Author: thomasthethinkengine

Thomas the Think Engine is the blog of a trained economist. It comes to you from Melbourne Australia.

Yule know when it’s taper time.

In the United States, cause for celebration. Their budget is now guaranteed. Continue reading Yule know when it’s taper time.

Australia: Rich and in denial

Australia, you are rolling in it. You’re loaded. Flush. But you don’t seem to realise. Continue reading Australia: Rich and in denial

How to turn holidays into cash

If I was going to make an investment or start a business in this economy, there’s only one industry I’d be looking at. Continue reading How to turn holidays into cash

LA face, Oakland booty: The case against stamp duty

Round here, the houses are distended at the rear. Continue reading LA face, Oakland booty: The case against stamp duty

DETROITELAIDE?

Australia’s car industry is leaving the party. Ford has said its goodbyes, Holden hasn’t announced it as such but it has put on its jacket and is looking for its keys. Continue reading DETROITELAIDE?

One way to save the news.

I worked for the last three and a half years for a newspaper called the Financial Review. Cover price is $3.30 and a full price online subscription costs $A680. That’s high. Continue reading One way to save the news.

Launching a drone attack on the most boring concept in economics.

Overnight, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos has released a plan that has the whole world talking. The online shopping company plans to deliver goods by drone. Continue reading Launching a drone attack on the most boring concept in economics.

What have I been up to?

What follows is a snapshot of my work over the last three years at the nation’s best finance paper:

All these stories are out from behind the famously high AFR paywall, so click freely!

Antimetabole – a language trap

Treasury Island – Nauru (6000 words – not only my longest but my best story ever)

How being wrong perpetuates itself

Game Theory and the labor leadership

Five reasons for an economic rationalist to vote Green

How the romance of trains trumps the practicality of buses, and why that’s bad

Skiing Salt Lake City

The 96 tram is an economic powerhouse

Leak highlights losses for Pie Face

How New Zealand is beating us to the next wool bonanza (magazine feature)

Learning second languages in school is a waste of effort and practically impossible anyway

Journalists in Australia retain copyright to their work, but it only applies to replication in books. When that clause was written, I bet there was no other way to reproduce a newspaper story. Now in the internet age, the newspaper’s power is much higher.  Sadly, hat means I can’t post any work from the paper directly to the blog.

Why bitcoin bites

Bitcoin‘s incredible surge past $US1000 ($US1097 at time of writing) has markets agog.  The peer-to-peer crypto-currency is hotter than summer right now. Continue reading Why bitcoin bites

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST BY REGRET

[A version of this post also appeared over at the Warner Music blog, Cool Accidents]

I’m having a beer with a priest in Texas. This is South by Southwest, undeniably the world’s biggest and probably its best music festival. Continue reading SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST BY REGRET

What happened to this blog?

Its authors have put it in abeyance.

One of us got a media job that meant maintaining this was a) frowned upon b) hard to keep up anyway.

Thanks to all our readers, regular and transient, and you never know when this blog will be back!

TTTE

Thoughts from the election

1. Is the biggest story of the election the end of the National party…? If the Labor party is governing for the regions, what’s the niche for the Nationals? Continue reading Thoughts from the election

Will the independents fall out of love?

You remember Independence Day? A crappy movie that is much referenced but rarely watched, which stars Will Smith and alien spaceships. Continue reading Will the independents fall out of love?

Post electoral uncertainty and the role of naivety

Rob Oakeshott’s plan for a mix and match government is far more clever than people give him credit for. Continue reading Post electoral uncertainty and the role of naivety

And that’s when I realised that almost everything makes no sense.

I’ve made mistakes in life.  Many have been the result of too little coffee, too much alcohol or not wearing clean underpants.  But some have been mistakes of logic.  I want to stop making the logical mistakes at least, so I’ve been thinking.  Here’s where I got up to: Continue reading And that’s when I realised that almost everything makes no sense.

Is Dick Smith being ironic?

Counter culture radical, Dick Smith, the man whose face adorns a chain of consumer electronics stores across Australia, as well as untold millions of jars full of processed peanut fat, has launched a campaign to cut consumption. Continue reading Is Dick Smith being ironic?

ALP in danger

What we thought we knew has been confirmed. The ALP is controlled by factions. The faction with the most power seems to be the NSW right. They turned over the leader as soon as his popularity started to dip. So far so good. Continue reading ALP in danger