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notices and features - Date published:
6:00 pm, July 27th, 2015 - 45 comments
Categories: Daily review -
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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. ...
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Anyone surprised at how minute National’s change to immigration policy is? Basically all they have done is change a number on a piece of paper and then extolled it as some sort of big change.
Garth George died today. I would offer my condolences but give that, among other things he saw homosexuals as degenerate vermin that were fit for extermination I would say good fucking job. Bitter and twisted old man.
He was a conservative old timer who was brought up to have those prejudices. If he’d had a more liberal upbringing, I’m inclined to think he would have been a different person. He never struck me as a nasty individual… just badly informed. An example is he never liked the ACT Party. He regarded their policies as anathema to a decent society.
+1
Yep he was an old time conservative and occasionally I agreed with him wholeheartedly. There was this post I did in January last year about what I thought was his best ever column (http://thestandard.org.nz/garth-georges-best-column-ever/)
I will quote some of what he said:
“Thus my first and dearest hope for this year, which happens to be the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Year of the Family, is that the next 12 months will see real and determined efforts to alleviate this suppurating national sore.
For poverty is the trigger for so much else that ails our people – child abuse and neglect, poor child health and inability to learn, to name but three.”
…
“Constantly throwing people and money at these problems has not worked and won’t ever work. What is needed is an almost complete revision of our thinking on the economy as a whole, because that is where the problem really originates.
We have been told for decades that if we improve our economic performance, our wealth-production, the results will be felt by all. That is absolute rubbish, and we know that because the wealthier we have become, the greater the number reduced to poverty.
Wealthy people – and businesses – get that way because by every means possible they hang on to what they have got. Just look at our four major overseas-owned banks, which last year hoisted obscene profits in the billions of dollars.
That sort of profit reveals just one thing: that hundreds of thousands of bank customers are being royally ripped-off.”
…
“Ours is a low-wage economy and, as far as I’m concerned, that is the basic cause of poverty and all the social problems that flow from it. … It is long past time that we revised our attitude to wage and salary earners and paid them their due.
It is also long past time we got rid of terms such as “human resources” and realised anew that wage and salary earners are people and not just bums on seats with a brain and a pair of hands – what Karl Marx labelled “economic units” – but are a valuable investment, not a liability.”
…
“I am persuaded that the economic model which has driven our fiscal affairs for nearly three decades is seriously, if not irreparably, flawed, and that that is the place to start if we are ever to achieve economic justice for all and reduce poverty to its absolute minimum.
Laissez-faire capitalism has to go – or at least be subjected to some form of strict regulation.”
Excellent points.
problem was Mickey, Garth couldn’t see that many of his views were contributing to the “suppurating national sore”/
He was quite nasty. When he was doing The Herald’s Letters to the Editor he published a letter from a well known RWNJ calling for a gay MP to be put to death. When several of us rang to complain we were abused. Fortunately the paper realised that he had gone too far and apologised. Not long after that GG retired to Rotorua.
Classy Millsy.
Why dosnt the left start to play national at their own game and get some well liked new Zealand people to form their own parties in small regional areas where the left has a clear majority or stronghold. Vote for the candidate but party vote labour
Put John Campbell on the West Coast, push Damien Oconner into the front bench and stand no labour candidate on the coast. Boom theres one seat
Get Ritchie Mcaw to stand in Christchurch with his own party and bam theres another seat. Repeat two or three more times and whammo the left are back in the game
Do I think its the clean democratic way to win. No , bet sometimes you’ve got to to get knee deep in the trenches and and elbow deep in the shit to make any progress
I dont think McCaw is left wing…
maybe mcaw isn’t but you get the drift.. Wouldn’t surprise me if he was though. Someone that is left of the same calibre
I think it’s safe to say McCaw is not left wing. He is heavily invested in the exploitative aged care sector and I haven’t seen anything from him to suggest any acknowledgement of the need for urgent reform to lift wages and conditions in the sector.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11203208
https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/rest-homes
“Of the 123 homes for which surveillance audits were available, only 14 met all the criteria they were assessed against.”
Score, McCaw.
Doesn’t surprise me at all. Tertiary health-care in NZ is like the wild west… and it’s a licence to print money. It’s in urgent need of regulation.
The West Coast is not a left-wing stronghold. The Coast voted in Chris Auchinvole, who was not particularly well known, in 2008. Damien got the seat back, but the party vote went to National in 2014 as follows:
Green Party 4,658
Labour Party 8,438
National Party 16,058
the West Coast used to be a Labour stronghold, like so many others. Today, even Red fortresses like Dunedin South party vote for National.
What’s with the assumption that John Campbell:
a. wants to be in politics;
b. wants to stand for Labour
not sure if anyone has linked to this
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/70594420/tpp-could-allow-foreigners-to-buy-large-assets-without-formal-approval–john-key
file this under labour does it too but not quite as good.
File it under “The drunken ramblings of a very confused man”.
MS and Anne – it is true that he did align with the left on some issues but on the most part he was hard right. He was anti union, denied climate change, supported privatsation of education, supported mining in our national parks, opposed environmental regulations, and supported the teaching of magical spells as legitamite ways our world came into being.
He has also called for the total banning of abortion – forcing young women to bear children they do not want into this world. Even in cases of rape.
