Funny because it’s true

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, March 2nd, 2009 - 18 comments
Categories: economy, humour - Tags:

This has to be the funniest political cartoon I’ve seen in some time, and it’s true too. 

cartoon322

The innovation we need has to be government-led. A Green New Deal. Not only to boost the economy by constructing new infrastructure but constructing useful infrastructure. Forget cycleways no-one will use, we need to build a greener infrastructure based on renewable energy, efficient transport (rail, coastal shipping, buses), and more energy efficient, more liveable cities.

18 comments on “Funny because it’s true ”

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  1. lprent 1
    2 March 2009 at 2:08 pm

    Unlikely to be lamb – has anyone seen the price of sheep meat and wool recently?

    Dairy, beef, deer, …. But not sheep – the 1950’s are long gone.

  2. vidiot 2
    2 March 2009 at 2:14 pm

    “we need to build a greener infrastructure based on renewable energy, efficent transport (rail, coastal shipping, buses), and more energy efficent, more liveable cities.”

    Why not just do away with the wheel and resort back to how things used to be done – club & spear ? Can’t really get anything greener than that.

    Also – get a spell checker. efficent ! = efficient

  3. BLiP 3
    2 March 2009 at 2:27 pm

    Unlikely to be dairy – have you seen how Fonterra are gouging the locals while their tax-subsidised supplier farmers are trashing the environment? Same with the wine industry.

  4. Matthew Pilott 4
    2 March 2009 at 2:51 pm

    “Why not just do away with the wheel and resort back to how things used to be done – club & spear ? Can’t really get anything greener than that.

    Also – get a spell checker. efficent ! = efficient”

    Why not try and combine technological advances with environmental ones, instead of moronically regressing to the paleolithic? Can’t really get any dumber than that.

    Also – get a tautology checker. ‘resort back’ ! = resort

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1
      3 March 2009 at 11:13 am

      You forget – people like vidiot haven’t actually left the paleolithic yet which is why they don’t realise that a green and sustainable society will be a highly technological society that makes our present technology look positvely stone-age.

  5. RedLogix 5
    2 March 2009 at 2:54 pm

    Why not just do away with the wheel and resort back to how things used to be done – club & spear ?

    Why are you clinging to this completely outdated cliche? Sure there will always has been few a few beardie weirdie, back to nature idealists in the Green movement; and it’s all the more colourful for them. I’ve always been rather fond of them.

    But the reality is that modern Green technologies are highly innovative, leading edge systems. The kind of thing Obama’s New Green Deal program is aiming for.

  6. djp 6
    2 March 2009 at 3:13 pm


    Not only to boost the economy by constructing new infrastructure but constructing useful infrastructure.

    So even building useless infrastructure will boost the economy eh?

    I would like to introduce you to the concept of opportunity cost and also the Parable of the broken window

    • BLiP 6.1
      2 March 2009 at 4:00 pm

      What a wonderful excuse for the workers to rise up and riot down Queen Street, Lampton Quay, the Square in Christchurch, and the Octagon in Dunedin – not leave one window in place, and pay special attention to the banks and other foreign owned businesses – force the fuckers to spend some of their profits in New Zealand rather than shipping them offshore.

      I love it!! Thanks djp.

  7. Steve Pierson 7
    2 March 2009 at 3:41 pm

    djp. fact is, if we borrow now to build anything, it will provide a shortterm boost to the economy by providing jobs, but as i know you’re saying, in the long-term there’s no net economic benefit, actually a cost, unless we’re building something that is itself productive.

    captcha: maybe $260-million, sounds like Key guess-timating about another policy.

    • djp 7.1
      2 March 2009 at 4:23 pm

      but that is the very problem Steve, short term boosts with long term consequences.. Alan Greenspan by lowering the interest rate to 1% was a short term booster, but it cannot go on forever else the system will eventually collapse

      • Draco T Bastard 7.1.1
        3 March 2009 at 11:15 am

        Actually, with the way the financial system is setup, it will always collapse.

  8. myflathasmould 8
    2 March 2009 at 4:05 pm

    Um Cycleways that noone will use. Have you seen what the Otago Rail Trail has done for Central Otago Businesses along its route. Think about it. How much can a cyclist carry? How fast do they go?

    • Byron 8.1
      2 March 2009 at 9:14 pm

      Yes!

      “Forget cycleways no-one will use”

      I plan to use it! come on, do you have to criticise a policy just because National has it? I mean, they probably stole the idea from the Greens anyway

  9. frog 9
    2 March 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Yes, A Green New Deal is exactly what we need. So where were you guys when we lobbied hard for it under the last government?? 😉

    As for vidiot’s calling us Luddites, well, I’ve got news for him/her. Any country that doesn’t embrace a Green New Deal or similar is in fact the land of Luddites! The world is moving beyond the burn it and make it grow mentality into a cleaner, greener, technologically advanced future. I don’t think (s)he’s coming!

    [Tane: Writers on this blog have been calling for a Green New Deal from the beginning.]

  10. Doug 10
    2 March 2009 at 10:01 pm

    Ba ha ha ha

    Yes let’s go for a “Green New Deal” because the pollies say it’s a great idea …. heck they’ve never been known to bullshit for their own ends before have they

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