Call me twisted, but that failed bail-out package and the accompanying drops in the markets makes for a feel good news article. I guess when the Berlin Wall crumbled, the official news sources in the Soviet Bloc were somewhat negative in their reporting too.
I don’t think it’s time to bail out ‘the people’ as much as time for people to bail out of the whole shebang.
But since people are not able/prepared for that, it strikes me as a shame that the Labour party here embraced neo-liberal doctrine so completely, ’cause now would have been a really good time for them to repudiate their faith, embrace their doubts and set down social and economic policies that fall decidedly outside the realm of neo-liberal acceptability.
Theres a lot of really poor journalism going on around the bail-out, and a lot of misunderstanding.
We’re not talking about throwing $700bln USD down a drain – it’s a purchase of loans that are still backed – for the most part – by solid residential property (the security needs to be differentiated from the borrowers ability to repay the mortgage, two very different things)
The US government is going to be picking up these loans secured on housing at a substantial discount, so there is in all probability a positive return in future for the federal government as those loans progressively get paid back and/or the property market recovers. Add to that the prospect of holding a portion of the stock in banks (which are also at astonishingly low market valuations at present) and there is a very real opportunity to make an absolute fortune for taxpayers.
Of course, there also needs to be a change in the regulatory oversight. Not necessarily more, but certainly a change to the way banks are supervised by the likes of the Fed.
….
One thing that really concerns me though, is the pace of the legislative process here. Remember the last time the US government pushed something through this fast? It was the Patriot Act and associated counter-terrorist measures… some nasty stuff hidden in that.
“50 000 shares, I mean, um, ah, between 50 000 and 100 000″ Merchant banker!
” I don’t know if I met Ashcroft. Um, eh I met him at my home” Merchant banker!
I wont post any more. I’m sure others can come up with far better, but anyway, ever noticed he always seems to have one hand in his pocket…..merchant banker!
How many kleenex will be needed to clean up the mess this merchant banker will make?
ALERT! Don’t let this merchant banker near your assets!
I’d be interested to see if they’re going to put the hard word on executive bonuses and parachutes as a condition of the buyouts: I’d say “nothing” is about what they’re owed.
Phil has a couple of good points though –
1) The bailout isn’t just throwing money away, and it will hopefully ease some of the pain that will be felt anyway.
2) The Govt could quite possibly make money off this (But what the hell is Government doing in business? Isn’t that all *gulp* Socialist and stuff?)
3) Pushing legislation through so fast can be dangerous. Action has to be taken quickly, but I don’t think that Congress are wrong to defeat a bill that has been put together so hastily. I imagine most of the Rep’s haven’t even had a chance to read the fine-print (Of which there will be a lot) – always a smart thing to do when dealing with large sums of money.
Neo-liberalism is not a world wide phenomena. True, most developing and ex-state communist countries had it forced on them through SAPS and such like and the anglo-saxon world adopted it wholesale.
But that leaves a lot of countries that didn’t pursue neo-liberal economic doctrines.
This 700 trillion is only the amount they can have outstanding at all times but they can trade over and over again. Bloomberg reckons this bail out of the worthless paper junk bonds could cost the US taxpayer up to 5 trillion.
This bailout would give the banksters immunity from prosecution for fraud and give Paulson dictatorial power over the entire financial system of the US. No check and balances.
The speculative bubble created by John Key and his Wall street bankster mates is likely to exceed a Quadrillion dollars.
Why should the US taxpayer and make no mistake the UK population is also hit for up to a trillion pounds and the Federal Reserve of NZ will also start bailing out failing banks if need be so why should we the little people bail out the banksters speculative orgy of the last 20 years because that’s how long this has been going on. This did not happen overnight you know.
The derivative trade banned in 1933 because it was just to speculative was taken out of the mothballs by Alan Greenspan in 1987 and ever since the bloodsuckers on Wall street and in the city of London have been having a go at it.
If John Key has any remorse about his speculative past he should consider giving his fortune to the super fund it just lost over 880 million dollars the last year. but guess what I’m sure he would rather spend it on another house in Hawaii were he and his predatorial banking mates are going to enjoy the spoils of their drunken looting of the worlds populations when he is done selling of NZ’s assets to them.
I have the feeling a lot of NZers are going to be mightily pissed of with him in a year or so and he’ll be very happy to live in that resort.
Even if Congress backs the Paulson bail-out, the $700 billion blast cannot save the US, Britain or the world from the deepest economic slump since the Thirties. If Congress balks, God help us.
Emphasis mine. Read my post again – did I say that the bailout was a cure-all? Hell no. But if it doesn’t happen, the pain is going to be a lot worse.
As Mr Paulson says, US taxpayers are on the hook whether they like it or not. A $700 billion fund to soak up toxic debt and stabilise the credit market is the cheapest way out. It is certainly cheaper than Depression.
Stop lumping me in with the free-market idealists. I’m most assuredly not one. But that doesn’t mean I’m blind to the fact that things are incredibly fucked, and will quite likely get worse if the Fed doesn’t inject some cash shortly.
Oh, and one last quote from that article:
… claims that the US is going bust are frivolous. The US Treasury is not taking on permanent debt: it is behaving like a giant wealth fund, hoovering up mortgage securities selling far below their real value for reasons of panic. Famed investor Warren Buffett expects it to make “a considerable amount of money’.
That Buffett guy has had the odd dip in the financial pool. Maybe he’s not the worst person in the world to take advice from?
Only one thing worse than a bailout, & that is no bailout.
Although the bailout constitutes rampant govt socialism, via nationalisation of financial assets. Not a good thing. For my personal reasons, of which I won’t go into, I prefer no bailout.
Let’s see some solutions, instead of grandstanding & blaming “the system”. At the end of the day, taxpayers pay, one way or the other.
