Posts by David Haywood
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if 0.8% of the population wish to be represented by a crazy, then fair do's to 'em.
Started to respond to this -- but George makes my point (and with far more brevity).
It's worth noting that you always have a threshold in a representative democracy that's dictated by the number of seats available in parliament. The only way around this is to give everyone a seat in parliament. Cue singing: "We're all a minoriteeeee!"
Setting the threshold is a balancing act. You've got to attempt to prevent the minority unduly influencing the majority (as in George's Israel example); while at the same time preventing the majority from voting away the rights of minorities.
And incidentally, to cue the singing again: "That's why I'm also in favour of Bills of Riiiiiiiights...."
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I've spent way too much time looking at different electoral systems -- and one of my conclusions is that I'm a big fan of the Baden-Württemberg approach. Combines the proportionality of MMP with a simple means for the voters to write the party list. Counting isn't a problem: we have computers; we can do such things now.
You could also have each voter specify the party list -- but that becomes way complicated for the voter (and has other drawbacks). By the way, Einstein was from Baden-Württemberg, so, you know, they're brainy people -- ahem... with a few major lapses.
I'll match Stephen's opinion that we should keep the five percent threshold, and raise him the idea that we should get rid of the exception for parties that win a seat. The threshold keeps out extremists, and fuck me I'm so completely in favour of that.
Profs Palmer & Palmer agree with me, by the way (except that they don't say 'fuck me' in the middle of stating their point).
EDIT: Oops, sorry Stephen. Re-reading I see that you're saying exactly the same thing...
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For truly great poetry, there is always a line (or lines) that lift it from the merely pretty to the sublime; that transform the voice of man into the voice of an angel.
In Challinor's emotion-wrenching tribute to 1980s merchant bankers, I think it was undeniably the words: "And my scrotum gets tight".
Actually, I was accusing you of awesomeness. Philip knows how I feel.
Oops, sorry for the misunderstanding, Giovanni. Now I feel as if I've been a bit of a ... er... curmudgeon.
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Philip Challinor wrote:
... not necessarily offensive unless I can get him to pay my costs in a libel action.
Of course, possibly a more sensible alternative is for us both to chip in and hire someone to beat him up (I know people in Upper Hutt).
According to his data, Tiso resides in Wellington. It's a small town, so our beat-up guys will probably have no trouble finding him.
With his Italian origins, he can probably be spotted as the best-dressed person in the city. Alternatively, he may be wearing a large moustache and driving an ice-cream van.
Best if we instruct them to beat up both types.
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I believe being able to distinguish between the numbers four and six may be a prerequisite for an economics career.
Oh ho, I think now we begin to get the true story behind Russell's departure from The Listener...
Pam: "You know full well that home-time isn't until VI o'clock, Russell. But I've distinctly noticed that when the little hand points to IV, you just get up and leave. You know our policy: we don't care what you rite [sic], just as long as you put in the hours!"
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Jolisa wrote:
Soon to be published, under the title 'Rising Bollards'.
We'll be issuing a special edition with that title for our British readers.
giovanni tiso wrote:
David, meet Philip... I think the two of you might have been separated at birth.
I do believe you're accusing me of curmudgeonliness, Dr Tiso. I'll have you know that I am a sensitive and poetical individual. Cut open my head, and you'll find it stuffed full of tygers burning bright and summer's leases hathing all too short a date.
I am seriously displeased with your comment, and may have to register a company under your name in Belize in order to teach you a harsh lesson. Yes, that's right, Dr Tiso, don't fuck with me: I'll go to the mattresses* if I have to...
(*Just a little Siege of Florence joke there)
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I added the word "fretful" to my quantitative easing poem
I note, however, that you've inadvertently spelt it correctly -- thus missing the opportunity to demonstrate your deliberately ironic juxtaposition with "sleepers", and your solidarity with the common man.
Perhaps you could humorously insert an apostrophe to make "sleeper's" (this has the added advantage of introducing a note of mystery into your composition).
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I was mildly disappointed you didn't manage to work in a reference to quantitative easing
I beg your pardon, Chris? Poem II was entirely about quantitative easing.
I'm afraid that I don't see an academic position in an English department coming your way any time soon...
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Yes VI, as Sacha says... but with respect to the last line of poem IV, I suggest that (even there) you have not fully appreciated the brilliance of the poetry.
The line was clearly a conscious act of hitching to the "cultural nationalism train", and the clever irony is revealed by the deliberate mis-spelling. The poet is saying: "Hey, I'm an economist, but I'm also just a man. And, like you, I can't spell".
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Way too good to be Bollard's work, that's for sure.
Oh, you doubter, Sacha...
P.S. Russell: I do like the updated version of your poem. The dumb/numb thing works rather well. Have you thought of moving sideways into economics?