An economy with a permanent pool of unemployed and with no real growth in wage rates is also an economy with less purchasing power and demand than it ideally needs, writes Bryan Gould.

We continue to live well beyond our means, and are likely to do so to an even greater degree in the coming years - hence our perennial need to borrow from overseas, writes Bryan Gould.

The main point of the TPP exercise has not been achieved, writes Bryan Gould. Tariff-free access for our dairy produce into US, Canadian and Japanese markets has been denied to us.

As the media and the fans egg each other on and feed off each other, the sport is played in an increasingly unreal context, writes Bryan Gould. The English fan is encouraged to live in a kind of fantasy land,

"Leftwards" is often used to mean not only "extreme" and "unrealistic" but "backward-looking" as well, writes Bryan Gould.

John Key knows he can limit the damage if he can re-position himself quickly, without being accused of flip-flopping too obviously, writes Bryan Gould. A carefully choreographed and well-practised process of cautious change is under way.

Bryan Gould looks at the emergence of Jeremy Corbyn as the unexpected front-runner in the contest for the leadership of the UK Labour Party.

We are now virtually economic prisoners, forced to meet Chinese demand in order to retain a market that has become our life blood, writes Bryan Gould.

"Free market" theory has a lot to answer for, writes Bryan Gould. Charter schools? Privately run prisons? What about the wacky idea of selling bonds to finance social services?

Why are the Germans and other creditors determined to force the Greeks into such a damaging dead end? The answer is they care little for the travails of the Greek people, writes Brian Gould.

The trend towards using inquiries to cover tracks and save embarrassment has reached ludicrous proportions, however, with the Malaysian diplomat case, writes Bryan Gould.

Even our most successful exporters pay a price for the dollar's overvaluation - ask our dairy farmers, writes Bryan Gould. Export profits are lower than they would be if the dollar was at a more competitive level.

Bryan Gould asks, "Is the Govt acting on advice from another authority and if so which? Does our Govt claim the right to tell us which causes we are allowed to support and which not?

Most cases of domestic violence involve physical or sexual abuse; but increasingly, that abuse is preceded or accompanied by psychological abuse as well, writes Bryan Gould.

Nelson Mandela at least had the satisfaction of living long enough to see his life's work vindicated, even by many of those who opposed him, writes Bryan Gould.

The signs are growing that the TPP is in trouble, writes Bryan Gould. As more information is leaked, the chances of a secret deal being agreed are falling quickly.

We are constantly assured that the great advantages of extending free trade.

What Air New Zealand's success should tell us is that our peculiarly New Zealand way of doing things has a real value, writes Bryan Gould.

The debt we should really be worried about is the amount we owe to overseas lenders - and that is going up, not down, writes Bryan Gould.

Bryan Gould writes this Government is a founding member of a "dwindling group of countries that maintain that austerity is the correct response to recession."

It is surely now clear that this Government sees our economic future as being dominated by big international players, writes Bryan Gould.

That dwindling band who continue to deny our economy is being hurt by an overvalued currency will usually - in the face of the indisputable evidence - take refuge as a last resort.

What are those of us - I assume a large majority - who do not have time to read the Binnie Report to make of David Bain's compensation claim and the legal tangle that Justice Minister Judith Collins has got herself into?

For many Pakeha, the Treaty of Waitangi is an exclusively Maori domain.

It is very much to Labour's credit that it has put in place a more democratic set of internal rules, writes Bryan Gould, and "that the outbreak of democracy now applies to the election of the leader."

In the wake of the grim news about factory closures and lay-offs over recent months, the unemployment figures were only to be expected, writes Bryan Gould.

John Key is beginning to establish something of a reputation in the international media as someone who is at best not to be taken very seriously, writes Bryan Gould. "And at worst, prone to gaffes."

An apparent absence of economic rationality is not the only reason for questioning the Government's sense of priorities over this issue, writes Bryan Gould.