Free trade and capitalism is one thing. But wanting free trade and capitalism when it’s profitable and socialism and regulation when your business goes bankrupt because you’ve been gambling with it? come on.
Capitalism is about the freedom of enterprise whether you make it or break it that’s up to you.
The banksters betted with other peoples money and made gazillions while doing it. Now let them pay the price for their greedy irresponsible behaviour.
Dismantle the Federal Reserve system, abolish the monopoly of the privately owned banking cartel and let’s go back to the time of social credit. We own this country. We the people and not a bunch of parasitical low lives speculating with the fruits of our labour, our hard earned money.
Spending anywhere between 700 billion to 5 trillion of the already maxed out taxpayers money to prop up corrupt financial institutes is day light robbery. Getting out of two illegal wars of aggression and spending the money (last week the congress passed another trillion to be spend in the wars) on rebuilding the crumbling American infrastructure creating jobs, invest in schools etc. is more in order.
Eve: the problem is that the bankers won’t be the ones paying the price… They’ve already had their multi-million dollar bonuses, they’ll be ok. It’s the people who have mortgages on their homes, which will be foreclosed upon to pay the debts these banks have incurred, who will suffer.
Hence me being in favour of the bailout (in some form, it will have to happen – either in welfare payments for the unemployed or in cash for the banks to retain liquidity) while completely removing the bonus system for bankers (ideally this could be applied retrospectively, say by a 100% tax bill on any such payment in the last 6-12 months). It won’t cover the bailout, or anything near, but it’ll mean that the money goes where it’s needed, and if an executive has to sell his house because he can’t make the payments? Well, too bad.
I’m all for helping the Americans who have lost their jobs because the same scum from the banking world who are also on the boards of big corporations and who for profit outsourced all the well paying jobs to china and who sold suckers the idea that their overvalued houses would always go up in price expensive mortgages.
Those people need jobs and income to pay their mortgages and feed and clothe their kids. So if you’re going to bail out anybody why not them. They just passed another trillion for their wars so why not for their own people.
The truth is that giving Wall street banksers unlimited amounts of money is only going to increase inflation on a massive scale. In fact it will destroy the dollar altogether. It will start the sell of of the dollar by China and Japan and it will be the end of the Anglo-Saxon financial system.
But perhaps that is what should happen because then perhaps we can make the criminal banking elite pay for their monstrous speculative bubble and their wanton looting of the worlds resources.
worthless paper junk bonds
RMBS means ‘residential mortgage back security… as in there is a whopping great house and piece of land behind each and every loan. For the security to be worthless, it would have to be the case that every single one of those homes and the land with them was also worth $0 – to say the bind is ‘worthless’ is simply not accurate.
This bailout would give the banksters immunity from prosecution for fraud and give Paulson dictatorial power over the entire financial system of the US. No check and balances.
“Over the entire financial system” is a bit of a stretch, Trav…
I doubt this ‘dicatorial power’ is really going to be true following the failed house vote overnight. I fully agree that there needs to be acceptable checks/balances, but we probably disagree on the nature of them. I’m not so sure about the avoidance of prosecution as, as I understand it, there has not been a systematic breaking of any particular laws, just some shockingly unethical practices.
The speculative bubble … is likely to exceed a Quadrillion dollars
Erm, so?
The Fed/Treasury is not there to bail out the whole industry. It’s there to provide a degree of confidence that has been lacking recently. There is going to be a need for banks to ‘hold hands and work through this together responsibly’ (as, I think we can both agree, there should be).
Federal Reserve of NZ (sic) will also start bailing out failing banks
Our banks have not taken on RMBS to anywhere near the extent of the US or other countries. Our banks strike me as being sound, and well oversighted by the RBNZ, so I dont accept a bank failure is remotely possible for NZ any time soon.
banksters speculative orgy of the last 20 years because that’s how long this has been going on. This did not happen overnight you know
I put this to you; Where do you think all that money came from? It wasn’t created out of nowhere (please don’t start on this…)
It came from all the funds, investors, etc that had excess cash sloshing around, and were looking for somewhere with a juicy interest rate return. These investors need to take a share of the blame for ignoring the real risk there were getting themselves into. they wanted more of this stuff, and the banks were only too happy to securitise sub-prime loans and get them off the balance sheet.
Then we need to look at the original borrowers. They suddenly thought they could have a home that five minutes earlier they couldn’t afford? More of my favourite bug-bear; financial illiteracy in the general populace.
Blaiming the banks alone for where we are now is myopic, and ignores the demand side of supply and demand.
The only problem I have is that we don’t get the bailout we want, we only get the bailout on offer. That bailout was one that would be administered by the Bush administration. I simply don’t trust them.
The politics of it are a mess, and the GOP congress critters have decided that having no deal is better than any deal that involves ‘socialism’. They want to be able to run against the deal, blaming the Democrats.
If I was the Dem’s I’d respond with a New Deal 2.0. Include all sorts of populist stuff marketed around a slogans like the one in the poster and “Too big to Fail? Too big to exist!”. Break the banks. etc.
The way the GOP has poilticised this is disgusting, but if that’s the way they want to roll, then Obama has a shot at setting the playing field for some dramatic reform. Ideally he should put himself as a conservative check on a populist Democratic congress. Let the GOP rant on the sidelines for a decade.
This financial crisis was predictable and was predicted by some. But the ‘doomsayers’ were voices in the wilderness. The ‘herd’ just kept straight on, smokin’ those cigars and celebrating that ‘tomorrow was another day.’
So now it’s all come crashing and there’s panic and all sorts of mayhem. Fine.
But what was that mentality that persisted on a disastrous trajectory by employing wilful blindness and suspending disbelief? More importantly, what is that trait going to lead us to on matters that are not abstract products of human cunning; that lead to far greater consequences than the collapse of an idea?
A way of doing business is over and it’s going to have effects in the real world that will hurt a lot of people. That’s one thing.
