Posted in Economics, Politics & government on May 1st, 2013 No Comments »
I am curious at some of the projected fiscal deficit figures which have come out from the internet. A number of them are fanciful. One that I have read has the deficit under Pakatan Rakyat manifesto rising to close to 12% of nominal GDP while BN would be as low as 4%. The 4% figure [...]
Posted in Economics, Politics & government on April 8th, 2013 1 Comment »
I do consider the payment of income tax as a responsibility I must fulfill. As a member of society, I have some responsibilities toward its maintenance. The fact that I am a citizen makes that responsibility of paying taxes doubly important. That responsibility arises from my enjoyment of multiple public goods that exist through public [...]
Posted in Economics, Politics & government on March 16th, 2013 No Comments »
Let us take for granted the assertion that a government cannot default on its debt obligation if all of its debts are denominated in the local currency. For the more macroeconomic inclined, if a country controls both its fiscal and monetary policies, it can never default on its debts. Taking the axiomatic approach notwithstanding the [...]
Posted in Economics on March 13th, 2013 1 Comment »
There is a narrative going around in Malaysia that a government which has a majority of its debts denominated in a local currency can never default on its borrowings. For the purpose of clarity, it is the case where a national government has control over both its fiscal and monetary policy. I have trouble with [...]
Posted in Economics on October 1st, 2012 3 Comments »
After reading a number of commentaries in the market, in the Malaysian econosphere and various research houses’ research papers, I became curious of the accuracy if government projection with respect to its finance. I was also curious at how serious I should take the government’s plan to cut its expenditure. So, here is part of [...]
Posted in Economics on September 26th, 2012 1 Comment »
I have been doing some preparatory work for a report on the 2013 federal government budget. The budget will be tabled at the Parliament this Friday. In the course of doing so, I have come to wonder if the comparison of budget deficit (as typically understood) across governments of the world is really fair. Specifically, [...]
Posted in Economics, Personal, Politics & government on July 27th, 2012 2 Comments »
I handle my finances conservatively. I spend very little for someone my age and my profile. In fact, I impose a sort of limit on my spending. I am conscious of it and get mildly nervous if my total spending grows too fast even when I can more than afford it. I probably do buy [...]
Posted in Economics on July 25th, 2012 1 Comment »
Several new points were raised with regards to my post on duties and cars yesterday. One was pollution, two was government revenue and three, in one way or another, income effect. It is not exactly income effect but close enough. Concern number one is easy. But let us state the pollution concern. The concern is [...]
Posted in Economics on June 21st, 2012 No Comments »
This economic crisis is a challenge to advocates of small government, especially for those who establish their argument based on finance. Even those who ground their position on something more profound like libertarians are being challenged simply out of the practicality of the situation. The situation is that the cost of borrowing for several governments [...]
Posted in Economics on February 15th, 2012 No Comments »
The Malaysian GDP figures for the 4th quarter came out today, with the full year growth being slightly above 5%. Judging by the components of the GDP and their respective growth, I find the growth rate of 5% to be too convenient for the government, which projected the 2011 economy to grow between 5% and [...]
The name is Hafiz Noor Shams.
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