Author Archive

English’s record under fire

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:58 am, August 11th, 2011 - 56 comments

Stuart Nash put Bill English’s feet to the fire yesterday on his economic record. English has been claiming that the economy is in better shape to withstand another economic crisis than it was in 2008. Does anyone seriously believe that? We’re poorer, we’re more indebted, we’re less employed, and costs are higher.

Don’t sell into a down market

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:34 am, August 9th, 2011 - 34 comments

Before the government launched its asset sales policy, the Treasury told it that “significant participation by foreign investors” would be “essential” to provide “pricing tension”. In other words, if they can’t sell to foreigners at a high price, they wouldn’t get the revenue they want. So, the second global financial crisis should scupper the plan, eh?

Anti-imperialism not racist

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:15 am, August 8th, 2011 - 39 comments

National says that you’re a racist for not wanting to sell our assets to foreigners, particularly Chinese state-owned companies. It’s not racism. It’s about our sovereignty. We are never going to be able to choose our way in the world if we sell everything abroad and we do not want to become a vassal of the world’s newest empire.

End slavery in NZ, create 2,500 Kiwi jobs

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 2:53 pm, August 7th, 2011 - 25 comments

Next week, a report will reveal the abuse of 2,500 foreign workers used as virtual slaves on ships employed by kiwi fishing quota holders in our waters. By rights, we should have a world renowned fishing fleet. Instead, we let our potential go to waste and employ foreign slaveowners and human traffickers to do the work instead.

No to foreign boats harvesting our fish

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:11 pm, August 5th, 2011 - 49 comments

Fisheries workers bearing a 12,000 signature told a select committee yesterday the horror stories of abuse of foreign workers on fishing vessels, whose low wages displace Kiwi workers, how the focus on low-cost, low-quality that is wasting our fish stocks, and how this is caused by Kiwi corporates putting a quick buck ahead of their people and their environment.

No debate for Hampden

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:35 am, August 5th, 2011 - 42 comments

National pollster David Farrar wants scientists to debate a fake Lord climate change denier saying “Why should anyone listen to people unwilling to debate?”. Well, David, next time you’re giving your polling report to the Kitchen Cabinet, tell them that. Because National is refusing to participate in coming debate on their asset sales policy.

Clusterf*ck in Epsom

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:25 am, August 4th, 2011 - 61 comments

It looks like the race for Epsom is about to get a whole lot more exciting. Former ACT funder Colin Craig seems set to throw his hat into the ring against ACT’s John Banks, National’s Paul Goldsmith, and Labour’s David Parker. It only needs Winnie to join in to make a real party of it. Can Parker slip through the middle and win?

Hickey’s prescription for the currency

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:26 pm, August 3rd, 2011 - 36 comments

The neoliberal myth is that government economic policy doesn’t really matter, it can’t affect the economy – apart from being an anchor on growth. The truth is, government is the biggest actor in our economy. What it does matters. Bernard Hickey has listed 10 ways that the government could act to get the exchange rate down.

Graph of the day: 1 in 20 jobs gone in Chch

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:42 am, August 3rd, 2011 - 44 comments

120 jobs per weekday lost but nothing to worry about. The market will right itself.

Key’s own goal on poverty

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:09 am, August 3rd, 2011 - 56 comments

A bad mistake by John Key in the House yesterday. Phil Goff asked him about the gap between rich and poor. Key cited a new report on falling inequality. But he should have read the report properly. It credits Labour policies for driving down poverty and inequality.

All hail our vampire overlords

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:14 am, August 1st, 2011 - 96 comments

How did the wealth of the 151 richest people grow by 10% of GDP when the economy grew only 1.5%? Mostly by revaluing existing assets. Not a lot of ‘wealth creation’ from our self-appointed Randian Heroes, just book changes. But, apparently, we owe everything to the elite and need to let them suck up more of our wealth for themselves.

Let it out

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:07 am, August 1st, 2011 - 139 comments

The polls show that New Zealanders, quite rightly, prefer the policies of the Left, such as capital gains tax, over National/ACT’s ‘plan’ to hock off our assets. But the majority still seem to favour returning a Key-led (and Key’s the, um, key) government, even if they won’t like what it does. What the Left needs is Goff to build personal trust with the people.

Political crisis, not debt crisis

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:00 am, July 29th, 2011 - 10 comments

The media are reporting the chance of the US defaulting as a ‘debt crisis’, as if the problem is too much debt and people won’t lend to them. It’s not. The US is still borrowing at half the cost we borrow at. The problem is the debt ceiling. A purely political invention that lets lawmakers cut taxes, add spending, and then refuse to allow the resultant borrowing.

Turnaround is fair play

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:41 am, July 29th, 2011 - 30 comments

Some are linking Labour’s polling to National’s in 2002. Well, I think it’s worth remembering the other side of the 2002 polls. Labour’s support plunged 13% in the last month of the campaign from 50%+ support to the point where a Nat-led government was a real threat. Then, there was 1996, where Labour went from polling 4th to losing by a hair.

Flavell fails on suicide

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:23 am, July 28th, 2011 - 45 comments

Last week, Jim Anderton said that the tidal wave of youth unemployment we’re experiencing will lead to more suicides. He’s right. The best response from the Right: slash young people’s wages and that might create a few more jobs. But Te Ururoa Flavell’s suggestion to ostracise and condemn the dead is just as bad.

US brinksmanship takes us all to the edge

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:23 am, July 27th, 2011 - 45 comments

The Republicans are playing chicken over the debt ceiling. The idea is to win as much as possible in spending cuts and permanently shrink the government by appearing more willing to go over the edge than the Democrats without actually going over. But does the Tea Party faction understand the game, or will they block the last minute compromise?

Growing our own Breivik

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:50 am, July 26th, 2011 - 152 comments

Just after Irish has discussed how little it takes to jump from the violent language of the NZ Right to the violent actions of Anders Breivik (and an ‘expert’ had said it can’t happen here), we learn of a rightwinger who planned a van-bomb attack on ACC. The striking thing is that his online rants are unremarkable within the Right’s discourse.

How empires end

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:57 pm, July 24th, 2011 - 118 comments

The US is embroiled in the most extraordinary of crises. Unique among nations, the US has a legal debt ceiling. This artifice has allowed the Republicans to create the current ‘crisis’. For 30 years, Republicans have cut taxes and upped (defence) spending. Strategic deficits that now allow them to force a crisis by refusing the raise the debt ceiling.

Goff launches procurement policy

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:08 am, July 21st, 2011 - 48 comments

While Key is monkeying around in LA achieving nothing, Labour is pushing ahead with policies that will take this country forward. Last night, Phil Goff announced the party’s procurement policy at a meeting of Kiwirail Hillside workers, who have just experienced the results of government contracting that ignores wider economic impacts on the country.

Nats drop 5% in Roy Morgan, Left surges

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:28 pm, July 20th, 2011 - 110 comments

TV1’s poll on Sunday was supposedly curtains for CGT, so what does it mean that the latest Roy Morgan has the Nats down 5% and the Left in striking range of an upset win? It means don’t draw instant conclusions linking one poll to one policy (although it must be tempting when you’ve spent $30K getting the numbers) – watch the trends.

Brownlee’s dirty little deal

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:30 am, July 20th, 2011 - 12 comments

I/S has revealed how Gerry Brownlee handpicked the “independent” body that is meant to monitor the use of his CERA powers. He appointed Jenny Shipley to the panel and got her $1000 a day, three times the usual pay. Brownlee said the extra was needed to get the people he wanted. But the chair says money didn’t enter into it for him.

Steven Joyce strikes out

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:45 am, July 19th, 2011 - 21 comments

Associate Finance Minister Steven Joyce has dealt his government’s economic credibility a serious blow by attacking Labour’s costings of its fiscal plan and getting his own numbers wrong. David Cunliffe looks to be enjoying himself as he rips Joyce apart on Red Alert, in the Herald, and in the Dom. So much for Joyce’s dreams of succeeding English as Finance Minister.

Yet more dodgy Nat numbers

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:56 pm, July 18th, 2011 - 61 comments

If you’re a blogosphere regular, you’ll have noticed that recently every monkey with a copy of the Fountainhead and a crush on John Key has been spouting the line that the top 10% of taxpayers pay 71% of net tax. Sounds incredible, eh? That’s because it’s not credible. It’s more cheap tricks from the Nats.

The straw that broke the Randian hero’s back?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:30 pm, July 18th, 2011 - 63 comments

I’ve been thinking about that lawyer Casey Plunket who threatened to leave for Australia over Labour restoring the 39% top tax rate at the stratospheric threshold of $150,000. It means a couple of thousand more tax for the wealthiest Kiwis. Would anyone really move countries over that? Do we need the kind of people that would?

Were NACTs planning CGT themselves?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 4:15 pm, July 16th, 2011 - 113 comments

After two weeks of contradictory, panicked lines from National, the Right’s official critique of Labour’s CGT is “it’s a hodge-podge”. The Right, including Bill English and Don Brash, aren’t saying CGT is bad, they’re saying Labour’s CGT isn’t comprehensive enough. Why, then, don’t they campaign on a more comprehensive one? Maybe they were going to.

Reaction to Labour tax package

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:32 am, July 15th, 2011 - 179 comments

The media have provided us with five people examples of people who will be affected in different ways by Labour’s tax package. Ordinary families win big and they know it. The vested interests moan and reveal the pure greed that underlies their worldview. Frankly, I think Labour will win support due to both who supports and who opposes its tax policy.

CGT or asset sales? Which do you prefer?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:24 am, July 14th, 2011 - 107 comments

Generally, no-one likes taxes, but Labour’s polling shows Kiwis are surprisingly receptive to capital gains tax. Head to head with National asset sales plan, the choice was clear: 55% prefer CGT vs 32% privatisation. In a contest of economic plans, Labour wins hands down. Even John Whitehead agrees. All English can do is scaremonger about the 35% debt ceiling.

Key shoots himself in foot over CGT

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:05 am, July 12th, 2011 - 24 comments

Capital gains is a good policy that build’s the credibility of Labour’s economic and fiscal plan. Labour’s brilliantly run pre-launch has sparked interest and discussion. The destruction of John Key’s economic credibility has been a welcome side benefit. And it is a blow, Vernon Small points out, that Key has inflicted on himself.

Implosion-watch

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:49 am, July 12th, 2011 - 79 comments

Last night, two ministers went head to head calling each other racists but it looked more like two old hobos fighting over a tin of beans. Pathetic, really. Meanwhile, Key has sided with Brash and dismissed the offense many Kiwis feel over the ads by saying he doesn’t “give a toss” about ACT’s racist ads.

English to go over asset sales lie?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:30 pm, July 11th, 2011 - 61 comments

Labour has been chipping away at National’s case for asset sales for months. The hole in the budget has been exposed, the ‘mum and dad investors’ myth has been quashed, the efficiency argument has been broken. Now, Bill English has been caught out lying to Parliament over advice that shares would go to foreign buyers. He’ll be forced to resign.

When will Key rule out working with Brash?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:44 am, July 11th, 2011 - 73 comments

ACT adman John Ansell has resigned in the fallout from the race-baiting ad he designed for ACT, which Brash proudly endorsed. The Maori Party has effectively ruled out working with ACT. Isn’t it time for John Key to do the same? He cannot avoid responsibility. ACT lives or dies at his word. If National doesn’t try to win Epsom, that is an endorsement of Brash’s racism.