Rudd's Handouts Feed Statewide Betting Binge

From The Age:

"When Kevin Rudd announced his $10.4 billion package of handouts to stave off recession, some said it was a gamble. The Prime Minister could hardly have known how true that would be. The millions of dollars handed to pensioners and lower-income families in the second week of December fuelled a betting and gaming binge across Victoria. 'We called it 'Kevin Rudd Thursday',' said the manager of one Melbourne Tabaret, revealing just how big a windfall gaming venues struck. Staff arrived at 8am on December 11 to find people queueing to play the pokies, cashed up with a minimum handout to single pensioners of $1400...."

Bank Deposits Guarantee a 'Moral Hazard'?

A recent piece in The Australian notes that the OECD has warned that the Australian Government's unlimited guarantee of bank deposits may encourage reckless lending, making the financial crisis worse. It claims Australia is "almost alone in extending guarantees to all corporate deposits as well as retail deposits."

Self-control and Religious Practice

An article in the New York Times argues that “The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.”