This is the personal blog of Dr Justin Pyvis. Everything I write here is free; it’s a space to muse on various topics that interest me. If you’re after something published with a bit more regularity be sure to check out my newsletter, The Context.
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For those curious about the name of this blog, the word “dismal” is used positively; it’s a badge of honour reflecting the economics profession’s objection to slavery, which led Thomas Carlyle (1849) to brand it “…a dreary, desolate and, indeed, quite abject and distressing one; what we might call, by way of eminence, the dismal science”.
When is a tax cut not really a tax cut?
When is a tax cut not really a tax cut? When it’s due to a bracket change: Greens leader Adam Bandt is preparing to fight the government over already-legislated tax cuts but has stopped short of threatening the passage of supply bills if Labor doesn’t dump them in its October budget. “The Greens will not support a Labor budget based on cuts that hurt everyday people while continuing the handouts to billionaires....
This seems like a bad idea
The NSW government looks set “to trial a $780m shared equity scheme”: “The scheme – one of the most significant elements of a $2.8bn housing package to be unveiled in the state budget on Tuesday – will enable Âbuyers to enter the market with a deposit of as little as 2 per cent. At the same time, the Âgovernment will contribute an equity share of up to 40 per cent of the property price for a new home, or 30 per cent for an existing one....
Introduction
Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Justin Pyvis and I’ve been blogging on and off since the early 2000s. I’m an economist by training but also somewhat of an “infovore”, so I tend to opine on a wide range of topics (I have a newsletter that curates thoughtful, well-reasoned articles each week – do check it out). Posts here will be sporadic; I have no fixed publishing schedule....