2017: The Year in Review

Q1: iPhone turns 10. Voters elect candidates wisely. Oxfam says income for bottom half hasn't grown for past three decades. Average performance for Mauritius. Countries use PISA to improve education system. Nation surprised to learn than history of Labour Party is larger than two Ramgoolams. Citizens evaluate ministers continuously. Metro Express not needed for now. Parliament goes live and direct. Sumputh resigns after PM finds package shocking.

Q2: Splitting the Sithanen toohrooh. Soornack explains how she made it. Le Pen gets closer to L'Elysee. Who is the fastest footballer? Two really dumb reasons we need party lists. Madhuri at fifty. MK said to fly understaffed planes. The Saint dead at 89. How you know you're not a big cat. Taxpayers handed multi-billion rupee bill. Top tax rates go up by 5%. Fighter jets have own sign language.

Q3: Meet the articulated bus. Referendum legislation can help avoid mayhem. Chester found dead. Singapore knows plenty. How Fowdar can help our democracy. Cleaners earning Rs1,500 per month have reason to smile. World discovers the SJ Theatre. Easy for Mauritius to boost its GDP by half. FPTP system allows general election to have recall component.

Q4: Why Mauritius is not in high-income group. Dead animal should be removed from coats of arms. They should be referred to as 30/3 and 3/5. A woman in the front row. Mauritius finds out she has an MP called Tarolah. Use the two o'clock rule to save lives. Simple tools to understand social contracts. Berenger makes new prediction. Podcast to find out things launched. December 2014 was worse than a 60-0. Look who's worried about inequality. 8 questions for voters. Voodoo economist is back. A plan for Mauritius. 4 out 5 voters don't vote for Boolell. 

Issues in Recent British Elections Are Relevant to Us

Listened to the first half hour and found it quite interesting. And relevant with respect to the rubbish we've been experiencing for the past decade. Just in case you missed it.

Private Sector Behind by 740 Billion Rupees

Over the last eleven years compared to the average robust growth rate of 8% that was promised when the highest tax brackets were eliminated starting in 2006. The almost three-quarter trillion rupee GDP gap -- the 80% estimate of Business Mauritius times the Sithanen toohrooh -- clearly tells us that our private sector did not create value anywhere near the levels needed to justify the 15% flat tax. That was kind of expected when we consider the stupid ways it was financed and the kind of massively unproductive FDI we've been chasing. Or if we were familiar with the damage done by Reaganomics. We shouldn't also forget that the Sithanen flat tax was implemented on the basis of three alternative facts: the infamous triple external shocks.

You may not fully grasp how big a number 740 billions is. Well that's more than the combined GDP of Mauritius for 2006, 2007 and 2008. More than half of that gap happened on Ramgoolam's watch. That took nine years. It will take Lepep less than three to match that if the finance minister doesn't bring back some sanity to our tax regime. A la Bill Clinton. That's because -- as the above chart shows -- the annual shortfalls have been increasing constantly. Thanks to an impressive string of low growth rates. By our historical standards or what we would have been able to achieve. Had the incompetent Mr. Sithanen not badly messed up our economy. For example had we continued growing at an average of 5.5% with our progressive taxation, healthy savings rate and a slightly improved management the private sector would have generated an extra two hundred billion rupees of GDP over the last decade. Which is roughly the GDP of Mauritius for 2006. Just imagine if that was combined with a stable or slightly appreciating currency. We'd all be very looking forward to Mauritius @50. More on this soon.

How To Build A Plutocracy in 2 Steps

1. Reduce top tax rates -- rates paid by the richer segments of our population -- to get more political contributions. This may require more and larger safes to stash the cash away. It's even better to flatten the tax structure. This will provide even more enticing incentives for useful idiots to make the wishes of their financial masters come true. But will require even bigger safes.


2. Screw up our excellent constitution with an electoral galimatia to include party lists so that the link between voters and MPs is severed. Party lists will also allow political donors to enter parliament and cabinet -- to enact their own dangerous laws -- without voters really choosing them.

Top tax rates were reduced in 2006 before the tax structure was flattened. And then a wicked electoral reform was proposed with the blessing of Navin Ramgoolam at the start of 2012. But that was massively rejected last December. Now Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo has an opportunity to strengthen our democracy on Monday.

2013: The Year in Review (Q3)

July: The book Steve Jobs read once every year. How high should top tax rates be? Bus conductor sues CNT for Rs15 million. Rezistans should ponder over alternatives.

August: How Robin Sharma beats laziness. Michio Kaku on civilisation paths. Civil service hostage of Finance Ministry.

September: Terminal 3 launched to a difficult crowd. Harbour bridge project should be scrapped. Ballmer finds quick way to make a billion: resigning from Microsoft. Inpe zafer ki totalman inprevizib. Wanted: new devil's advocate. Understanding our recent budget deficit numbers. Indian cinema turns 100. Better income distribution is route to shorter workweek.

Read the review for Q1, Q2 and Q4.