Many is the time I have despaired at the stuff George has written. I thought we should celebrate the fact that he had that one outstanding column in him.
Agree. Always read his columns prepared for my blood pressure to rise.
But as Anne mentioned, he was a product of his time and upbringing. The compassion we wished he could have shown more regularly, we need to exercise ourselves.
Millsy is quite right about his prejudiced views which were oftentime abhorrent, but we can feel sorry that he lived his life in such a narrow and bigoted place – his world view gave an indication of those he lived among and the joy he got out of living.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/key-says-labour-s-demand-for-foreign-buyers-ban-schizophrenic-q03214
He’s now labeling Labour as schizo. Living on planet Key as he does, he’s the one who is schizo. But then he always has been good at projecting his behaviour on to the other side. Witness “Dirty Politics”.
Schizophrenia is an actual mental illness. People behaving erratically or dishonestly is not the same as having schizophrenia. How about finding terms of abuse which don’t crap on people who already have difficult lives?
Why don’t you direct your venom at John Key then? He used the word not me. I deliberately used the slang term “schizo” to differentiate from the formal terminology for precisely the reason you have alluded to. I will comment on any topic I choose whether you like it or not Stephanie Rodgers!
The stage is all yours because I have an early start. Enjoy…. 🙄
You comment as much as you like. I’ll comment as much as I like to point out that your language – even if you want to split semantic hairs because somehow saying “schizo” is tooooooootally different and definitely doesn’t impact on people with schizophrenia – is judgemental, oppressive, and unnecessary.
I love it when people get *one* negative response and immediately flounce off declaring “I’ll comment whether you like it or not!!!!!!” as though one disagreeing comment is ~killing your freedom of speech~.
I think your framing of her comment by using the phrase, ‘don’t crap on people’ is probably what elicited her curt response because I doubt she was trying to crap on mentally sick people.
I am sure you could have made your point in a more sweet, kinder and loving way, no? I am sometimes obnoxious. I am going to try and improve.
“I am sometimes obnoxious. I am going to try and improve.”
I have not seen that pal. In fact you are one of many excellent contributors who have very well thought out point of views on this site. I always read your comments.
“I always read your comments”
Good to know. Thanks! I like reading your comments too!
————–
Have you heard this joke?
“Team member interviewing a job applicant for a job.
Team member : Tell me your greatest weakness?
Job applicant : My honesty
Team member : I don’t think honesty is a weakness
Job Applicant : I don’t give a shit what you think.”
——————–
LOL….Just kidding!
I know you posted that joke recently. Cheers!
Thank you Clemgeopin. You are correct. S.R. knows I was remarking on a preposterous comment made by John Key in which he was claiming that “Labour was schizophrenic”. I believe she knew I was not being derogatory about people with mental illnesses. I have also observed that she has done the same sort of thing to one or two other TS commenters in the past.
She seems to be very sensitive on certain issues. Fair enough.
I wonder if Key considered the same of Don Brash and most of the RW hypocrites that supported him in a slightly different context?
I get what you mean, Anne.
Hands up if you believe John Key …..
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/70594420/tpp-could-allow-foreigners-to-buy-large-assets-without-formal-approval–john-key
its a double-switchback -negative-entendre fingercross, that’s what it is and John Key is just pulling it ….
The Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal could allow foreign entities to buy large assets without Crown approval, Prime Minister John Key has signalled.
That is an alarming statement ! That statement from Key alone should be enough for everyone to reject TPPA!
Why would any sane person agree to a stupid and dangerous agreement like that!
The wealthy countries like USA, China, India, Saudi Arabia etc will swallow up all of New Zealand in no time at all, within just a few years!
I say, reject the multi country TPPA. Opt for separate bilateral agreements between countries and preserve our sovereignty over land, houses and all properties. Don’t let Key, the trader, trick us into signing the deal.
Why don’t you believe him? I don’t get the point of your question in reference to the linked quote.
Exactly!
It makes no sense and goes against the grain as you so aptly exclamation mark in your first four sentences above .
Beware!
its a double-switchback -negative-entendre fingercross..
Ok, I get it now. Thanks & Cheers!
Yup, sounds like the TPP might not allow that, and come Saturday and next week he will claim they negotiated it out…
Greece, the Sacrificial Lamb
The reforms forced upon Greece appear to be so that they’re forced to buy from a globalised monopoly.
Wolfgang Schäuble, The Trust Troll
applies to TPP too DRaco. Where is the cost/benefit analysis and will it be released to the public next week following the signing of the TPP? I mean, to claim that the TPP will benefit NZ they must have done some analysis and projections?
Yep. Kelsy addressed that yesterday in the NZHerald:
That’s the gain meanwhile we’ll lose our sovereignty, our health costs will go up and we can expect an increase in poverty from it. The losses far outweigh any possible benefits from the TPPA.
Kelsey was pointing out that Labour just wasn’t going far enough in opposing the TPPA and I agree.
lol
“A Satanic organisation unveiled a controversial bronze Baphomet sculpture in Detroit just before midnight on Saturday, after trying in vain to have it installed near a 10 Commandments monument in Oklahoma.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/70586456/satanic-temple-holds-public-sculpture-unveiling-in-detroit