But more important, MUCH more important, is the ecological and climatic disaster that is facing us down right now.
I can see the same pattern of denial…the wilful blindness and suspension of disbelief. In a financial meltdown it is arguably possible by means of shifting money and developing rules to ameliorate real world consequences.
But rules and money will do nothing for our ability to grow crops when seasons are no longer the broadly predictable affairs we have become accustomed to. Money and rules will do nothing to ameliorate chaotic weather or shifts in ecological systems or any of the real world consequences of climate change.
Since we failed/refused to foresee and avert a disaster in a financial model that was merely a product of our own cunning imagination, then it has to be wondered what chance with real world systems that are far more complex and utterly crucial to our survival?
Just a thought.
Ah jeez, me cigar’s gone out! Oh well, tomorrow’s another day.
PB: Yeah, a New Deal for the 21st Century appeals to me too. But it won’t happen, because Bush would never let it through, and if it’s not signed and sealed before Obama takes office it’ll likely be too late – seen the markets this morning?
Why don’t you watch this documentary about the Money Masters
If you can say money wasn’t made out of thin air than you’re going to have to deal with my response whether you like it or not.
This is a very nice video that will teach you about money creation.
The fractal banking system has created over a Quadrillion (1000 trillion) dollars out of thin air speculating in unregulated financial products.
The worlds GDP is no more than 60 trillion a year in real goods.
It is that bubble that is now deflating. This bubble has nothing to do with the real economy. It is just speculative crap betting hedging also known as gambling.
Banks in the US are walking away from the property the foreclose on because they don’t want to get into the real estate maintenance business. LOL.
Ironically the democrats had already capitulated to Bush with a token oversight, equity (ha ha paying twice what the bad debts are worth now – even less in the future) and some token protection for homeowners.
It was the House Republicans who pulled their free market outrage that socialism was stalking the land of the free.
There will be a further compromise but meanwhile more banks will deservingly go bust. That is the whole purpose of a recession/depression – the destruction of overvalued value.
All these crocodile tears for Wall St is a bit rich when they sat back and let the market rip in Asia in 97 and Russia in 98.
Talk of socialism via the Treasury is crap. The state has always propped up capitalism, its just that the marketeers try to deny it in good times. And its no use thinking that deal they eventually arrive at will do anything for workers.
Homeowners should sit tight occupy their homes and stop further sales. Those already living in Walmart carparks should go home and stake out their property. The idea that homeowners are to be blamed for getting into mortages they couldnt afford is crap. We are talking about a credit card culture promoted by the financiers, why should homeowners be blamed for this?
They have been conned and found the cost of housing too high when wages were declining and jobs being lost. Many will have paid more than the likely new value of their houses anyway.
On the basis of mass occupations homeowners should demand the nationalisation of housing and the cancellation of their mortgage debt. They can then pay rent to the state at a rate pegged at no more than 20% of their wage.
over a Quadrillion (1000 trillion) dollars out of thin air speculating in unregulated financial products.
The worlds GDP is no more than 60 trillion a year in real goods.
Sorry, I missed the significance of the decimal placing… It’s a verrrrry big scaaaaary number,. until you put it in context.
When you work it out per person on the planet (6 billion, roughly) that’s about $160k USD. I’d think that’s probably an accurate reflection of the net worth of each person on average, when you take into account the skewed nature of wealth distribution.
I think you’re also confusing GDP (which is the ‘flow’ of what’s produced in a year) with the actual ‘stock’ of wealth underlying it. If global GDP is 60 trillion, a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation puts the global stock of wealth at $1,200 trillion (assuming that GDP represents the return on the underlying assets, and is on average a real 5%)… which still leaves us $200 trillion in ‘capital’.
Banks in the US are walking away from the property the foreclose on because they don’t want to get into the real estate maintenance business.
LOL
That’s their prerogative. The Fed and Treasury can’t/won’t do the same.
I actually think there is quite an opening for an investor/institution to get a property empire on the cheap. You look for properties about to be foreclosed, and agree on a purchase price with the current occupant where you take ownership, they pay you rent as landlord, and they don’t have to move out.
As investor, you get a house at a discounted price, the bank doesn’t lose out on its original mortgage, and the tennat doesn’t get foreclosed and kicked out.
“Dismantle the Federal Reserve system, abolish the monopoly of the privately owned banking cartel and let’s go back to the time of social credit”
Keep dreaming travellerv.
By the way, did you incredibly smart woman get to the bottom of the conspiracy theories behind 9/11 and the moon landing hoax? Good on you, Dutch Einstein!
claiming ‘squatters rights’ would work, if people displayed solidarity for one another. But in an environment where looking after number one and getting ahead of the Jones’ has become the acceptable norm, I can’t see a culture of solidarity flourishing. Still, worth a go.
Something along the lines of a defaulting mortgage becoming a rent payable to a government agency (after re-evaluation) sounds too easy and sensible. Can’t have that!
At the end of the day, the ‘big boys’ will work or stumble something out ( by accident or design) that is to their mutual benefit and that at the very least preserves a semblance of the present system ticking along after a fashion.
I just can’t see the point myself. Capitalism will always come to a point where it produces more than it can consume and the only way out, insofar as seeking profit maximisation is through speculation. Even when this shit is ‘sorted out’, it’ll only be a matter of time before it all comes around again.
I remember the days when kids used to stick their hands in a fire and learn something from the experience. Alas, no more it seems.
As investor, you get a house at a discounted price, the bank doesn’t lose out on its original mortgage, and the tennat doesn’t get foreclosed and kicked out.
But the country does end up with near monopoly landlords which will come together into an oligarchy – exactly what we have now and what added to the crisis.
The big stink being kicked up by workers on the streets is collectivism at a very minimal level. Its only one step for them to set up neighborhood committees to defend their homes from foreclosures.
