Mayer's Musings

19: Questioning the justification for subsidising rail travel

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In spite of the relatively high price of petroleum for cars and the economies of carrying large numbers of people on a train, car travel is in general much cheaper than rail travel.More...

18: An annual household budget for financial preparedness

Sun, 01 Jun 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Each year on behalf of the ruling Government, the Chancellor of the Exchequer lays out for Parliament’s consideration his proposed budget for the coming year.More...

17: As if there's no tomorrow

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Prospects are grim if only lip-service is paid to our overriding responsibility to act as current stewards of the planet and to seek to ensure that the quality of life of the generations succeeding us is enhanced rather than diminished as a result of what we do.More...

16: Re-appraising political decisions with the benefit of hindsight

Tue, 01 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Central and local government reach decisions, for instance on planning matters following public inquiries, which in due course of time may be seen to have been ill-advised and therefore to vindicate opponents who had presented counter arguments.More...

15: Take up cycling

Thu, 08 Mar 2001 00:00:00 GMT

Overcome your initial fears and take up cycling. It is a unique way of keeping fit and healthy, feeling good, and getting about conveniently on far more of your journeys than you realise. Statistics show that, on average, for every ‘life year’ lost in cyclists’ fatalities on the roads, about 20 life years are gained from cyclists’ improved health leading to their greater longevity.More...

14: The positioning of vehicle exhausts

Mon, 01 Jan 2001 00:00:00 GMT

A review of successive governments’ policies directly or indirectly affecting the attractions of walking as a means of transport would be likely to conclude that there must have been a malign and ingenious spirit masterminding a strategy to make it an unpleasant and unsafe way of getting about in daily life.More...

13: In reverse alphabetical order

Mon, 01 Jan 2001 00:00:00 GMT

The month of the year in which we are born can result in up to an extra 11 months of education in primary school, thereby providing undue advantage to those whose birthdays fall in the calendar year after rather than before August.More...

12: Jack of all advice – a role for retired people

Fri, 01 Jan 1999 00:00:00 GMT

What is the most important lesson we can learn from looking back over the last two millennia that we can apply in the early part of the new one? Could it be that although every country in the world is seeking to promote economic growth, it is both unsustainable and fundamentally flawed as a concept?More...

11: Climate change – countering objections to effective measures

Thu, 01 Jan 1998 00:00:00 GMT

One of government’s primary functions is to intervene when the expression of too much freedom of choice by individuals can be seen to be prejudicial to the public interest.More...

10: Spreading altruism with a pyramid-selling technique

Mon, 01 Jan 1996 00:00:00 GMT

In my contribution to last year’s Compendium, I referred to the obvious need to pay more attention to the implications of our personal decisions from a public interest perspective.More...