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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN THIS BULLETIN... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- EVENTS: Skeptical Environmentalist lecture, and items in our diary THE WEEK IN WEBLOG: Thinking topics on www.adamsmithblog.org STEALTH TAX WATCH: Can you keep up with stealth tax boom? VILLAGE VICE: Crimes, follies, and misfortunes from Westminster BUT FIRST... Let me wish you a Happy New Year. Last year, the country stood on the edge of a precipice. I think you'll agree that over the last 12 months we have taken a big step forward. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- EVENTS: Full list on http://www.adamsmith.org/policy/news/forward.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are just some of the items in our 2004 first-quarter diary: Skeptical Environmentalist lectures at ASI ------------------------------------------ In his book 'The Skeptical Environmentalist', Bjorn Lomborg challenges the idea that the global environment is progressively getting worse. Using stats from internationally recognized research institutes, he goes through the issues and shows that the global environment has actually improved, supporting his findings with 2900 factual footnotes. And on 26 February he's coming to London to deliver an important Adam Smith Lecture on environmental policy. Contact steve@adamsmith.org for invites. Power Lunches ------------- WILLIAM SARGENT, Small Business Council chair & IT entrepreneur, 20 Jan HAMISH MCRAE, Indy guru, 22 Jan RICHARD BOWKER, Strategic Rail boss (or not, says Tom Winsor), 28 Jan SIR ROY MCNULTY, CAA boss (definitely, and doing another 4 years), 5 Feb THERESA VILLIERS, MEP critical of the Euro Constitution and more), 13 Feb JEFF RANDALL, charismatic BBC biz editor, 25 Feb Last year we had lots of (Labour) heads of parliamentary committees, but now the Tories have become more interesting, we've invited a few of them: ANDREW LANSLEY CBE MP, Health shadow, 11 March DAVID WILLETTS MP, he of two brains, 18 March DAMIAN GREEN MP, Transport shadow, 22 March Power Lunches are by invitation only: applications to attend may be considered by steve@adamsmith.org if endorsed by 1 head teacher, 2 consultant surgeons, and 3 JPs (and if he's in a good mood). Breakfast briefings ------------------- * PROF IAN FELLS, leading energy expert and critic, 24 February Contact asi@chrislambert.org for info/invites. Meanwhile, read Ian Fells's critique of government energy policy: http://www.adamsmith.org/cissues/industry-and-employment/home.htm * ROBERT WARDLE, SFO director, 26 February Contact asi@chrislambert.org for info/invites. Conferences ----------- * Air Travel and Environment, 1 March. Contact asiprojects@matthewyoung.co.uk * The Future of European Rail, Paris 1-2 March Speakers include UK regulator TOM WINSOR, Eurostar boss RICHARD BROWN, EC Rail chief JEAN-ARNOLD VINOIS, SNCF Veep GUILLAUME PEPY. Contact admin@confs.co.uk for information. * International Energy Summit, 5 March Speakers include DR KONOPYANIK, Dep Sec-Gen of Encharter, JOHN RITCH, Head of the World Nuclear Assn, JIMMY GLOTFELTY, Dir, US Office of Electricity. Contact ASI@chrislambert.org for info/invites. * The French Energy Market, Paris, 16-18 March Contact niki@adamsmithconferences.com for information. * Steel Summit, Moscow, 3-4 Feb Contact Evgenia@adamsmithconferences.com for info. Next Generation meetings ------------------------ The next meeting is 13 January, featuring mini-lecture star ALLISTER HEATH, economics editor of The Business. Subsequent meetings are 3 February 2 March, 6 April, 11 May, 8 June, and 6 July. Under-33s only. Contact events@adamsmith.org for invites. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE WEEK IN WEBLOG: Think and write on http://www.adamsmithblog.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit http://www.adamsmithblog.org for your regular dose of current thinking, observation and outrage. Among other current stuff, there's: * THE VOICE OF NANNY: Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell says you're free to Choose -- as long as you make the approved choice. * NO GOLD WATCHES: Why new EU age-discrimination laws could undermine all the benefits earned from long service. * CONGRATULATIONS, TIM: Why the web's inventor deserves his gong. Meanwhile, on http://www.adamsmith.org right now we're featuring: * our lecture with Bjorn Lomborg * our Power to the People report (on Whitehall's energy lack-of-policy) * a new paper on aviation and the environment * Beeb economist Evan Davis's recommended reading list * link site: the Library of Economics and Liberty (check it out!) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- STEALTH TAX WATCH --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Britain's stealth tax industry is booming. Our young intern, Mark Cornish, has discovered about 80 of them that have appeared since 1997, but the list continues to expand (watch out for an ASI report on this soon). This month's crop alone include the following gems: - Drivers are to be fined 80 pounds for forgetting to renew their car tax. - The Home Office plans a huge increase in the use of fines for offenders. - There are plans to give traffic wardens the power to impose on-the-spot fines for minor traffic offences. - The Inland Revenue has started sending out 60-pound fines to people filing late tax returns. - The Chancellor plans to freeze key elements of the working tax credit system, eroding the value of the credits over coming years... - ...and he has doubled (to 4 million) the numbers paying tax at 40% by failing to raise the tax bands to match average wage increases. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- VILLAGE VICE: More Westminster scandals from http://www.ePolitix.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bossiness --------- Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell wants to ban smoking in public places such As bars and restaurants. Isn't this a matter for owners, not ministers? London schools tsar Prof Tim Brighouse, is not content with HMG's instructions to universities to reject more people from private schools. When they do squeeze in, they should pay higher fees too, he says. Profligacy ---------- The cost of running the UK's devolved administrations will be around 650 million -- plus half as much again from Brussels. The Foreign Office ran up a 746,000-pound bill for paintings and sculptures while Robin Cook was foreign secretary. The CBI says Britain's jobs boom won't last because 2/3 of them are paid by the taxpayer. (Quite...we said that three months ago.) Over 100,000 civil servants are to vote on whether to take strike action over pay. How will we tell? The Times reports that the Export Credit Guarantees Department has run up bad debts of 9 billion quid, mostly unrecoverable. Failure ------- The National Commission on Education says that secondary schools are still failing nearly 40 per cent of their pupils. Which might explain why... ...the Home Secretary (and ex-Education Secretary) got one of the lowest-ever Mastermind scores on a Yuletide TV special. The government is sending business bosses to poor areas to see if capitalism can help them. (Answer: yes, if you got off its back.) Three-quarters of burglars released from jail commit other crimes within two years. Bit of a waste of money, then? Meanwhile... ...the Audit Commission says that one in four teenagers committed a crime in 2003, costing the economy an annual 10 billion pounds. Accountants Grant Thornton say Gordon Brown's flagship Enterprise Capital Funds, to raise risk capital for small companies...er, hasn't. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- AS ADAM HAD IT... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "By means of glasses, hotbeds, and hotwalls, very good grapes can be raised in Scotland, and very good wine too can be made of them at about thirty times the expense for which at least equally good can be brought from foreign countries. Would it be a reasonable law to prohibit the importation of all foreign wines, merely to encourage the making of claret and burgundy in Scotland?" -- Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations, Book IV, Chapter II ...Let's hope this reflection by the Sage of Kirkcaldy doesn't give the occupants of Scotland's ten-times-over-budget Parliament any ideas! e Dr Eamonn Butler, Director Adam Smith Institute, 23 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BL, UK E-mail butler@adamsmith.org - Visit us online at www.adamsmith.org Tel +44 (0)20 7222 4995 - Fax +44 (0)20 7222 7544 To unsubscribe, visit www.adamsmith.org/lists.htm
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