If its OK for the bosses to gang up and hold up the government for a hand out, its OK for workers to gang up to keep their homes. Then when theyve done that they can gang up to take over the hospitals, transport, and other services and run them collectively.
Its another step forward in industry. Section 11 bankruptcies has seen companies bail out of jobs and workers pensions. Usually the assets get grabbed cheap by some other boss. Workers need to gang up and take over the plants in lieu of their back wages stolen by these put up bankruptcies. This has happened in Argentina and Venezuela so its not outlandish in the US facing a big crisis. Here workers go from being collectives of taxpayers to being collectives of producers of wealth.
What has been set in motion with this crisis opens up this prospect of a collective consciousness developing among the working class majority. We can go from a rebellion against bailouts for the rich to stakeouts of industry etc to provide jobs, housing, jobs, services etc
When the Republicans talk about ‘socialism’ we should say “you havnt seen anything yet”
I predict that there is no saving this one and I hope I’m wrong and with me some very smart people whose articles I’ve been reading from both sides of the political spectrum. I can assure you that these people all hope they are very, very wrong.
In fact I predict an economic meltdown of biblical proportion and have prepared for it.
I hope I’m going to be one of those people that in a couple of years looks at herself in the mirror and things Jeez girl did you get that wrong or what. I really do.
‘Vanilla Eis’ & ‘Phil’: opposition to the US “Bailout” seems to have been a Bipartisan thing. Could something like that happen in Aotearoa / Neu Seeland ?
“It is an old maxim and a very sound one, that he that dances should always pay the fiddler. Now, sir, in the present case, if any gentlemen, whose money is a burden to them, choose to lead off a dance, I am decidedly opposed to the people’s money being used to pay the fiddler…all this to settle a question in which the people have no interest, and about which they care nothing. These capitalists generally act harmoniously, and in concert, to fleece the people, and now, that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people’s money to settle the quarrel.” – Abraham Lincoln, January 11, 1837
Rave.
Don’t get me wrong. I basically agree with what you say. But I question the existence of the will and don’t see where the historical knowledge to carry things through is going to come from.
In Argentina, workers didn’t take over the factories because they thought it was a good idea (unfortunately) but out of desperation and complete lack of any other option.
And then in Argentina and elsewhere, when the workers had it all on a plate, they gave control away to the government..(not all of them, but a goodly number)
Trav – I can see why you’d say that, but I’m not convinced actually. The economy is a weird thing. Like you say, the US is hugely in debt… but what does that mean really? I mean do you actually think they’re going to go bankrupt? That makes no sense. It’s a fiat currency – there are 300 million people and a huge amount of infrastructure and resource base and technology backing it. Saying “I think the US government will go bankrupt” is also a bit of a non-statement. How? What currency is their debt held in? What is to stop them from just printing more money (as they’ve essentially been doing hand over fist for the last few months). I mean they’ll devalue their currency, sure, but they won’t be bankrupt.
I agree there are going to be a lot of big ripples, but I don’t think it’s as simple (or as catastrophic) as the armageddon scenario you portray. Do you think trade is just going to stop? Can you think of any reason WHY it actually would?
I’m quietly pleased the bailout got rejected. It’ll get passed eventually, but I think it SHOULD be a struggle if any good is to come from it. It should be painful enough that people really stop and reconsider the systems in place.
The Daily Show last week on the issue was truly awesome.
Has anyone noticed how the ETS, which has been under consideration and development for… what… about 3 or 4 years now… anyway, it’s “A rushed and reckless piece of legislation”. But the “Pick up the tab for the gross incompetence, huge salaries, and abominable risk assessment skills of the finance industry act” or whatever it’s called is “An urgently required measure for the good of the economy”?
Interesting to see priorities and planning horizons. Spending 700 billion now for the sake of stupid lending practices with questionable consequences is prudent economic management… but GOD help you if you try to suggest spending a fraction of that on renewable energy development funding… I mean that would be meddling in the market, who knows what might happen?!
Oh wait, that’s right, the coal industry would tank. My mistake… everyone knows what might happen.
Bill
I don’t disagree that overcoming the isolation of individuals is a problem. But if Michael Moore and others are right, then it was the collective rage that stopped the bailout yesterday.
Moore thinks that the system can be rescued but its worth pushing him as far as he will go. He’s calling for a national mobilisation to stop the bailout period. That’s a good starting point.
I also agree that Argentinian workers occupied out of desperation. There are still many under occupation but it is a struggle given the recovery of the economy. In Venezuela I would say that the conditions are much better and important occupations and nationalisations are still happening.
But isnt the situation in the US for homeless people desperate?
Ive seen TV interviews and coverage of the homeless. It reminds me of the desperation of the unemployed in Argentina until they started organising road blocks. Its a big psychological shift to go from an insolated jobless person or loan defaulter to a pissed off home defender grouped to others in the block and getting organised like the piqueteros in Argentina.
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The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
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Call me twisted, but that failed bail-out package and the accompanying drops in the markets makes for a feel good news article. I guess when the Berlin Wall crumbled, the official news sources in the Soviet Bloc were somewhat negative in their reporting too.
I don’t think it’s time to bail out ‘the people’ as much as time for people to bail out of the whole shebang.
But since people are not able/prepared for that, it strikes me as a shame that the Labour party here embraced neo-liberal doctrine so completely, ’cause now would have been a really good time for them to repudiate their faith, embrace their doubts and set down social and economic policies that fall decidedly outside the realm of neo-liberal acceptability.
Oh well.
Maybe I misread the placard and the ‘Bail out people’ is an instruction rather than a plea?
On another track, since ‘merchant banker’ is just a piece of rhyming slang, why hasn’t it been applied to JK before now? Just a question.
Picture of JK. ‘Why vote for a total merchant banker.’ etc, etc
I agree Bill. I’m sure North Korea, Cuba and Albania will be immune from these neo-liberal failings!
