Allan Leonard's Page

Paying benefits card options

Interesting article in the Economist about using pre-paid debit cards to distribute benefits in developing and developed countries ("A plastic prop: Schemes to distribute aid and benefits").

In Pakistan, pre-paid debit cards were loaded with $300 per month that could… Continue

Joanne Stuart, Chair of the Institute of Directors (IoD), Northern Ireland, was guest speaker at the Alliance Party Conference dinner at the Dunadry Hotel, Templepatrick.

Stuart began by saying that having spent much of the past 16 years in England and Dublin, if someone had told her then that she'd be speaking at an Alliance Party dinner on the topic of the economy, she wouldn't believe it. But for her, that was an indication of how much has changed, where Northern Ireland is a place for peopl… Continue

At the Alliance Party Conference last weekend, economist John Simpson made a presentation on "Rebuilding the Northern Ireland economy" (see his concluding remarks in embedded video above).

Simpson said that in this regard, what mattered was: (1) productivity and (2) competence. Economic growth in Northern Ireland was not about subsidies or reducing the cost of living, but instead:

* enhancing our skills programmes
* re-evaluating our capital budget… Continue

When my wife and I recently travelled to Japan, I was worried about how supposedly expensive everything was. With the blessing of a high-valued Pound Sterling, most items, such as eating out and gifts, were less expensive than in the UK. Of course, with the Pound having lost a third of its value since we were there three months ago, the story has changed.

But what impressed me more was that although economic growth is now negative in Japan, and its output production down by a huge 30%, it's sti… Continue

Peter Mandelson is reported to be "warm" about the suggestion of a using the Post Office network for a British "People's Bank", which would offer essentially a full banking service. This would also have the benefit of deflating criticism of the British Government's plans to sell off/more fully privatise Royal Mail.

I find this an intriguing proposal for two reasons. One, it would provide a public alternative to th… Continue