Written By:
notices and features - Date published:
5:30 pm, January 23rd, 2020 - 11 comments
Categories: Daily review -
Tags:
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
I look at headlines a lot as a way reading what media are trying to get the attention of their audiences with and this one is interesting because it admits Greta Thunberg and Donald Trump are equals on different sides of a conflict.
Imagine that. Trump can't best a young girl, and the reason he's in this position is that he cannot stay away from conflict and seeks it out at every opportunity.
"Mnuchin slaps down Thunberg's fossil fuel concerns
Does Greta Thunberg’s call for an end to fossil fuel investment threaten US economic growth?
Is she the chief economist…that’s a joke” says Mnuchin sarcastically. After she goes and studies economics in college, she can come back and explain that to us, he adds." (Guardian)
Oh dear, the poor little munchkin called Mnuchin has less understanding of economics than the kid he tried to insult. He doesn't seem to realise that there is a massive cost being caused by the effects of climate change that she understands but he doesn't.
Beginning of 2020 and life is getting harder in NZ
Skyrocketing numbers seeking assistance from Work and Income [RNZ]. The constant cries for benefit rate increases, while important, are covering the real problem – skyrocketing housing well beyond what anyone anticipated in the 1990s when AS was brought in.
With a considerable amount of self interest (I rent in Wellington) I’d like to see rent freezes brought in under emergency measures to prevent further social harm before an already desperate situation worsens further.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/118906762/agency-advertising-apartment-without-housing-nz-folks-says-listing-is-descriptive
Nice graphic, my compliments to Semi-Rad. At the risk of seeming a nitpicker, there's an intermediary stage between orange & red: "Well okay, partly caused by humans."
Oh, there should also be a "Bugger!" Penultimate stage, as in "Too late to stop now." And a "Hit the brakes!" just before that.
I've lost count how many sawmills have closed recently.
NZ First campaigned on reinvigorating the timber industry and adding value to NZ wood products.
They were going to re-establish a forestry research centre in Rotorua. They were going to energise forestry regions.
Nearly three years later and the industry is going backwards. This proves NZ First and centre politics in general are the weak link in this government and should be annihilated at the next election all things going well.
Sawmills are closing in his own region, workers laid off and all Shane Jones can do is don his mirror aviators and attack Greenpeace.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/119004242/carter-holt-harvey-tells-staff-whangarei-sawmill-may-close
Aotearoa from a tourists perspective: "In many ways, New Zealand seems almost the exact opposite of China. BTW, New Zealand is about 5% Chinese and 5% Indian, much higher percentages than in the US." https://www.themoneyillusion.com/greetings-from-the-middle-of-nowhere/
"There are fewer walls than in the US, and much, much much fewer than in China. You can pretty much roam around wherever you wish. It is number 3 in both the Fraser and Heritage Economic Freedom Indices, and when you add in politics it may well be the freest country on Earth."
One of his commenters: "The Kiwis are trading real estate for imports. As long as the Kiwis maintain property zoning, this to some large extent results in residential renters financing current-account trade deficits—-through higher rents."
Another: " You forgot snakes. New Zealand has no snakes." Another: "Penetration of the NZ political system by China is a major problem, and none of the politicians dare to talk about it."
David Farrar has had a couple of goes on his blog at framing the Ardern government as anti-semitic for not sending someone official enough to the holocaust commemorations in Israel.
He, presumably along with National Party strategists, seems to think this is a good idea because they believe the same claims about Jeremy Corbyn and UK Labour contributed to their defeat.
It'll be a fascinating year ahead if Farrar and the right try to tackle the Prime Minister on anti-semitism.
My guess is they will be left bloodied and bruised.
Of course Bernie's latest ad is directed at Biden.
https://twitter.com/jeneps/status/1220107221272535041
https://twitter.com/DNCWarRoom/status/1220011581779730432
President Donald Trump said he’s considering making changes to social safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare “toward the end of the year” ― suggesting he is open to the cuts long pushed by conservatives.
Trump’s comments to CNBC on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, are a change from his past promises to Americans that he would leave those programs untouched, although his administration has pushed to downsize them. Given the enormous popularity of the programs, even hinting at entitlement cuts is typically the third rail of politics, particularly in an election year. Democrats have warned that Trump might do more to decrease the social safety net, and he just confirmed they’re right.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-entitlement-cuts-davos-2020_n_5e28a64cc5b67d8874ac0338?ncid=APPLENEWS00001
Sucks not having the largest trading block on the planet to back you up in trade disputes.
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1220224935647481856
What this couple have discovered is that it is virtually impossible to prove their innocence. They probably aren’t a couple. I hope they take it all the way to the high court.
Natural justice should apply to ALL New Zealanders, not just criminals but beneficiaries too.
Happy supportive friendship. With the "anon" witness….please. Murderers get to see the evidence against them, and the chance to test the witness testimony… why not beneficiaries?
Jimmy the Greek…trying to justify …the excesses of crony Capitalism..'.Socialism is Govts telling Corporations what to do!'
'Capitalism is corporations telling elected Govts..what to do!
what an..arsehole.
https://youtu.be/GyPG_jfoSGU