Theres a lot of really poor journalism going on around the bail-out, and a lot of misunderstanding.
We’re not talking about throwing $700bln USD down a drain – it’s a purchase of loans that are still backed – for the most part – by solid residential property (the security needs to be differentiated from the borrowers ability to repay the mortgage, two very different things)
The US government is going to be picking up these loans secured on housing at a substantial discount, so there is in all probability a positive return in future for the federal government as those loans progressively get paid back and/or the property market recovers. Add to that the prospect of holding a portion of the stock in banks (which are also at astonishingly low market valuations at present) and there is a very real opportunity to make an absolute fortune for taxpayers.
Of course, there also needs to be a change in the regulatory oversight. Not necessarily more, but certainly a change to the way banks are supervised by the likes of the Fed.
….
One thing that really concerns me though, is the pace of the legislative process here. Remember the last time the US government pushed something through this fast? It was the Patriot Act and associated counter-terrorist measures… some nasty stuff hidden in that.
On a Tui theme I guess, tidy up the quotes and…
“We won’t sell Kiwi Bank…yet. Merchant banker!”
“50 000 shares, I mean, um, ah, between 50 000 and 100 000″ Merchant banker!
” I don’t know if I met Ashcroft. Um, eh I met him at my home” Merchant banker!
I wont post any more. I’m sure others can come up with far better, but anyway, ever noticed he always seems to have one hand in his pocket…..merchant banker!
How many kleenex will be needed to clean up the mess this merchant banker will make?
ALERT! Don’t let this merchant banker near your assets!
Ah shit. Stopping now.
I’d be interested to see if they’re going to put the hard word on executive bonuses and parachutes as a condition of the buyouts: I’d say “nothing” is about what they’re owed.
Phil has a couple of good points though –
1) The bailout isn’t just throwing money away, and it will hopefully ease some of the pain that will be felt anyway.
2) The Govt could quite possibly make money off this (But what the hell is Government doing in business? Isn’t that all *gulp* Socialist and stuff?)
3) Pushing legislation through so fast can be dangerous. Action has to be taken quickly, but I don’t think that Congress are wrong to defeat a bill that has been put together so hastily. I imagine most of the Rep’s haven’t even had a chance to read the fine-print (Of which there will be a lot) – always a smart thing to do when dealing with large sums of money.
daveski.
Neo-liberalism is not a world wide phenomena. True, most developing and ex-state communist countries had it forced on them through SAPS and such like and the anglo-saxon world adopted it wholesale.
But that leaves a lot of countries that didn’t pursue neo-liberal economic doctrines.
Phil,
This 700 trillion is only the amount they can have outstanding at all times but they can trade over and over again. Bloomberg reckons this bail out of the worthless paper junk bonds could cost the US taxpayer up to 5 trillion.
This bailout would give the banksters immunity from prosecution for fraud and give Paulson dictatorial power over the entire financial system of the US. No check and balances.
The speculative bubble created by John Key and his Wall street bankster mates is likely to exceed a Quadrillion dollars.
Why should the US taxpayer and make no mistake the UK population is also hit for up to a trillion pounds and the Federal Reserve of NZ will also start bailing out failing banks if need be so why should we the little people bail out the banksters speculative orgy of the last 20 years because that’s how long this has been going on. This did not happen overnight you know.
The derivative trade banned in 1933 because it was just to speculative was taken out of the mothballs by Alan Greenspan in 1987 and ever since the bloodsuckers on Wall street and in the city of London have been having a go at it.
If John Key has any remorse about his speculative past he should consider giving his fortune to the super fund it just lost over 880 million dollars the last year. but guess what I’m sure he would rather spend it on another house in Hawaii were he and his predatorial banking mates are going to enjoy the spoils of their drunken looting of the worlds populations when he is done selling of NZ’s assets to them.
I have the feeling a lot of NZers are going to be mightily pissed of with him in a year or so and he’ll be very happy to live in that resort.
How amusing is the sight of the enemies of capitalism and free-market economies rejoicing at this time.
Phil & Vanilla Eis,
.. where have you guys been hanging out for the last year or two ? Worshiping at the feet of von Hayek in the National party common room ?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3088685/US-Economy-Even-Hank-Paulsons-bail-out-plan-cannot-detox-global-banking.html
and
http://optionarmageddon.ml-implode.com/2008/09/28/a-picture-of-the-apocalypse/
might give you a taste of what is around the corner.
Electorally, who would want to be in power right now ?
People love a bad news story Santi – human nature sadly.
Tara: Did you even read the first article?
to quote:
Emphasis mine. Read my post again – did I say that the bailout was a cure-all? Hell no. But if it doesn’t happen, the pain is going to be a lot worse.
Stop lumping me in with the free-market idealists. I’m most assuredly not one. But that doesn’t mean I’m blind to the fact that things are incredibly fucked, and will quite likely get worse if the Fed doesn’t inject some cash shortly.
Oh, and one last quote from that article:
That Buffett guy has had the odd dip in the financial pool. Maybe he’s not the worst person in the world to take advice from?
Only one thing worse than a bailout, & that is no bailout.
Although the bailout constitutes rampant govt socialism, via nationalisation of financial assets. Not a good thing. For my personal reasons, of which I won’t go into, I prefer no bailout.
Let’s see some solutions, instead of grandstanding & blaming “the system”. At the end of the day, taxpayers pay, one way or the other.
Santi,
Free trade and capitalism is one thing. But wanting free trade and capitalism when it’s profitable and socialism and regulation when your business goes bankrupt because you’ve been gambling with it? come on.
Capitalism is about the freedom of enterprise whether you make it or break it that’s up to you.
The banksters betted with other peoples money and made gazillions while doing it. Now let them pay the price for their greedy irresponsible behaviour.
