Economics Explored

Nuclear Power, COVID Policies, & Outsourcing: Thoughts on recent episodes w/ John August - EP220

Episode Summary

John August, a Sydney radio host and Pirate Party of Australia official, returns to provide feedback on recent episodes about nuclear power, COVID policies, and government outsourcing and consulting. John discusses his generally positive view of nuclear energy with some qualifications and provides his thoughts on the analysis of COVID restrictions presented in a recent episode by Prof. Gigi Foster. John also weighs in on the challenges of government service delivery, noting potential upsides and downsides to outsourcing and cautioning against contractors dominating policy development.

Episode Notes

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About this episode’s guest: John August

John August is the Treasurer of the Pirate Party Australia. John does computer support work in retail and shareholder communication. He is passionate about justice and ethics in our world, particularly as it plays out in law generally and intellectual property in particular. He has stood on behalf of the Pirate Party in the Federal seat of Bennelong and also as a Councillor for Ryde City Council.

Along with technology and law John is also interested in spoken word and poetry. He broadcasts on community radio and hosts the program “Roving Spotlight” on Tuesdays from noon-2pm on Radio Skid Row Marrickville Sydney, and writes about his ideas on the website www.johnaugust.com.au. You can keep up to date with what John is up to via his Facebook page.

What’s covered in EP220

00:04:08 - Discussion on Nuclear Energy
00:13:37 - Gigi Foster's COVID Analysis
00:25:58 - Economic Impact of COVID Restrictions
00:35:57 - Outsourcing and Consulting in Government
00:44:20 - Final Thoughts and Wrap-up

Takeaways

Nuclear power holds promise as an energy source, but challenges around risk management, technology development, and public perception still need to be addressed.
In John’s view, there are reasonable arguments on both sides of the debate around COVID restrictions, with disagreement centring around difficult-to-determine counterfactual scenarios.
Outsourcing can benefit the government, like additional capacity and fresh perspectives, but oversight is needed to avoid issues like mission creep or perverse incentives.