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Sunday Reading

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, November 25th, 2012 - 14 comments

My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere. This week: politicians, economies, elections, feminism and climate change.

In other news: the failings of Key’s government

Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, November 21st, 2012 - 20 comments

John Key’s crony-capitalist, neoliberal government is failing NZ on the environment, affordable housing, and a living wage. Mana and the Greens  are leading the way on affordable housing and anti-poverty campaigns.  The Greens still lead the way on pressing environmental issues.

There is a way forward – if we are wise enough to take it

Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, November 15th, 2012 - 29 comments

Unemployment at record highs, current account deficit in trouble, the economy is stagnant, exodus to Australia, National is failing by every performance measure that they set themselves.  The completely frustrating thing is that there is a clear and rational way forward, if only we have the wisdom to take it.

ImperatorFish: In Praise Of John Key

Written By: - Date published: 9:49 pm, November 12th, 2012 - 8 comments

I am filled with admiration for our Prime Minister. The latest employment figures are a disaster, and appear to show that this government does not know how to grow the economy. But our Mr Key is made of sterner stuff. He knows in his heart that these figures aren’t to be relied upon, because everything else tells him that things are getting better.

‘The Asian Century’: Aus, NZ

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, October 29th, 2012 - 22 comments

Gillard’s ‘Asian Century’ white paper, and negotiations of the ASEAN trade agreement (RCEP) are significant developments in US-China struggle for dominance in the region. Aussie wants to be a major player. How should NZ respond?

‘What crisis?’ Rudderless ship, stormy seas

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, October 14th, 2012 - 133 comments

There is ample evidence of a deep and lasting crisis, but in the delusional world of Planet Key it doesn’t exist. The EPMU Job Crisis Summit  opened a much needed conversation.  Russel Norman likened the New Zealand economy to a rudderless sailing ship In Stormy Seas.  Will the summit be the start of a sea change for NZ?

Time for change

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, October 12th, 2012 - 19 comments

Unions, businesses, and political parties will come together today to form a united front on the need for change to save manufacturing in New Zealand. If National want to stand isolated against the new consensus, that’s their problem.

Selling New Zealand: 100% Muddle-Urf

Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, October 11th, 2012 - 18 comments

Why is John Key backing the flagging tourist industry as a major export earner for NZ’s future? His trip to Hollywood was partly about using the Hobbit to promote NZ as a tourist destination. Why is the government so fixated on attracting more US tourists?

Nats give the middle finger to Kiwi workers

Written By: - Date published: 1:41 pm, October 9th, 2012 - 60 comments

When foreign companies want hand outs, John Key says ‘ how much?’ But there’s no such concern for Kiwi workers.
Young people need work – National gives them a pay cut.
40,0000 manufacturing jobs lost – Key turns a blind eye.

Key’s snub to unions and workers

Written By: - Date published: 6:37 am, October 9th, 2012 - 99 comments

National promised us an “unrelenting focus on jobs” and delivered record highs in unemployment and emigration.  Now Key is refusing to even attend a Union jobs summit,  because on Planet Key everything is just fine. The unwillingness to admit that anything is wrong is just blind arrogance.

Hollywood Rules

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, October 8th, 2012 - 76 comments

In another slippery John Key u-turn, after his mission to Hollywood ‘sweeteners’ are now on the table. Key is bending over to let US-based conglomerates extend their dominance in NZ, in support of their own interests and values.

A Sunday treat for everyone except Fran O’Sullivan

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, October 7th, 2012 - 27 comments

Parasitic blogger takes on Very Important Columnist who does Real Journalism Work to bring to her readers Informed and Insightful Commentary on The Issues That Really Matter.

Austerity vs. stimulus

Written By: - Date published: 1:15 pm, September 27th, 2012 - 53 comments

The UK and USA make for interesting case studies in their differing responses to the global recession.  A pity that NZ followed the wrong leader.

Sunday Reading

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, September 23rd, 2012 - 11 comments

My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. This week: taxes and growth, foreign wars and the quality of MPs.  And the Ig Nobels.

Garner on the exodus to Oz

Written By: - Date published: 4:18 pm, September 21st, 2012 - 51 comments

John Key is one kind of Wizard all right – a Wizard of Oz. He can make people disappear there. Duncan Garner rips in to him.