Dismantle the Federal Reserve system, abolish the monopoly of the privately owned banking cartel and let’s go back to the time of social credit. We own this country. We the people and not a bunch of parasitical low lives speculating with the fruits of our labour, our hard earned money.
Coge,
Spending anywhere between 700 billion to 5 trillion of the already maxed out taxpayers money to prop up corrupt financial institutes is day light robbery. Getting out of two illegal wars of aggression and spending the money (last week the congress passed another trillion to be spend in the wars) on rebuilding the crumbling American infrastructure creating jobs, invest in schools etc. is more in order.
Eve: the problem is that the bankers won’t be the ones paying the price… They’ve already had their multi-million dollar bonuses, they’ll be ok. It’s the people who have mortgages on their homes, which will be foreclosed upon to pay the debts these banks have incurred, who will suffer.
Hence me being in favour of the bailout (in some form, it will have to happen – either in welfare payments for the unemployed or in cash for the banks to retain liquidity) while completely removing the bonus system for bankers (ideally this could be applied retrospectively, say by a 100% tax bill on any such payment in the last 6-12 months). It won’t cover the bailout, or anything near, but it’ll mean that the money goes where it’s needed, and if an executive has to sell his house because he can’t make the payments? Well, too bad.
WALL STREET…. the place where people go for advice from people who go to work on the subway!
where people go in rolls royces to get advice from people who go to work on the subway.
I’m sure our wonderful politicians will sort this mess out, if we just let them appear in the TV debate. That’s what really matters, eh?
God, we’re fucked.
Vanilla Ice,
I’m all for helping the Americans who have lost their jobs because the same scum from the banking world who are also on the boards of big corporations and who for profit outsourced all the well paying jobs to china and who sold suckers the idea that their overvalued houses would always go up in price expensive mortgages.
Those people need jobs and income to pay their mortgages and feed and clothe their kids. So if you’re going to bail out anybody why not them. They just passed another trillion for their wars so why not for their own people.
The truth is that giving Wall street banksers unlimited amounts of money is only going to increase inflation on a massive scale. In fact it will destroy the dollar altogether. It will start the sell of of the dollar by China and Japan and it will be the end of the Anglo-Saxon financial system.
But perhaps that is what should happen because then perhaps we can make the criminal banking elite pay for their monstrous speculative bubble and their wanton looting of the worlds resources.
worthless paper junk bonds
RMBS means ‘residential mortgage back security… as in there is a whopping great house and piece of land behind each and every loan. For the security to be worthless, it would have to be the case that every single one of those homes and the land with them was also worth $0 – to say the bind is ‘worthless’ is simply not accurate.
This bailout would give the banksters immunity from prosecution for fraud and give Paulson dictatorial power over the entire financial system of the US. No check and balances.
“Over the entire financial system” is a bit of a stretch, Trav…
I doubt this ‘dicatorial power’ is really going to be true following the failed house vote overnight. I fully agree that there needs to be acceptable checks/balances, but we probably disagree on the nature of them. I’m not so sure about the avoidance of prosecution as, as I understand it, there has not been a systematic breaking of any particular laws, just some shockingly unethical practices.
The speculative bubble … is likely to exceed a Quadrillion dollars
Erm, so?
The Fed/Treasury is not there to bail out the whole industry. It’s there to provide a degree of confidence that has been lacking recently. There is going to be a need for banks to ‘hold hands and work through this together responsibly’ (as, I think we can both agree, there should be).
Federal Reserve of NZ (sic) will also start bailing out failing banks
Our banks have not taken on RMBS to anywhere near the extent of the US or other countries. Our banks strike me as being sound, and well oversighted by the RBNZ, so I dont accept a bank failure is remotely possible for NZ any time soon.
banksters speculative orgy of the last 20 years because that’s how long this has been going on. This did not happen overnight you know
I put this to you; Where do you think all that money came from? It wasn’t created out of nowhere (please don’t start on this…)
It came from all the funds, investors, etc that had excess cash sloshing around, and were looking for somewhere with a juicy interest rate return. These investors need to take a share of the blame for ignoring the real risk there were getting themselves into. they wanted more of this stuff, and the banks were only too happy to securitise sub-prime loans and get them off the balance sheet.
Then we need to look at the original borrowers. They suddenly thought they could have a home that five minutes earlier they couldn’t afford? More of my favourite bug-bear; financial illiteracy in the general populace.
Blaiming the banks alone for where we are now is myopic, and ignores the demand side of supply and demand.
VE, I pretty much agree.
The only problem I have is that we don’t get the bailout we want, we only get the bailout on offer. That bailout was one that would be administered by the Bush administration. I simply don’t trust them.
The politics of it are a mess, and the GOP congress critters have decided that having no deal is better than any deal that involves ‘socialism’. They want to be able to run against the deal, blaming the Democrats.
If I was the Dem’s I’d respond with a New Deal 2.0. Include all sorts of populist stuff marketed around a slogans like the one in the poster and “Too big to Fail? Too big to exist!”. Break the banks. etc.
The way the GOP has poilticised this is disgusting, but if that’s the way they want to roll, then Obama has a shot at setting the playing field for some dramatic reform. Ideally he should put himself as a conservative check on a populist Democratic congress. Let the GOP rant on the sidelines for a decade.
This financial crisis was predictable and was predicted by some. But the ‘doomsayers’ were voices in the wilderness. The ‘herd’ just kept straight on, smokin’ those cigars and celebrating that ‘tomorrow was another day.’
So now it’s all come crashing and there’s panic and all sorts of mayhem. Fine.
But what was that mentality that persisted on a disastrous trajectory by employing wilful blindness and suspending disbelief? More importantly, what is that trait going to lead us to on matters that are not abstract products of human cunning; that lead to far greater consequences than the collapse of an idea?
A way of doing business is over and it’s going to have effects in the real world that will hurt a lot of people. That’s one thing.
