Joe Hansen’s Post

'Economists may be justified in treating a hypothetical perfect market as a default to assess the welfare effects of policy action. And political scientists may reasonably treat it as a benchmark to assess how real- world policy diverges from that position, and then to explain how politics explains the divergence. Yet if political scientists view government regulation primarily as a barrier to trade and an impediment to competition— and not as a foundation for markets— they too risk introducing a bias into their analysis.' Source: Marketcraft: how governments make markets work @Steven k. vogel #Economics #Development #Books

Societalogically speaking, one of our main problems, is that we don't control the power we give to one person. The only solution to this problem is to spread the power around and to achieve this, we need to change our electoral process. To be more precise, we need to develop a new electoral process that would let us elect directly not only our local representative and our president or prime minister, but also our minister of health, finance, education, environment, etc.

As the election results come in, it's essential to remember that our focus should go beyond which party won. As citizens, we must address critical issues such as employment rates, sanitation facilities, the education system, and inflation. These are the topics that truly impact our daily lives and the future of our nation. Unfortunately, political discussions often lead to heated arguments and divisions among friends and family. It’s important to keep in mind that politicians frequently change parties without much consideration. Why should we let politics divide us? Instead of arguing over party lines, let's engage in meaningful conversations about: Employment: How can we create more jobs and support economic growth? Sanitation: What steps can we take to improve public health and sanitation facilities? Education: How can we ensure access to quality education for every child? Inflation: What measures can we implement to control inflation and make life more affordable? By focusing on these crucial issues, we can drive real change and development. Do the right discussion. Advocate for your rights. Discuss the development of our nation. #Election2024 #NationBuilding #Employment #Sanitation #Education #Inflation #ProgressOverPolitics

There's been a lot of commentary this week on "targets vs. outcomes". I have spent a decade working across dozens of government agencies in developing outcomes frameworks, tracking results, and highlighting the necessary changes to get initiatives back on track. There is significant underlying complexity in moving from 'current state' to 'desired outcome', and this is more often than not clouded by (party) politics. But without sufficient underpinning investment (highlighted by recent news of the Queensland Government targeting their recruitment of NZ police officers), neither the explicit "targets" nor wider social outcomes can be realised. https://lnkd.in/gpDH2t57. https://lnkd.in/gWvm-qXD.

Breaking News: The government has exceeded the budget by $2 trillion on education, a pattern observed across four presidencies! Stay updated for detailed insights - Subscribe to us for the latest updates and be the first to learn when the post is released! 🔥 Hit subscribe, never miss a show!👉https://lnkd.in/gP2K9Cqw #EducationFunding #GovernmentOverspending #GovernmentWaste #EducationCrisis #BudgetBlunders #PolicyFail #FiscalResponsibility #PresidentialSpending #SubscribeNow #EduNews #EducationMatters #LearningForAll #FutureLeaders #KnowledgeIsPower #EducationForAll #EducationalEquity #Election2024 #VotingMatters #YourVoteCounts #DemocracyInAction #GetOutTheVote #ElectionDay #PoliticalEngagement #GovernmentWatch #GovernanceMatters #PublicService #PolicyMaking #GovernmentAccountability #LeadershipMatters Sugata Mitra Sal Khan Linda Darling-Hammond Sir Ken Robinson Angela Duckworth Esther Wojcicki Pasi Sahlberg Vicki Davis George Chen David Sheppard Meghan Whittaker Calvin J Mitchell Jr CFCM Shital C. Shah Katy Neas Amanda Fuchs Miller Leticia Ruiz Cindy Marten

This post of my politics blog ‘Political Bytes’ discusses the public service staffing cuts being pushed by the new government in the context of the relationship between function and form along with process improvement. https://lnkd.in/g8_kNpPi

The Balancing Act: How Government Regulation Shapes Economic Outcomes Government regulation is more than just a set of rules—it's a powerful force that shapes economic outcomes. In my latest article, I explore how regulations can foster competition, protect public welfare, and stabilize financial markets, while also considering the challenges they pose for businesses. Join the discussion on finding the right balance between effective regulation and economic freedom to promote sustainable growth and innovation! #GovernmentRegulation #EconomicOutcomes #PublicWelfare #Competition #FinancialStability #BusinessChallenges #Innovation #SustainableGrowth #PolicyMaking #EconomicDevelopment

Not having a clear public sector reform model will sound like a boring technocratic detail to most people. However, it’s the equivalent of not having building instructions for a Lego set. It might allow for more pragmatism and even creativity but there is no consistency in outcomes and approach. That in turn makes it very hard for the civil service to develop policy. It also makes it harder for ministers to have a consistent policy narrative (how is what we are doing in education consistent with our health plan). Blair/Brown/Camaron/Clegg governments all had a set of guiding principles which served as guardrails for policy makers and industry. They differed in ideology and sophistication but there was something to engage with. Since then, public service reform models have been abandoned and so has capacity and capability in Whitehall. Missions without a clear change model will not succeed. There have been attempts over the past 18 months to do this work but they have not been successful. The electorate deserves more clarity on what this government stands for (what’s the picture on the Lego set). https://lnkd.in/epz3pYYK from The Economist

Australia declares itself not a serious country. The U16 media ban bill got 24 hours to make a submission and I think they would have gotten way more than 10,000. It's absurd. Worse is getting 3 hours of review on Monday. Look they cannot get the MAD Mis and Disnofration but get it in another way the U16 Ban bill. .The whole MAD bill was not in major papers and TV for weeks, and of course, nothing like the VOICE referendum The LNP is against the MAD bill but pro-U16 ban, so we have uni-party. In the next election do we have to the oblivion Labor, greens and a lot of the LNP and get the people who really can in and hold the balance of power minimum? It is time for Australians to wake up politically. e need people to repeal the digital ID, U16 and more. All who wanted this do you think they need to be voted out? Watch the election when it is scheduled will have the 33-day minimum. Plus we have the Jan/Feb holiday when they hope we ignore all and then Wham hit us with an election. Time for everyone to start planning and get ready to get us some real government for once. Time to get all the information we can whilst we still can. https://lnkd.in/gg2VEUZU Aligned council of Australia over 39 groups, 1.7 million Australians.

As the UK General Election approaches I’m really struck by these words of Stewart Ranson, quoted in Fiedling & Moss (2011): “[Neoliberalism's restructuring of governance is] a political theory of performativity asserting that an effective public sphere will be one that makes public services answerable to the pressure of competition and the incentive of relative advantage of the marketplace... What this is eroding is any conception of the public good as collective good determined through democratic participation, contestation, and judgement in the public sphere. It seeks to replace politics (substantive rationality) with contract (technically rational solutions).” This concept has been on my mind for a number of years now. What is the nature of the social contract between public services and individual citizens? How can we balance the ‘statutory obligations’ of the state with individual responsibility? My experience of working and volunteering in the public sector for over 15 years is that people tend to consider themselves ‘consumers’ of public services rather than participants in a democratic social construct that works for the greater good, whereas I think very often the latter is how public sector workers view themselves, which brings about a tension (one that I have particularly observed between parents and teachers over the years). So the big question is… can we usher in a new age of politics in which consumerism is replaced by democratic participation? And if so how?