★★★☆☆
2019-07-08
 | 
Books

Game of Mates: How favours bleed the nation

Read in 
2019

I had heard great things about this book on Twitter, so bought it in 2018 and finally read it last month, and was fairly underwhelmed. Probably because I feel I am fairly well informed about this dodginess that goes on.

The book outlines how 'grey' deals are done between industry insiders, industry public servants and politicians, who work as a revolving door between government and industry. This is as clear if you actually pay any attention to the news how business works with government.

One thing that was a great read was the opposition to more regulation. I've generally been opposed to more regulation as it can limit competition. Great to actually see this explained in detail how that when an industry is criticised, the default answer is for more regulation which actually enhances the incumbents in the industry -- as new entrants have too many hurdles to comply to.

A great summary with references is provided across many industries. But potentially sometimes a bit harsh on business -- but probably not unjustly.

Amazon Description

James is our most mundane villain. His victim is Bruce, our typical Aussie, who bleeds from the hip pocket because of James’ actions. Game of Mates tells a tale of economic theft across major sectors of Australia’s economy, showing how James and his group of well-connected Mates siphon off billions from the economy to line their own pockets. In property, mining, transport, banking, superannuation, and many more sectors, James and his Mates cooperate to steal huge chunks of the economic pie for themselves. If you want to know how much this costs the nation, how it is done, and what we can do about it, Game of Mates is the book for you.

via Amazon (8 July 2019).