that nation’s spectacular rise out of the ravages of World War 2 and US Occupation.

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My blog is on holiday today

It is a public holiday in Australia today and I decided that I would use the time, which is free of workplace-type interruptions, to finalise a major project that has an impending (very) deadline. So happy holidays to all not…

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A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 5

This is Part 5 of the short series of briefing notes that arose out of discussions I recently had in London about how a progressive political party might want to break out of the shackles that the British Labour Party has bound itself in with its obsession with fiscal rules and an adherence to the fiscal fictions of mainstream macroeconomics. The thoughts, in my view, are relevant for all aspiring progressive political parties that might have fallen prey to the fictional world of mainstream economics and cannot find a way back. In the first part, I suggested a way forward was to shift the focus of what can be done with fiscal policy away from financial matters towards an emphasis on real resource constraints – that is, what productive resources are available for public use. In this sense, the discussion becomes focused on how much nominal spending growth is possible without sparking inflationary pressures as a result of nominal spending growth outstripping the productive capacity of the economy. In Part 2, I focused on aspects of the institutional structure that should be considered to support that shift in focus, including a planning network and a return to a public employment service. In Part 3, I began an examination of the long debate about economic planning, In Part 4, I continued that discussion. In Part 5, I am discussing how the age of rapid, networked communication systems eliminate the basis of the pro-market, anti-planning critics. Today’s discussion is a practical description of how cybernetics can help deal with resource constraints in a planning system.

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