Even English’s made-up asset sales numbers don’t add up

20 comments on “Even English’s made-up asset sales numbers don’t add up ”

• Comments are now closed

1. shreddakj 1

   17 February 2012 at 11:14 am

   I just don’t get how anyone could be so stupid to still believe in neoliberal economic policy. Do NACT have something wrong with their brains?
   • Conal 1.1

     17 February 2012 at 12:50 pm

     It’s not stupidity; it’s cupidity.

     BTW admins this site’s mobile theme is quite unusable in the default Android web browser.

     [lprent: On the list to either fix or replace this weekend. ]
   • Draco T Bastard 1.2

     17 February 2012 at 2:50 pm

     Do NACT have something wrong with their brains?

     They’re psychopaths who believe Greed is Good and only do something if it benefits themselves and don’t care how much it costs others – that includes running the country.
     • oldstudent 1.2.1

       17 February 2012 at 6:42 pm

       I presume you’re quoting JM Keynes! Of course he was right – and he was a very successful speculator on the stockmarket of the 40s in Britain as well. Even better, he was not an economist but a good mathematician. Cheers.
       • Draco T Bastard 1.2.1.1

         17 February 2012 at 7:53 pm

         I presume you’re quoting JM Keynes!

         No I wasn’t.

         Even better, he was not an economist but a good mathematician.

         Keynes saw one part of the problem with capitalism – the accumulation of wealth (money really) in the hands of the few which must bring about recessions and, if not countered for, depressions. His solution, as translated into the political landscape, was for the government borrow the money, at interest, back into circulation so as to keep the economy going. This causes it’s own problem as the amount then needed to pay the loan was greater forcing a growth (growth in this case meaning getting bigger) economy and also faster accumulation of wealth into the hands of the few thus setting the conditions for the GFC and the bailouts of the banks by the taxpayers.
2. Treetop 2

   17 February 2012 at 11:38 am

   The public of NZ deserve more than crystal ball economic forecasts.
   • Jim Nald 2.1

     17 February 2012 at 12:42 pm

     The National Government is the better economic manager!

     “Poo-tee-weet”.
     • Treetop 2.1.1

       17 February 2012 at 1:37 pm

       I have not come across “Poo-tee-weet” and I believe in not staying ignorant so I looked the phrase up on Wikipedia, (rather long so will read it later).

       About three months until the 2012 budget, see how ignorant/arrogant Key and English are then.
3. vto 3

   17 February 2012 at 12:00 pm

   John Key and Bill English are blushing and fumbling ….
   • Jim Nald 3.1

     17 February 2012 at 12:37 pm

     Hey, what’s a billion dollars, or two, between friends?
     Yeehaa!
     • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1

       17 February 2012 at 2:51 pm

       Especially when it’s somebody else’s billion and it ends up with friends.
   • oldstudent 3.2

     17 February 2012 at 6:44 pm

     Neither knows anything about modern economics.   Selfish twits both of them.
4. Treetop 4

   17 February 2012 at 12:06 pm

   Dunne’s casting vote (re asset destruction) cannot jeopardise decades of debate over Transmission Gully. On 13/2/12 an independent board of inquiry hearing started in Wellington.

   Even though the board is independent the transport minister has the final say re Transmission Gully. The timing is a cunning move by Key and we have seen this before e.g. Crafar farm decision re OIO post 2011 election.
5. hoom 5

   17 February 2012 at 12:36 pm

   Show us the money son! WTF is wrong with these clowns.
   And the MSM is all about Mallards’ tickets instead.
6. Fortran 6

   17 February 2012 at 1:56 pm

   Do you really believe that English/Treasury do not have a very good idea of the value they expect for these partial shares ?
   They are not going to tell you, or me, as it could impact on their share sale value.
   Commercial sensitivity.
   I think that English dissed the media yesterday, quite cleverly. Today’s political media have russeled up to this one – see John Armstrong in the Herald.

   [ you mean the Armstrong article where he calls English naive? If you think English and Treasury are purposely putting inaccurate numbers in official forecasts, you’re accusing them of breaching the Public Finance Act. JH]
   • Draco T Bastard 6.1

     17 February 2012 at 2:53 pm

     I think you’re just trying to defend English’s and Nationals incompetence.
   • Frank 6.2

     22 February 2012 at 10:57 am

     I think English and Key has made it crystal clear that they haven’t a clue;

     English kicked of this Pythonesque lunacy with,

     “I just want to emphasise that it is not our best guess; it’s just a guess. It’s just to put some numbers in that look like they might be roughly right for forecasting purposes.

     “That’s an honest answer.”

     Key compounded that idiocy with,

     “I think they are our best estimates”.

     “There are lots of variables in there … what we do know is the Crown will absolutely have a minimum of 51 per cent shareholding but could have more. We don’t know what price the market will pay at the time; we don’t know the exact timing of all these particular floats.”

     So let’s see. Key and English don’t know any of the following,

     * How much will be raised by the partial-privatisation?
     * Whether they will end up with 51% ownership – or more?
     * Or even the timing of the “floats” (sale of shares)?
     * Or what price the shares will be sold at???

     I’m not sure why you believe that Key and English “have a very good idea of the value they expect for these partial shares” – their comments indicate entirely the opposite.
7. alex 7

   17 February 2012 at 4:39 pm

   “Now its just a guess, it’s not our best guess…”
   Who heard that quote by English in relation to the money that could be raised? It is absolute bullshit, pure and simple. We are about to have our infrastructure sold from underneath us, again.
8. Foreign Waka 8

   17 February 2012 at 8:27 pm

   Despite so many comments before the election and many from reputable people all this goes ahead anyway?
   So what the Nats are telling us is
   1/ they are always right, 2/ they will do as they pleased 3/ the country’s interest is of no concern 4/ even less so its people and of cause most important 5/ you have voted for this so suck it up.
   None of this has any similarity with democracy. I just wonder whether any public or civil law professional will have the guts to look into the validity of the whole affair.
   Mr English is not able to guaranty that the sale of these assets will NOT BE DETRIMENTAL to the country. The point here is that he has an obligation to do just that. The public is the owner of these assets and he is a paid employee (by the same public).
   • Draco T Bastard 8.1

     17 February 2012 at 8:32 pm

     The government may be our paid employees but they think the opposite.

• Comments are now closed

• Log in
• Donate
• Contribute post

• Articles RSS