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The end of US democracy – John Quiggin
I’ve held off posting this in the hope of coming up with some kind of positive response, but I haven’t got one. When I wrote back in November 2024 that Trump’s dictatorship was a fait accompi there was still plenty of room for people to disagree. But (with the exception of an announced state of emergency) it’s turned…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Are pronatalists living on the same planet? – John Quiggin
Pro-natalism (the idea that people, or rather, women, should have more babies than they choose to do at present) has become an established orthodoxy,[1]. The central claim is that, unless something changes soon, human populations both global and national, are going to decline rapidly, with a lot of negative consequences. This is simply not true,…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Brissie to the Bay report – John Quiggin
Hi everyone My Brissie to the Bay cycle for MS Queensland, a huge success. Donations totalled $2595, which gave me the title of “Neuro Legend”. Thanks again to all the readers and friends who keep me going on events like this. I’ll never be competitive as a triathlete, but I’m still on top of my game…
Let’s become Neuro Legends – John Quiggin
Hi everyone I'm riding 130km on Sunday to raise money for the Brissie to the Bay cycle for MS Queensland, my longest running fundraising event. I reached my target of $2000, with a couple of days to spare. So of course, I’ve set my sights higher. The top level in the fundraising hierarchy is “Neuro…
US–Australia alliance wanes under Washington’s whims – John Quiggin
My latest in The East Asia Forum The May 2025 federal election campaign was characterised by a studious avoidance of the main issues facing Australia, most notably the country’s future relationships with the United States and China. Canberra should confront the quandaries redefining the US relationship, initiated by President Donald Trump’s second term. Washington’s radical…
Childcare is just the latest failure of Australia’s privatisation push. It’s time for an ideology overhaul – John Quiggin
My latest in The Guardian series of ABC 7.30 reports tells a familiar story of failure in human services. Inadequate staffing, dangerous incidents brushed under the carpet, ineffective regulation and, at the back of it all, for-profit businesses, either ASX-listed or financed by private equity. This time it’s childcare but the same problems have emerged in vocational education, aged care, prisons,…
David Littleproud cites nuclear energy disagreement as major factor in Coalition split – John Quiggin
Nationals’ leader David Littleproud has singled out nuclear energy as a key reason for his party’s spectacular split from the Liberals, as both parties seek to rebuild following the Coalition’s devastating election loss. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Littleproud said: our party room has got to a position where we will not be re-entering a Coalition agreement…
Monday Message Board (on Wednesday) – John Quiggin
Sorry about the delay on this one, and absence of recent posts. I've been in a bit of a rush, getting ready for travel. Will hopefully return to normal service soon. Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits,…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Not so deep thoughts about Deep AI – John Quiggin
Back in 2022, after my first encounter with ChatGPT, I suggested that it was likely to wipe out large categories of “bullshit jobs”, but unlikely to create mass unemployment. In retrospect, that was probably an overestimate of the likely impact. But three years later, it seems as if an update might be appropriate. Source: Wikipedia In…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Let’s fix Easter: Why let the moon choose our holidays for us ? – John Quiggin
Having finished off the Easter eggs (or bunnies/bilbies) and Hot Cross Buns (though these are a year-round thing now), I ought to be turning attention back to what’s happening in the world. But that’s too depressing to look at, a view our aspiring leaders have endorsed by resolutely ignoring anything more geopolitical than the price…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
The point of no return – John Quiggin
Back in November, when I concluded that Trump’s dictatorship was a fait accompli lots of readers thought I was going over the top. In retrospect, and with one exception, I was hopelessly over-optimistic. I imagined a trajectory similar to Orban’s Hungary, with a gradual squeeze on political opposition and civil society, playing out over years…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Some good news on the climate transition – John Quiggin
Thanks to James Wimberley for prompting me to write this, and alerting me to the data on China's emissions Most of the news these days is bad, and that’s true of the climate. Even as climatic disasters worsen, the Trump regime is doing its best to dismantle US and global efforts to decarbonize our energy…
Breaking with the US will be painful for Australia in many ways – but it’s inevitable – John Quiggin
My latest in The Guardian Donald Trump’s announcement of a “Liberation Day”, involving the imposition of tariffs on almost every country in the world, is one of a series of measures which call for an urgent reorientation of Australia’s economic and foreign policy. It is, in effect, a commitment to remove the United States from…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
The Australian economy has changed dramatically since 2000: The way we work now is radically different – John Quiggin
My latest piece in The Conversation is one of six looking at changes in various aspects of Australian life since the turn of the century. Most of it is a recounting of the history, but I have a few things to say at the end about the information economy The most striking feature of the…
Dispensing with US universities: ready or not – John Quiggin
It’s been evident since Trump’s inauguration that the US, as we knew it, is over. I’ve been looking at some of the US-centred organisations and economic dependencies that will need to be rebuilt. But I hadn’t given much thought to the university sector, where I work, until I got an urgent email asking everyone at…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Dispensing with the tech-bros – John Quiggin
As I type this, Trump is threatening tariffs on anyone who challenges the interests of America’s technology oligarchs, all of whom are now paying obeisance at this court. Technology is the US biggest weapon against the free world of which it was formerly part, and the right place to fight back. But what can be done? I’ll…
Dispensing with the US-centric financial system – John Quiggin
Quick quiz. Suppose you read a headline in the online version of the Wall Street Journal (or NY Times etc) stating that, from now on, US Treasury bonds would be redeemed in crypto. Would your response be (i) That’s absurd. Either it’s April Fools Day or someone has hacked the website (ii) That’s unlikely. Surely…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
How to dispense with Trump’s US – John Quiggin
This is a follow-up to my previous post on the end of US democracy and its implications. Here I will discuss how what’s left of the democratic world can respond. Surprisingly in many ways, the military part of dispensing with the US is the easiest bit, in each of its major areas of operation: Europe,…
Trump has thrown out the global economic playbook. It’s time for Australia to write its own rules – John Quiggin
My latest from The Guardian =With the resumption of parliament this week, and an election only months away, we have seen even more of the usual point-scoring about the cost of living, tax breaks for long lunches and budget deficits. But since the return of Donald Trump to the White House, the assumptions on which Australian economic policy…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…
The dispensable nation – John Quiggin
“The cemeteries are full of indispensable people.” In one form or another, this observation has been made many times over the last century or more. What is true of people is true of nations. In the past 25 years or so it was often claimed (and , admittedly, often denied) that, in the modern world,…
Australia (Act) Day (annual repost) – John Quiggin
As usual, 26 January has been marked by protests, denunciations of those protests, and further iterations. Even apart from the fact that it marks an invasion, the foundation of a colony that later became one of Australia's states isn't much of a basis for a national day. A logical choice would be the day our…
Monday Message Board – John Quiggin
Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I'm now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I'll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow…