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Why We Need Universalism, Not Tax Cuts, To Solve The Cost-Of-Living Crisis

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, June 1st, 2023 - 64 comments

The pros & cons of tax cuts vs. universalism suggest that universalism might be universally better for New Zealand.

National’s childcare announcement

Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, March 6th, 2023 - 21 comments

National’s proposed child care subsidy policy is essentially an increase to existing grants that will fuel inflation and costs increases in the child care sector.

New Zealand is in a terrible state *

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, January 6th, 2023 - 116 comments

* or is it?

In praise of Michael Hudson

Written By: - Date published: 3:32 pm, November 3rd, 2022 - 39 comments

82-year old polymath Michael Hudson is my favourite economist. He currently lectures in China to million-strong audiences. His latest book is The Destiny of Civilisation: Finance Capitalism, Industrial Capitalism or Socialism. His latest article is well worth a read.

Why won’t Labour help disabled people out of poverty?

Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, October 26th, 2022 - 93 comments

The sheer waste of so many people’s talent, energy and lives is staggering. It doesn’t have to be that way. So why is it?

Luxon’s latest gaffes

Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, August 4th, 2022 - 57 comments

Hot on his confusion of Hawaii with Te Puke Christopher Luxon’s has dropped a couple of new clangers by admitting then denying that National will not increase health funding at least by the rate of inflation and then by displaying his class prejudice by saying people are not going to get rich on welfare.

National’s policies don’t add up

Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, May 31st, 2022 - 48 comments

In 21 tweets Clint Smith has set out why National’s tax cut policies and its rhetoric are absurd and how the media is doing us a disservice by not asking the hard questions like what will be cut and how the promised tax cuts will be paid for.

What Can Be Saved?

Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, April 29th, 2022 - 157 comments

The tide of this government is running out. There’s 18 months left in the term. What would you save?

What if all New Zealanders had enough to live on?

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, August 6th, 2021 - 97 comments

Rather than economics, can we talk about the values that underlie how we manage the country?

“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness”. (UBI Series)

Written By: - Date published: 6:04 am, March 14th, 2021 - 49 comments

I believe, as our first Labour Government did, that everyone has the right “to a life” regardless of their perceived ,”value”.

In our country, with its excess of resources and capability, we have no excuse for poverty.

For leaving people behind.

So! You want a “plan”?

Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, March 11th, 2021 - 50 comments

Expecting a bit much aren’t you? We haven’t had that since Muldoon. At least he had them. The kind of people now asking for a plan were those who complained about governments that “interfered with the sacred ‘free market’” and screamed about “central planning”, “picking winners”, “protectionism” etc. They prefer just getting cheap labour to give the illusion of economic growth. And build a cycleway!

UBI experiment success

Written By: - Date published: 11:11 am, March 6th, 2021 - 46 comments

A newly published report in the United States on a two year UBI trial shows remarkable results. Is such a trial possible in New Zealand?

How can NZ incomes be lifted to match housing costs?

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, December 12th, 2020 - 68 comments

Not a vague let’s raise wages and benefits explanation, but an in-depth, number crunching, evidence-driven explanation. Where is it?

Sneak preview of a neoliberal UBI

Written By: - Date published: 1:27 pm, November 23rd, 2020 - 21 comments

Giving migrant workers access to insufficient welfare is a financial coercion tool of right wing and centrist economics.

Show us the plan Labour

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, October 22nd, 2020 - 154 comments

Labour want to govern based in stability for all New Zealanders, but how does that work when your grand narrative has massive plot holes around ending poverty?

About the Greens…

Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, October 15th, 2020 - 74 comments

Here’s the thing about the Greens. They want change. They want change more than they want power. I think that they fully understand that we are out of time on climate, poverty, the environment and now is the time to act boldly.

Snow storm shout out to the undeserving poor

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, September 28th, 2020 - 84 comments

Why does Labour still not have a plan for unwell and disabled people living in poverty?

What Have Labour Done For The Poor, Exactly?

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, September 28th, 2020 - 30 comments

There’s been plenty of criticism about Labour’s policies not being effective enough to alleviate poverty. Time for a bit of perspective.

Labour’s social welfare policy

Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, September 13th, 2020 - 62 comments

Labour has announced that if elected they will significantly increase abatement levels for beneficiaries and reinstitute the Training Incentive Allowance Scheme, the policy that Paula Bennett famously had the benefit of but then cancelled once she was Minister.

Labour’s two tier welfare plans

Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, September 5th, 2020 - 74 comments

As the covid crisis deepens Labour appear to be committed to entrenching the underclass and giving a helping hand to the middle class.

Will our cities revive?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 5th, 2020 - 43 comments

Our cities are the nation’s lungs; they recycle and accelerate external goods and transform them internally into faster circulation. Auckland and Christchurch have had tens of billions invested in them over successive local and central governments, but has this improved our strength or wealth as a country at all?

Association of Conspiracy Theorists

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, July 25th, 2020 - 81 comments

Act is proposing to introduce measures that will limit the amount of money people on benefits can spend on alcohol and tobacco.  But not guns.

Green Party rocks their new Guaranteed Minimum Income policy

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, June 29th, 2020 - 263 comments

The Greens’ audacious new social security policy, the Poverty Action Plan, places manaakitangi and compassion at the centre. It includes guaranteed income across the board for those in need, reorientating ACC to include illness and prioritise care, support for children and single and double parented families, and it pays for it all by taxing some of the assets and income of the wealthy.

Fixing Unemployment – Zoom meetup Saturday 10am

Written By: - Date published: 3:11 pm, June 19th, 2020 - 8 comments

Is it time to completely rethink how we deal with unemployment? We face a tsunami of job losses not seen in generations. Two ideas — social insurance and a job guarantee — are gaining prominence as ways to change how we deal with the problem. One provides income protection for those who lose employment, the other aims for something bolder: the elimination of unemployment. All welcome; register here.

Is National Just Inconsistent or Incompetent?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 1st, 2020 - 65 comments

National’s new job-creation scheme appears to be inconsistent with their desire to fully re-instate the 90-day trial period.

Direct small business loan scheme is now working

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 27th, 2020 - 26 comments

It was interesting reading this morning that the updated small business owner loan scheme is now working (unlike the previous guarantee through the banks version). National’s new Small Business shadow minister Todd Muller should be all over this between now and the election offering helpful suggestions. I’m going to be fascinated looking at those to see what type of small business he is trying to help…

Labour and the Greens on welfare

Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, May 27th, 2020 - 79 comments

While Labour remain wedded to a neoliberal view of welfare as a necessary evil with deserving and undeserving poor, the Greens are standing up for the rights of all of us to live with dignity and have a meaningful standard of living.

Cat MacLennan: We Are Beneficiaries

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, May 27th, 2020 - 9 comments

Approximately 2.8 million of Aotearoa New Zealand’s 4.9 million residents are now beneficiaries. Covid-19 has shown us that #WeAreBeneficiaries. Those New Zealanders who only need state support for a short time in their lives are incredibly lucky. Let’s stop looking down on and punishing those who are less fortunate.

Two Tier. Bull. Shit.

Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, May 25th, 2020 - 217 comments

I thought we were “in this together” or some such?

Running for cover

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 pm, April 21st, 2020 - 41 comments

More 1% Americans are heading our way, according to Bloomberg. The Texas company building underground bunkers is getting more enquiries. They’re not running from the virus but fear the aftermath when the breadlines turn.

Are the Vultures Already Circling Above?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 14th, 2020 - 116 comments

We cannot go back to business as usual after the lockdown but can we shape the way things will be for the greater good?

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