How Swiss politics works

Why Does Essential Work Pay So Little… And Cost So Much?

Ruminations on the nature of work and employment

HIGHER ED SEEMS TO BE A REAL SNAKEPIT OF CHINESE COLLUSION:  Former WVU prof admits to wire and tax fraud following official travel to China.

Jim Chanos: ‘We are in the golden age of fraud’ FT

Lunch with the FT

Jim Chanos: ‘We are in the golden age of fraud’

The short-seller on being a bear in a bull market, betting against Tesla and why he thinks ‘trouble’s coming’

CRIMINAL lawyers can tell you their fair share of horror stories, from attempted kidnappings to stand over tactics and a couple of bikie threats in between.

But civil litigation has turned out to be just as risky for one eastern suburbs solicitor.

David Deutsch, who represented Labor MP Eddie Obeid when the government chased him for $5 million in legal costs, was the victim of an alleged home invasion in front of his children last week. Mr Deutsch, who is a principal of Deutsch Partners in the CBD, opened the front door of his Queens Park home on Tuesday night and found two men staring back at him. According to police, the men assaulted and threatened the 43-yearold with a firearm before demanding money.

Police will allege one of the men was 29-year-old Oscar Mairs. Mr Deutsch was involved in a legal matter against Mairs last October and Mairs was ordered to pay $40,000 for money lost in a business venture. Someone else inside the Deutsch household called triple-0 while the alleged standover was unfolding. Police officers turned up to the Rawson Ave home, allegedly causing Mairs and another man to get out of there quick-smart.

The Snitch: Eddie Obeid's lawyer victim of alleged home ...

HOT OFF THE PRESS!  On Tuesday, I testified (by phone) before the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice.  My advice to them was essentially, “don’t do anything crazy during this Summer of Irrationality.”

More on Deaths of Despair: New Study Links Early Job Loss to Higher Rates of Overdose Deaths and Suicides

Another look at deaths of despair confirms the danger of job loss and even too-early retirement.

I HAD BEEN ASSURED THIS KIND OF THING NEVER HAPPENS: Ozzie Myers, Corrupt Former ‘Abscam’ Congressman, Busted for Vote Fraud.

100 most influential economists?  Good to see EV winner Jennifer Doleac make the list

The Economist is now on the “bat brigade,” recommended, good to see other people following up on these leads (you read it here first)

AFP arrests uncover a most helpful director - Insolvency News ...

The AFP arrests this week in respect of yet another Plutus Payroll-style tax evasion scheme prompted iNO to consider, not for the first time, what aspects if any of these recurring scams are facilitated by complicit insolvency practitioners, a negligent regulator or a combination of both.

Looking at the names of those arrested, it wasn’t long before our investigations led us instead to a particular suburban accountant who seems to have done a lot of work for those arrested, and who knows a guy who’s not afraid of taking on multiple directorships.

How Swiss politics works

And now it’s becoming clear why almost all popular initiatives are rejected. If the initiative had a obvious chance of being approved, the parliament would introduce the necessary legislation on its own. From this point of view the small number of successful initiatives is not a sign of a system malfunction, but rather a proof that the system is functioning the way it is expected to.

And:

Another safety measure is that Swiss referenda are, in their essence, not polarizing. In referendum you are never asked to decide between two extremes, between, say, pro-life and pro-choice, but rather between the initiative proposal and the status quo. Voting against is always a safe and neutral option. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you are not sympathetic to the spirit of the initiative. You may just think it’s going too far, or maybe you like some aspects of it but don’t like some other.

Here is more from Martin Sustrik, via The Browser (always excellent).  I’ll say it again: there should be far more books and articles asking the basic question of why Switzerland seems to work so well — Progress Studies!

How Many U.S. Presidents Owned Enslaved People? History

Archaeologists said the location, in the Arnoma neighborhood of Jerusalem, gives a glimpse into tax collection during the period.

2,700-Year-Old Tax Collection Center Unearthed in Jerusalem

 

The Israel Antiquities Authority anounced July 22 that its archeologists are excavating a large tax collection and storage complex near the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem that is believed to be 2,700 years old.

 

The Israel Antiquities Authority said Wednesday scientists have uncovered a large 2,700-year-old storage center in Jerusalem, near the new U.S. Embassy.

The authority said in a statement the find dates back to the eras of King Hezekiah and King Menashe and operated during the Judean monarchs rule from the 8th century to the middle of the 7th century B.C.

Officials said the excavation, funded by the Israel Land Authority and administrated by the Moriah Jerusalem Development Corporation, found one of the largest and most important collections of seal impressions in Israel.

Archaeologists said the location, in the Arnoma neighborhood of Jerusalem, gives a glimpse into tax collection during the period.