But more important, MUCH more important, is the ecological and climatic disaster that is facing us down right now.
I can see the same pattern of denial…the wilful blindness and suspension of disbelief. In a financial meltdown it is arguably possible by means of shifting money and developing rules to ameliorate real world consequences.
But rules and money will do nothing for our ability to grow crops when seasons are no longer the broadly predictable affairs we have become accustomed to. Money and rules will do nothing to ameliorate chaotic weather or shifts in ecological systems or any of the real world consequences of climate change.
Since we failed/refused to foresee and avert a disaster in a financial model that was merely a product of our own cunning imagination, then it has to be wondered what chance with real world systems that are far more complex and utterly crucial to our survival?
Just a thought.
Ah jeez, me cigar’s gone out! Oh well, tomorrow’s another day.
PB: Yeah, a New Deal for the 21st Century appeals to me too. But it won’t happen, because Bush would never let it through, and if it’s not signed and sealed before Obama takes office it’ll likely be too late – seen the markets this morning?
hahaha…its just a correction for irrational exuberance…wheeeeeee
Phil,
Why don’t you watch this documentary about the Money Masters
If you can say money wasn’t made out of thin air than you’re going to have to deal with my response whether you like it or not.
This is a very nice video that will teach you about money creation.
The fractal banking system has created over a Quadrillion (1000 trillion) dollars out of thin air speculating in unregulated financial products.
The worlds GDP is no more than 60 trillion a year in real goods.
It is that bubble that is now deflating. This bubble has nothing to do with the real economy. It is just speculative crap betting hedging also known as gambling.
Banks in the US are walking away from the property the foreclose on because they don’t want to get into the real estate maintenance business. LOL.
randal,
Hilarious.
Ironically the democrats had already capitulated to Bush with a token oversight, equity (ha ha paying twice what the bad debts are worth now – even less in the future) and some token protection for homeowners.
It was the House Republicans who pulled their free market outrage that socialism was stalking the land of the free.
There will be a further compromise but meanwhile more banks will deservingly go bust. That is the whole purpose of a recession/depression – the destruction of overvalued value.
All these crocodile tears for Wall St is a bit rich when they sat back and let the market rip in Asia in 97 and Russia in 98.
Talk of socialism via the Treasury is crap. The state has always propped up capitalism, its just that the marketeers try to deny it in good times. And its no use thinking that deal they eventually arrive at will do anything for workers.
Homeowners should sit tight occupy their homes and stop further sales. Those already living in Walmart carparks should go home and stake out their property. The idea that homeowners are to be blamed for getting into mortages they couldnt afford is crap. We are talking about a credit card culture promoted by the financiers, why should homeowners be blamed for this?
They have been conned and found the cost of housing too high when wages were declining and jobs being lost. Many will have paid more than the likely new value of their houses anyway.
On the basis of mass occupations homeowners should demand the nationalisation of housing and the cancellation of their mortgage debt. They can then pay rent to the state at a rate pegged at no more than 20% of their wage.
A slightly less biased and more reasonable analysis than most.
http://myslu.stlawu.edu/~shorwitz/open_letter.htm
Trav,
over a Quadrillion (1000 trillion) dollars out of thin air speculating in unregulated financial products.
The worlds GDP is no more than 60 trillion a year in real goods.
Sorry, I missed the significance of the decimal placing… It’s a verrrrry big scaaaaary number,. until you put it in context.
When you work it out per person on the planet (6 billion, roughly) that’s about $160k USD. I’d think that’s probably an accurate reflection of the net worth of each person on average, when you take into account the skewed nature of wealth distribution.
I think you’re also confusing GDP (which is the ‘flow’ of what’s produced in a year) with the actual ‘stock’ of wealth underlying it. If global GDP is 60 trillion, a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation puts the global stock of wealth at $1,200 trillion (assuming that GDP represents the return on the underlying assets, and is on average a real 5%)… which still leaves us $200 trillion in ‘capital’.
Banks in the US are walking away from the property the foreclose on because they don’t want to get into the real estate maintenance business.
LOL
That’s their prerogative. The Fed and Treasury can’t/won’t do the same.
I actually think there is quite an opening for an investor/institution to get a property empire on the cheap. You look for properties about to be foreclosed, and agree on a purchase price with the current occupant where you take ownership, they pay you rent as landlord, and they don’t have to move out.
As investor, you get a house at a discounted price, the bank doesn’t lose out on its original mortgage, and the tennat doesn’t get foreclosed and kicked out.
“Dismantle the Federal Reserve system, abolish the monopoly of the privately owned banking cartel and let’s go back to the time of social credit”
Keep dreaming travellerv.
By the way, did you incredibly smart woman get to the bottom of the conspiracy theories behind 9/11 and the moon landing hoax? Good on you, Dutch Einstein!
rave
claiming ‘squatters rights’ would work, if people displayed solidarity for one another. But in an environment where looking after number one and getting ahead of the Jones’ has become the acceptable norm, I can’t see a culture of solidarity flourishing. Still, worth a go.
Something along the lines of a defaulting mortgage becoming a rent payable to a government agency (after re-evaluation) sounds too easy and sensible. Can’t have that!
At the end of the day, the ‘big boys’ will work or stumble something out ( by accident or design) that is to their mutual benefit and that at the very least preserves a semblance of the present system ticking along after a fashion.
I just can’t see the point myself. Capitalism will always come to a point where it produces more than it can consume and the only way out, insofar as seeking profit maximisation is through speculation. Even when this shit is ‘sorted out’, it’ll only be a matter of time before it all comes around again.
I remember the days when kids used to stick their hands in a fire and learn something from the experience. Alas, no more it seems.
Moon landing hoax that’s Ian Wishart’s. Don’t you know Jesus lives on the moon.
