I doubt if Cullen has even checked whether his claim is correct, either in terms of spending or physical works since someone would have to go through all the annual reports from the MoW and Transit to compile a time series. When I asked for them (ten years ago) I was told they were only available in those annual reports. Not trusting a Nat/NZ First coalition or RAG to tell the truth I did the job myself on rainy Sunday afternoons. The end results are on my website although I wouldn’t expect the MSM to understand them. Act and the Nats wouldn’t dare use them, Piggy and Douglas are the biggest villians.

If lane/km of new or improved roads and bridges is the yard stick then the years before and after the great depression and the first couple of decades were far more productive.

If construction spending is the yardstick then the results are not as impressive as all the talk about billions suggests. It all depends where you live, or more precisely, where you drive.

In million 2006 dollars:
PM NZ AK/WN Rural NI SI
1928-30 80 20 40 20
Savage 160 35 75 50
Nash 300 70 150 100
Holyoak 325 120 130 75
Kirk 350 150 100 75
Lange 100 40 50 30
Shipley 330 150 110 70
Clark 1 350 150 150 70
Clark 2 410 230 140 65
Clark 3 650 420 170 50

Eighty years ago the South Island has roughly one-third of the population, vehicles and petrol sales. Todays it’s about one-quarter. Curiously it is only the two Canterbury PM’s and Clark that have funded the South Island unfairly for road improvements, maintenance funding seems about right taking into account geological differences as well as traffic and road length.

If spending on land transport as percent of GDP is the yard stick then the years before and after the great depression and the first couple of decades were possibly bigger spendups. Ditto for the Seddon era. The Vogel years make Cullen look positively spendthrift.

The very foundations of physics are chaotic and random.

Einstein spent a lot of his later years trying to disprove quantum theory but I’m still sure he had a better understanding of an energy system, which is what an economy is, than pretty much anyone else.

The very foundations of physics are chaotic and random. That someone who dedicated their life to understanding the structure of the universe at that level, would not see a comparable model in the market economy, is quite suprising.

Funny, even highly intelligent people can be partisan as hell.

I feel a bit strange calling out Einstein but really

We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor—not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules

Describes more or less the general state of production and trade across centuries and continents. The human desire to get the best deal driving down margins combined with the unfairness of how the rewards of labour are distributed. You must have quoted very narrowly out of context or Einstein as well as not well educated is not a well socialised.

The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor—not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules…

Dr Cullen told me that govt spending isn’t inflationary. So piss off!

Household debt has been rising because wreckless government expenditure has been out of control, pushing up inflation and interest rates, making it much more expensive for New Zealand households to pay off their mortgages. It is an irony that Michael Cullen crows about National wanting to increase debt, when his policies have put New Zealand households deeper and deeper in debt because of irresponsible spending.

You’re right about one thing though – I have no idea where your nuts are.

Burt, comparing our tax rates to the US is like comparing our rape rates to the Congo.

Yes it surprised me that Cullen did that, however what shocked me, but surprised me less, was that he compared our rate as moderate given the low low threshold it kicks in at.

Re position 17th. In the SST there was a “How much tax are you really paying” explanation. Income tax was only 58.2% of the total tax paid. Like you say, comparing across countries on tax is somewhat folly. But hey 1 to you, 1 to Cullen and 0 for me so far.

I’d say striking a balance between making sure we pay for the things we need as a country and making sure we don’t put too high a burden on citizens who are productive members of the community is pretty important. We don’t really want to end up in the state the USA is where they can hardly pay for any new policies.

Perhaps you should have used an “a’ but who cares big ears.
How many kiwi’s still working for $12 an hour girls? Work 2 hours and you can buy a block of cheese and a jug.

Who exactly are you talking to? I count one woman here (two if we count Lynn’s moderator comments) and zero girls.

*1st is the highest amount of tax compared to GDP.

[lprent: sorry - I'm XY not XX. Decrement your count by one.
Apparently there was a welsh rugby touring when I was born and my parents were stuck for a name.. Lynn is a reasonably common male name in wales, but not here *sigh*
On the other hand, have you heard that Johny Cash song "A boy named Sue" - you do tend to grow up tough and VERY mean. Great training for a BOFH. ]

I don’t collect paper clips unless you count the bent one stuck with blue-tac to my old Mac for occasional use to restart or to open the CD drawer. Bottle cap collecting – no, they go in the bin. I don’t cook oatmeal cause I like it raw and pigeons are indeed fascinating creatures. Now cause I’m grumpy – F-Off!

Einstein is not referring to an individuals behaviour rather a collective change of social behaviours and standards. He’s made an very interesting commentary. I think it would be foolish to assume that it’s only been a crisis in Einstein’s time and perhaps ours. It’s a crisis of human nature and it’s always been a part of societies evolution.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Einstein had a theory about how society cycles back and forward between left & right. Eeach side describing the other sides values as debauched while at the same time the definition of left/right/debauched was constantly changing.

If you are saying my comments represent a whole spectrum or sub section of society as Einstein was referring to then I’m faltered – thank you.

Matthew Pilott

Yes it’s all about how we paint it. When the top rate rich tax was introduced in 1999 Dr. Cullen compared our introduction of a wealth tax rate as moderate even though the US threshold kicked in at 1,000% higher than our threshold.

”
Bert, though intelligent, is also grumpy, boring and easily frustrated. He enjoys activities such as paper clip and bottle cap collecting, cooking oatmeal and watching pigeons. In one sketch, Bert reads a book called “Boring Stories” and chuckles, “Boy, these Boring Stories are really exciting!”
“