Welcome to my web log. I work for personal liberty, a free economy and society, open borders and limited government. Here you will find information, analysis and comments about national and international economic and political issues.
johnny@munkhammar.org
2008-08-28 13:46:49
Quote of the Day:
"John McCain is my friend. We′ve traveled the world together. It′s a friendship that goes beyond politics, and the personal courage and heroism demonstrated by John still amazes me."
Joe Biden, Candidate for Vice President - at the Democratic convention yesterday
2008-08-28 10:56:14
Democratic Convention. Bill Clinton gave a great speech yesterday in Denver, with more content than many others. So did Hillary Clinton the day before. But 30 per cent of those who voted for her claim that they will now vote for McCain. And his campaign was quick to launch the new ad "Debra" about McCain Democrats...
2008-08-26 14:24:49
Chicken Race. A chicken race is two cars racing towards each other at full speed, and the first one to turn is the loser. This is the game that Russia currently plays with the West. And KGB knows very well that the West is likely to turn first.
Russia′s President Medvedev just signed a decree recognising the independence of South Ossetia and Abchasia. The Russian government is breaking Georgia apart, just as it will do with any neighbouring country that opposes them.
As the US, the EU and Nato have become tougher against Russia, they have responded even tougher. On freezing relations, Medvedev said all relations could end. On WTO membership, Prime Minister Putin said that Russia doesn′t "see any advantages from membership".
Lesson? First, realise that this is the new Russia. Second, don′t back off. They will see that as a weakness.
2008-08-26 12:52:29
Dyrt med kompetens i Sverige. Efter regeringens sänkta skatter för låginkomsttagare betalar de nu relativt låg skatt i Sverige. Medel- och höginkomsttagare betalar dock fortfarande höga skatter, särskilt om arbetsgivaravgiften räknas in.
Nedan en bild från Dan Johansson på Ratio. Den visar kostnaden i Nederländerna, Nederländerna (med expertskatt), Schweiz, Storbritannien och Sverige för att anställa en engelsk finansdirektör. Utgångspunkten är att denne ska få ut lika mycket efter skatt oavsett land.
Stapeln längst till höger är kostnaden i Sverige. Som synes ligger nivån 50-60 procent högre än i de andra konkurrentländerna. Detta får naturligtvis en rad konsekvenser.
Det blir mindre attraktivt att förlägga produktion som kräver kvalificerad arbetskraft i Sverige. Och skulle man dra ned arbetskraftskostnaden till samma nivå som i de andra länderna - men behålla skatterna - får personen behålla avsevärt mindre. Då blir det mindre attraktivt att arbeta här.
Det är viktigt att låginkomsttagare har starka incitament att arbeta. Men i den globaliserade ekonomin är det viktigt att länder kan attrahera avancerad produktion och kvalificerad arbetskraft. Då måste skatterna sänkas även för dem, och avskaffande av värnskatten är ett viktigt första steg.
2008-08-23 18:03:38
Låktatjåkka. Just tillbaka i landets högst belägna fjällstuga efter tredje dagens vandring och klättring - samt konferens - med Kebnekaisegruppen. Ett bra forum för intellektuellt utbyte och inte så få operativa slutsatser om framtida projekt.
Årets uppsättning - vem är vem?
2008-08-23 17:34:57
Ever Closer... The average of all national US opinion polls now show that Obama is ahead of McCain by 1,5 per cent. The enthusiasm for Obama among journalists and analysts is clearly not matched among voters in general. McCain′s outstanding performance in the Saddleback Forum might be an indicator that he will continue closing in.
2008-08-22 08:25:19
I Sydsvenskan: "Vad Kreml vill krossa." I dagens Sydsvenska Dagbladet skriver undertecknad och Paata Sheshelidze, chef för New Economic School Georgia - om kriget i Grorgien. Vi fokuserar på vilket land Georgien har varit de senaste fem åren - ett av världens ledande reformländer - och drar slutsatser av kriget för Europas del.
Läs artikeln här - >
2008-08-21 09:16:36
Towards the Mountains. Shortly, I am off to the very northern part of Sweden, for the annual hiking conference with the Kebnekaise Group. Might be more limited blogging for a few days.
2008-08-21 09:04:10
Ukraine Next? The media reports about widespread destruction and looting where the Russian troops have been in Georgia. So much for their "peacekeeping troops".
The governments of South Ossetia and Abchasia will probably declare independence shortly. This is a charade. These governments are part KGB, part mafia - paid by Russians to start trouble with Georgia.
The EU must be tougher. Now, they seem to want to turn a blind eye on Russia′s actions this time. Next step might very well be "peace troops" in Ukraine, according to experts.
French Foreign Minister apparently expressed some understanding that Russians feel "besieged" by Nato. Wrong attitude. The Russian government is simply paranoid. If Russia wanted and became a real democracy, they could join Nato too.
2008-08-20 11:31:49
About Georgia at EEI. Gunnar Hökmark and I made a brief comment about Georgia on behalf of European Enterprise Institute, which can be read here.
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