But the country does end up with near monopoly landlords which will come together into an oligarchy – exactly what we have now and what added to the crisis.
Bill:
On collectivism.
The big stink being kicked up by workers on the streets is collectivism at a very minimal level. Its only one step for them to set up neighborhood committees to defend their homes from foreclosures.
If its OK for the bosses to gang up and hold up the government for a hand out, its OK for workers to gang up to keep their homes. Then when theyve done that they can gang up to take over the hospitals, transport, and other services and run them collectively.
Its another step forward in industry. Section 11 bankruptcies has seen companies bail out of jobs and workers pensions. Usually the assets get grabbed cheap by some other boss. Workers need to gang up and take over the plants in lieu of their back wages stolen by these put up bankruptcies. This has happened in Argentina and Venezuela so its not outlandish in the US facing a big crisis. Here workers go from being collectives of taxpayers to being collectives of producers of wealth.
What has been set in motion with this crisis opens up this prospect of a collective consciousness developing among the working class majority. We can go from a rebellion against bailouts for the rich to stakeouts of industry etc to provide jobs, housing, jobs, services etc
When the Republicans talk about ‘socialism’ we should say “you havnt seen anything yet”
He Santi,
Great debating skills. If you can’t debate on facts you go for the personal insults.
‘higher standard’
That isn’t a well-reasoned argument. It’s all non-sequitors and rhetoric. Sheds no light at all.
Phil,
Let’s agree to disagree on this one.
I predict that there is no saving this one and I hope I’m wrong and with me some very smart people whose articles I’ve been reading from both sides of the political spectrum. I can assure you that these people all hope they are very, very wrong.
In fact I predict an economic meltdown of biblical proportion and have prepared for it.
I hope I’m going to be one of those people that in a couple of years looks at herself in the mirror and things Jeez girl did you get that wrong or what. I really do.
‘Vanilla Eis’ & ‘Phil’: opposition to the US “Bailout” seems to have been a Bipartisan thing. Could something like that happen in Aotearoa / Neu Seeland ?
See WSJ link below.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122273395169288417.html
.. and again ..
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2008093928/top-5-reasons-vote-against-paulsons-700-billion-bailout
Abraham Lincoln on Bank Bailouts
“It is an old maxim and a very sound one, that he that dances should always pay the fiddler. Now, sir, in the present case, if any gentlemen, whose money is a burden to them, choose to lead off a dance, I am decidedly opposed to the people’s money being used to pay the fiddler…all this to settle a question in which the people have no interest, and about which they care nothing. These capitalists generally act harmoniously, and in concert, to fleece the people, and now, that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people’s money to settle the quarrel.” – Abraham Lincoln, January 11, 1837
Rave.
Don’t get me wrong. I basically agree with what you say. But I question the existence of the will and don’t see where the historical knowledge to carry things through is going to come from.
In Argentina, workers didn’t take over the factories because they thought it was a good idea (unfortunately) but out of desperation and complete lack of any other option.
And then in Argentina and elsewhere, when the workers had it all on a plate, they gave control away to the government..(not all of them, but a goodly number)
What a progressive bailout could look like
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/100491/trickle-up%3A_what_a_progressive_bailout_would_look_like/?page=entire
Trav – I can see why you’d say that, but I’m not convinced actually. The economy is a weird thing. Like you say, the US is hugely in debt… but what does that mean really? I mean do you actually think they’re going to go bankrupt? That makes no sense. It’s a fiat currency – there are 300 million people and a huge amount of infrastructure and resource base and technology backing it. Saying “I think the US government will go bankrupt” is also a bit of a non-statement. How? What currency is their debt held in? What is to stop them from just printing more money (as they’ve essentially been doing hand over fist for the last few months). I mean they’ll devalue their currency, sure, but they won’t be bankrupt.
I agree there are going to be a lot of big ripples, but I don’t think it’s as simple (or as catastrophic) as the armageddon scenario you portray. Do you think trade is just going to stop? Can you think of any reason WHY it actually would?
Also: Did you see this article? http://www.stuff.co.nz/4711218a30.html
—
I’m quietly pleased the bailout got rejected. It’ll get passed eventually, but I think it SHOULD be a struggle if any good is to come from it. It should be painful enough that people really stop and reconsider the systems in place.
The Daily Show last week on the issue was truly awesome.
Has anyone noticed how the ETS, which has been under consideration and development for… what… about 3 or 4 years now… anyway, it’s “A rushed and reckless piece of legislation”. But the “Pick up the tab for the gross incompetence, huge salaries, and abominable risk assessment skills of the finance industry act” or whatever it’s called is “An urgently required measure for the good of the economy”?
Interesting to see priorities and planning horizons. Spending 700 billion now for the sake of stupid lending practices with questionable consequences is prudent economic management… but GOD help you if you try to suggest spending a fraction of that on renewable energy development funding… I mean that would be meddling in the market, who knows what might happen?!
Oh wait, that’s right, the coal industry would tank. My mistake… everyone knows what might happen.
Bill
I don’t disagree that overcoming the isolation of individuals is a problem. But if Michael Moore and others are right, then it was the collective rage that stopped the bailout yesterday.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0809/S00391.htm
Moore thinks that the system can be rescued but its worth pushing him as far as he will go. He’s calling for a national mobilisation to stop the bailout period. That’s a good starting point.
I also agree that Argentinian workers occupied out of desperation. There are still many under occupation but it is a struggle given the recovery of the economy. In Venezuela I would say that the conditions are much better and important occupations and nationalisations are still happening.
But isnt the situation in the US for homeless people desperate?
Ive seen TV interviews and coverage of the homeless. It reminds me of the desperation of the unemployed in Argentina until they started organising road blocks. Its a big psychological shift to go from an insolated jobless person or loan defaulter to a pissed off home defender grouped to others in the block and getting organised like the piqueteros in Argentina.