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April 6, 2020
Article by Keith Rankin A Plea for Political Commentary with a Semblance of Accuracy Once again it was very disappointing to hear a radio programme poo-pooing the idea of a Universal Basic Income by misrepresenting it. Refer: (The Panel, National Radio, 6 April 2020) https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/2018741718/a-universal-basic-income-to-all-its-citizens And my previous attempt (Keith Rankin on Universal Basic Income ... <a title="Keith Rankin – Universal Basic Income (or Basic Universal Income) and Covid‑19" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/04/06/keith-rankin-universal-basic-income-or-basic-universal-income-and-covid-19/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin – Universal Basic Income (or Basic Universal Income) and Covid‑19">Read more</a>
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April 6, 2020
Analysis by Keith Rankin Looking at known cases of Covid19, as for Friday 3 April, we still see the dominance of the jetsetter enclaves – including the tax shelters of Europe. We also see the Norse ‘viking’ cluster of Norway, Iceland and the Faeroe Islands. And west‑central Europe in general. New Zealand’s incidence, shown for ... <a title="Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid19: Known, Serious and Fatal Cases" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/04/06/keith-rankin-chart-analysis-covid19-known-serious-and-fatal-cases/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid19: Known, Serious and Fatal Cases">Read more</a>
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April 3, 2020
Analysis by Keith Rankin Of the larger European countries, Italy is now in third place for known cases per person in the population. Spain has overtaken Switzerland for the dubious honour of top spot. Netherlands and France look like they will eventually converge with the top three; there is no obvious reason why they should ... <a title="Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid-19: Five European Countries Compared" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/04/03/keith-rankin-chart-analysis-covid-19-five-european-countries-compared/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid-19: Five European Countries Compared">Read more</a>
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April 2, 2020
Analysis by Keith Rankin What is Money? Money is a mystery. To most of us we receive it, we spend it, we save it, we borrow it. And if we don’t have enough, we are in trouble. Many of us think of money as if it is tangible, like gold; something that is naturally scarce, ... <a title="Keith Rankin Analysis – Money, Public Debt and the Covid-19 Emergency" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/04/02/keith-rankin-analysis-money-public-debt-and-the-covid-19-emergency/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Analysis – Money, Public Debt and the Covid-19 Emergency">Read more</a>
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April 1, 2020
Analysis by Keith Rankin I was concerned to read last night that Greta Thunberg and her father almost certainly have Covid19; however, because of very restrictive testing criteria used in Sweden, they have not been tested. And I heard yesterday, on a Radio New Zealand news bulletin, a story about how there are virtually no ... <a title="Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Exponential Growth in Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/04/01/keith-rankin-chart-analysis-exponential-growth-in-italy-sweden-and-the-united-kingdom/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Exponential Growth in Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom">Read more</a>
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March 31, 2020
Analysis by Keith Rankin While, United States’ local data on Covid19 is more readily available than for other countries, the American ‘county’ system of local governance is way out of date and often does not well represent urban conglomerations. Doing my best from the available data, I constructed the following chart yesterday evening, and will ... <a title="Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid19: United States’ Deaths as at 29 March 2020" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/03/31/keith-rankin-chart-analysis-covid19-united-states-deaths-as-at-29-march-2020/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid19: United States’ Deaths as at 29 March 2020">Read more</a>
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March 30, 2020
Analysis by Keith Rankin To get a correct picture, we need regional data – indeed sub-regional statistics – because the virus does not respect political boundaries. Unfortunately, it is very hard to get regional data from European countries. The Johns Hopkins data – most widely used by the media (and used in this chart) – ... <a title="Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid19: Deaths as at 29 March 2020" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/03/30/keith-rankin-chart-analysis-covid19-deaths-as-at-29-march-2020/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid19: Deaths as at 29 March 2020">Read more</a>
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March 27, 2020
Analysis by Keith Rankin Australian cases have been on an exponent growth path since late February, with no remission yet in sight. The good news is that infection rates remain well below western European levels. The bad news is that death rates – hitherto very low – are accelerating. Indeed Victoria, running with a similar ... <a title="Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid-19 Virus: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the World" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/03/27/keith-rankin-chart-analysis-covid-19-virus-australia-canada-new-zealand-the-world/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid-19 Virus: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the World">Read more</a>
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March 27, 2020
Keith Rankin on Malthusian checks The 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic has all the visible hallmarks of a Malthusian pestilence, a necessary positive check visited upon an over‑abundant humanity. Indeed, that is a likely future interpretation of this event. It’s an important perspective which should be treated with both understanding and caution. I heard two academic examples ... <a title="Keith Rankin Essay: Coronavirus – a Malthusian Event?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/03/27/keith-rankin-essay-coronavirus-a-malthusian-event/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Essay: Coronavirus – a Malthusian Event?">Read more</a>
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March 26, 2020
Analysis by Keith Rankin In today’s first chart, which excludes countries with a single death, only Iran features as a country outside of Western Europe. In Europe, worst hit is the ‘Latin’ group in the southwest. I include Switzerland here, which has large Italian‑speaking and French‑speaking components. Next are the Benelux countries – Netherlands, Belgium ... <a title="Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid-19 Virus: Countries with Highest Death Rates" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/03/26/keith-rankin-chart-analysis-covid-19-virus-countries-with-highest-death-rates/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid-19 Virus: Countries with Highest Death Rates">Read more</a>
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March 25, 2020
By Keith Rankin I keep hearing rather unfortunate ‘expert’ comments in response to questions asked about Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a way of responding to the Covid‑19 economic contraction. These comments all relate to a ‘straw man’ concept of UBI that is obviously unaffordable and impractical. It is not possible to offer any kind ... <a title="Economics: Keith Rankin on Universal Basic Income and Covid‑19" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/03/25/economics-keith-rankin-on-universal-basic-income-and-covid%e2%80%9119/" aria-label="Read more about Economics: Keith Rankin on Universal Basic Income and Covid‑19">Read more</a>
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March 25, 2020
Analysis by Keith Rankin In today’s first chart, of daily new cases in Italy and Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark), we see that, at its peak in days 20 and 21 (March 10 and 11), the incidence of known new cases in Scandinavia matched that in Italy. The difference is that new cases stabilised immediately afterwards ... <a title="Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – COVID-19: Exponential Growth in Italy and Scandinavia" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/03/25/keith-rankin-chart-analysis-covid-19-exponential-growth-in-italy-and-scandinavia/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – COVID-19: Exponential Growth in Italy and Scandinavia">Read more</a>