Granny says – you can’t do that

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, September 21st, 2012 - 16 comments

The ever forward looking and even-handed Herald devotes its editorial to attacking Labour for supporting Winston Peters’ Bill to make some small changes to the Reserve Banks’ objectives to bring them more in line with Australia’s. Leaving aside the fact that the Herald hasn’t attacked NZF or the 3 other parties who support this, only Labour, isn’t it time Granny got with the programme?

Government in turmoil over spending cap

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, August 31st, 2012 - 20 comments

Conflict between support parties. The government without the majority needed for legislation. The Nats’ economic plans in turmoil. Thank goodness the country is in such safe, steady hands.

Good work by Parker

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, August 25th, 2012 - 25 comments

David Parker got stuck in to the Nats last week, with a 30 page report that laid bare National’s appalling economic record, and presented an outline of Labour’s alternatives.  Good work from Parker – everyone should read it.

National’s achievement: Highest ever inequality

Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, August 23rd, 2012 - 50 comments

The exodus to Australia is at record levels. Falling wages have seen social inequality rise to record levels. Good job National.

Unemployment worse than it looks

Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, August 9th, 2012 - 67 comments

Unemployment is up, and the real situation is worse than the figures suggest. Just how many more years of the Nats’ economic “genius” do you want NZ?

Austerity in Britain

Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, July 26th, 2012 - 45 comments

Gosh, isn’t government austerity working well in Britain. Thank goodness we’re following in their footsteps.

A golden age that will never end

Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, July 19th, 2012 - 106 comments

Whether you accept the evidence that the consumption of oil is currently peaking or not, it is undeniable that a) the world’s fossil fuel resources are finite and we’ve already consumed a large fraction of it and b) we won’t keep consuming evermore per day until it’s all gone. So, inevitably, the shape of human fossil fuel use is going to look like this.

Darkhorse: Roger’s legacy – the fallacy of economic efficiencies under a neoliberal regime

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, July 16th, 2012 - 19 comments

Darkhorse writes amazingly insightful economic pieces on his ‘How Daft’ blog (the title gives you a clue as to what he thinks of the current state of affairs). The neoliberal experiment has been an abject failure by any rational measure. And there are alternatives. Darkhorse has given us permission to syndicate his posts, the originals are here.

1 job 312 applicants

Written By: - Date published: 1:14 pm, July 4th, 2012 - 41 comments

High levels of unemployment in NZ are both a condemnation of the Nats’ bungling of the economy, and a reality check on their perpetual grandstanding beneficiary bashing.

What’s in the TPPA?

Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, June 24th, 2012 - 44 comments

While we the public distract ourselves with trivia like car crushing, and focus on other important matters like asset sales, the TPPA which is quietly unfolding in the background is actually the most important ongoing political issue.  It has potentially disastrous implications for our sovereignty and our future.

Rio: any hope?

Written By: - Date published: 3:04 pm, June 20th, 2012 - 41 comments

A draft agreement has been negotiated for the Rio+20 summit that starts today, but anyone who cares about the future of our planet should be disappointed. The expert panel of nobel laureates, scientists and ministers’ call to ‘seize the moment’ has largely gone unheeded, as the agreement is full of empty promises and lacking in concrete commitments.

Standing for nothing

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, June 19th, 2012 - 11 comments

National are shelving their plan to get out of deficit by 2014/15 – their only goal left, with the Brighter FutureTM shelved. No to stopping the exodus to Australia, stopping high unemployment, getting better public services, fixing our current account deficit, returning to growth, proper ECE funding (and Adult and Community Education at all), better training for teachers, keeping ACC fair, not cutting frontline staff, promises to not raise GST and more, all on the altar of surplus in 2014/15.
Now what do they stand for?

Admitting that austerity has failed

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, June 16th, 2012 - 56 comments

Austerity has failed in both the UK and NZ.  But at least Cameron’s Conservatives have the wit to realise it, and the courage to act.

Do Economists have the answers?

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, June 9th, 2012 - 372 comments

Austerity: another great idea brought to you by the same people who got us into this mess. But some economists are able to think outside the orthodoxy: There Are Real Alternatives. See you at The Voyage.

CGT Now!

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, June 5th, 2012 - 32 comments

The “tradeable” sector is still shrinking. The property market is heating up again. We need a capital gains tax now.

Retail Deposit Guarantee: When’s the enquiry?

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, June 1st, 2012 - 14 comments

Labour are pushing for an enquiry into how Treasury oversight of the Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme was so poor that it has cost us hundreds of millions of dollars. Bill English can’t be allowed to hide this under the plus Treasury carpet, so his lack of oversight of Treasury isn’t shown up.