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Tim Worstall

Tim Worstall - Author Archive

Banning Child Labour Means The Kids Get Paid Less

IF we repealed the laws that ban child labour here in the UK then what do we think would happen to the number of children forced into going to work? … (read more)

Posted: 8th, November 2013 | In: Money, Reviews | Comment

Max Mosley Really Should Have Heard Of The Streisand Effect By Now

MAX Mosley has just won yet another court case about that sadomasochistic orgy he had a few years back. This time it’s against Google.

The original case was that by filming … (read more)

Posted: 7th, November 2013 | In: Celebrities, Money | Comment

Call Of Duty And The Chinese Rare Earths Monopoly

I’VE just realised that I was interviewed about the Call of Duty game back a while. They wanted to know how realistic was the plot point in the game where … (read more)

Posted: 6th, November 2013 | In: Money, The Consumer | Comment

It’s Not A Living Wage, It’s Tax Poverty

SO we’ve had the announcement of the new Living Wage. This is the amount someone would need to earn in order not to live in poverty in the UK: it’s … (read more)

Posted: 5th, November 2013 | In: Money | Comment

Deliberate Planned Obsolescence In Apple’s iPhones? New York Times Spreads Conspiracy Theory

DOES Apple lace its products with deliberate planned obsolescence? Err, no, despite the claims there isn’t any deliberate planned obsolescence in Apple’s iPhones. So much so that it’s really rather … (read more)

Posted: 4th, November 2013 | In: Money, Technology | Comment

That’s Racist: The Outrage Of Marco Pierre White’s Knorr Advert

THERE are times when the Guardian manages to out-Guardian even itself. The last time was over the idea that the meerkat adverts are in fact racist: something which even the … (read more)

Posted: 31st, October 2013 | In: Celebrities, The Consumer | Comments (2)

Maybe It’s Just Because The NHS Is Rubbish? Obamacare, Listen Up

ANOTHER report out, another report insisting that it’s the inequality that’s killing people:
Women and children in the UK would have longer and healthier lives if they lived in Cyprus, Italy … (read more)

Posted: 31st, October 2013 | In: Money, Reviews | Comment

Apple Really Is Dodging Taxes You Know!

THERE’S been intensive debate….well, let’s call that screaming matches….about whether Apple is avoiding tax or not. Everyone points to the Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich as irrefutable proof that … (read more)

Posted: 29th, October 2013 | In: Money, Technology | Comment

Russell Brand, Ignorant Poseur Or Just Posing As Ignorant?

SO. We’ve seen the earnestly Teenage Trot Russell Brand trot out his ignorance of economics for us all on Newsnight. This is the one line that made me cringe the … (read more)

Posted: 25th, October 2013 | In: Celebrities, Money | Comment

Yes, Of Course Royal Mail Was Sold Too Cheap But Not For The Reason You Think

WAS Royal Mail sold on the cheap? Yes. But not for the reason you might think.

When they announced that they were going to privatise Royal Mail there were all sorts … (read more)

Posted: 24th, October 2013 | In: Money | Comment

The Daily Mail’s Witterings About X-Rated Mumsnet And Women Who Reproduce

FOR some reason the Daily Mail seems to think that Mumsnet has been taken over by a horde of sex crazed housewives. Something which is really very strange indeed. For … (read more)

Posted: 23rd, October 2013 | In: Money, Reviews | Comment

Sexism: The Fault Is In Ourselves, Not Google’s Autocomplete

THIS is a rather fun finding, the UN has actually managed to do something both useful and interesting. There’s a piece in the Guardian about it here and the main page … (read more)

Posted: 23rd, October 2013 | In: Money, Technology | Comment

What Is It With The French Ruling Classes And Bad Economics?

ONE of the things that grates, now that we have to share this EU system of government with them, is the way in which the French ruling classes seem not … (read more)

Posted: 22nd, October 2013 | In: Money | Comment

Why Do People Live So Damn Long In Eastbourne And Die Earlier In Liverpool?

WHY do people live so long in Eastbourne? This is interesting:
Eastbourne has become the first place in the country to boast a population with an average age of more than … (read more)

Posted: 22nd, October 2013 | In: Money | Comment

Should Apple Throw $150 Billion at Shareholders or Not?

ONE investor in Apple, Carl Icahn, has demanded that Apple should throw $150 billion of the company’s money at shareholders. It seems like a reasonable enough idea, given that the … (read more)

Posted: 22nd, October 2013 | In: Money, Technology | Comment

We Know You’re Reading This At Work You Know: Google’s Online News Explainer

ONE of the things that’s become increasingly apparent in the development of this ‘ere internet thing over the last couple of decades is that everyone’s reading it at work. We … (read more)

Posted: 21st, October 2013 | In: Money, Reviews, Technology | Comment

Nuclear Nutjobs In Hinkley Point, Somerset: But Jobs Are A Cost Of Doing Something

IT’S a strange thing to be boasting about goings on in Hinkley Point, Somerset.
David Cameron has hailed as “brilliant news” the £16bn of new investment and 25,000 jobs he says will come … (read more)

Posted: 21st, October 2013 | In: Money | Comment

But Boots Isn’t Avoiding Any Tax So What Are They Blathering About?

IT appears that the next part of the increasingly creaky tax campaign is to go after Boots:
 Alliance Boots, which became Britain’s biggest private equity buyout in 2007, could have received … (read more)

Posted: 18th, October 2013 | In: Money | Comment

The Ever Growing Foodbank Crisis

IT’S certainly true that we’re seeing more people turning up at foodbanks hoping to get some free food. And yes, we do indeed agree that most people would be somewhat … (read more)

Posted: 16th, October 2013 | In: Money, The Consumer | Comment

The Daily Mail defines Apple’s massive iPhone 5c failure for us

OR rather, the Mail might want to try and find a different measure of failure. For Apple has, as we all know, released two new iPhones, the iPhone 5c and … (read more)

Posted: 15th, October 2013 | In: Money, Technology, The Consumer | Comment

Markets versus bureaucrats in mobile phones roaming row: Simple Choice defeats the EU telecoms Tsar

WE’VE got a great little example here of how markets and bureaucrats work. Steely Neelie, the EU telecoms Tsar, is insisting that the mobile telephone companies will have to stop … (read more)

Posted: 15th, October 2013 | In: Money, Technology, The Consumer | Comment (1)

HTC’s creates tacky golden bling to celebrate black music at the MOBO awards

I’M really not sure that this is all that appropriate you know. Is overpriced golden blong really the way to celebrate the best of black and urban music at the … (read more)

Posted: 11th, October 2013 | In: Money, Music, Technology | Comment

Mobile phone spectrum fees rise: Costs to us won’t

THE mobile phone companies have got all hot under the collar about new fees they’ve got to pay for the spectrum they use to provide the service. So much so … (read more)

Posted: 11th, October 2013 | In: Money, Technology | Comment

Dear Margaret Hodge: Facebook just isn’t avoiding tax in the UK

DEAR Lord the egregious Margaret Hodge is getting boring on this subject. She seems to ignore the manner in which every time she opens her gob on the subject of … (read more)

Posted: 9th, October 2013 | In: Money, Technology, The Consumer | Comment

Now Silk Road has been taken down where will we all buy drugs?

YOU’LL have seen the news that Silk Road, the online drug bazar, has been taken down by the FBI. There’s a number of fun questions surrounding what actually happened.

For those … (read more)

Posted: 7th, October 2013 | In: Money, Technology, The Consumer | Comment

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