I suspect some wag in Treasury converted Grant Robertson to nudge theory. If you nudge a complex system, the influence cascades down through all the levels within, transforming all subsystems & interrelations subtly. It likely derives from the butterfly effect.
So the general idea would be that a wee nudge of top income earners will transform the behaviour of all in the economy, and everyone will live happily ever after.
In 2020, the UK government of Boris Johnson decided to rely on nudge theory to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, seeks to encourage “herd immunity” with this strategy.
You got it, it's a sophisticated form of herding. Well, better not oversell the concept, so maybe replace sophisticated with trendy.
Leading Silicon Valley companies are forerunners in applying nudge theory in corporate setting. These companies are using nudges in various forms to increase productivity and happiness of employees.
Happy valley? Well, toss in the even trendier notion that spiritual consultants will turn zombie employees into inspired new-agers, and you can see why capitalism still hums along eh?
In 2008, the United States appointed Sunstein, who helped develop the theory, as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
Nudge theory works in governance by escalating compliance. Nowadays, when folks are getting increasingly random, administrators need all the help they can get.
Cass Sunstein has responded to critiques at length in his book, The Ethics of Influence: Government in the Age of Behavioral Science (2016) making the case in favor of nudging against charges that nudges diminish autonomy
Yeah but since when have wage slaves ever needed autonomy? The social system is meant to work like a well-oiled machine. Humans as cogs are habitual. It's why National & Labour think the way they do.
There was, btw, a prior, more elaborate version of the theory in 1971 (google nudge nudge wink wink say no more).
I wondered why I saw those pics of USA people elbowing each other as an alternative to shaking hands. You nudge people with your elbows, but hey, giving someone the elbow means to get them to go away. If nudging is taking off what does it really mean? What springs to mind is a saying about 'nudging someone off their perch'. In these precarious times we want to feel safe on our perch. So we need to watch to see what this new craze is really about! Some new conspiracy??
yes. all the experts and economists(often two different groups) predictions about the economy, should be given full airtime, showing how far from reality most of them have been.
Treasury mandarins know what to do with Labour ministers of finance. The working model was devised as Muldoon lost the plot, and got traction within a few months of being applied to the incoming socialists during early '85. Obviously the rerun of the application was always gonna happen once the update got bolted on.
No Ad, it is about the control of the money. You know, who gets what, who has more than they need, who gets to keep it, et cetera. It should be about fairness and equality but these are just words without meaning in the real world. It is not about the money, but about how you toil away and spend a large chunk of your life because you have been brainwashed that it is about the money. When we go completely cashless, I cannot even show you my money, I’ll have to log into my bank account and show you a number, on my screen, that tells how much I have toiled and how many more years I have to toil – the toil calculators are the best thing since sliced bread.
Unheralded, a brave new world of social engineering via algorithmic control is dawning. Universities breeding behavioural scientists that view humans as similar to pinballs in that, if you zap them, they will ping off others and you can cause a chain reaction, have been pushing the mechanist-materialist worldview for a century.
That's due to Freud & Jung advocating depth psychology, then other psychologists reacting by pointing out that you can't measure the psyche so `we can only study behaviour' – and because behaviour can be measured and counted psychology won't seem pseudoscience.
From this past, we get this future:
Neoliberalism was based on a crude and limited understanding of the human condition. Neuroliberalism is based on a much more realistic and accurate grasp of human motivation and frailty. But in a digital future it’s the systems of algorithmic learning and psychological prompting that know us best that should worry us the most.
Don't worry. She'll be right. All one need do is spot the manipulation techniques, then do the opposite of what is intended – if you're nonconformist. If you like being part of the herd, accept your fate with equanimity. Vote National/Labour.
‘Neuroliberalism’ refers to the use of psychological techniques to shape human behaviour in free societies. As a political project it has become particularly popular over the last decade, during which it has been deployed to address the evident shortcomings of neoliberal society and its associated systems of government.
As both a psychological diagnosis of neoliberalism’s problems and a proposed solution, neuroliberal policies are now evident in most countries and are increasingly promoted by international organizations such as the World Bank, the OECD, the European Commission, and the World Economic Forum. They came to particular prominence in David Cameron’s ‘Behavioural Insights Team’ in the UK, Barack Obama’s ‘Social and Behavioural Sciences Team’ in the US, and Angela Merkel’s ‘Behavioural Insights Applied to Policy Unit’ in Germany.
The control system is moving with the times. Fed up with neoliberalism? Don't worry, your liberal paternalist controller has something better awaiting your subscription.
"Climate change is my generations nuclear free moment."
Around 2 years ago it was stated by those at the frontlines of climate study that we had a little over a decade to make serious changes to our emissions profile in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change (a timeframe since shortened)
We have witnessed the previous 3 years of inaction by the Coalition and with the general tone of the current electioneering it is almost certain we waste the next 3 years as well.
What was an almost impossible ask to achieve in 10 years will need to be achieved in half that.
We have to check in now and then to remind ourselves and the people we care enough about to converse with, that there are some positives. Personally I do this so I can get out of bed in the morning and keep fighting for a better pathway even if it gets down to a wormhole in the garden. Worms are good! Hooray for worms. I have a ton in my compost who know nothing compared to me and yet are possibly saviours of the planet.
Thanks for that xenophobia comment you sound like Michael Joseph Savage in some of his highly racists speeches regarding the 1920 immigration act that continued through to his time as PM.
so you think Chinese are so stupid that they cannot think for themselves and act as Lemmings following the one in front?.
That's what prior media commentary based on polling of that ethnic community has suggested, and the stats were extremely one-sided. It was a while back & I can't recall details. Re xenophobia you ought not to read motives into online opinions as if you're operating on autopilot – I have no such fear!
How the ignorant operate. Take some time out and look at the Botany Electorate. I will even help you out. Many with preconceived attitudes have this " I have nothing to fear", You have no links to support such statements. ps there is a difference between Chinese and Asian.
Aucklander Jim Zheng has been a firm National supporter during his 26 years in New Zealand. He likes the message of self-sufficiency.
"I always vote for National. I think they're quite good in economy. I dislike government which gives so many support to people who don't like to work," he said.
In the survey, almost two out three (62 percent) ethnic Chinese said they would vote for the National Party.
While still enjoying a healthy lead, that support rate is down 9.1 percent from the 2017 version of the same poll.
National's loss almost exactly mirrors an equivalent rise in Chinese New Zealanders who now say they like David Seymour's Act Party.
I had a lengthy conversation with one of "them Chinese immigrants" from the Botany electorate on Sunday. He was well versed on what was happening in their electorate, knew the names of all the candidates and was not inclined at all to vote for Jamie-Lee or Chris Luxon.
Like all opposition when they get into power the world becomes a lot more complex, pet favourites now need to be balanced against complexity of the system, trade offs and unintended consequences Any one overly focus in one area ( a luxury of opposition) in a complex system can have massive affects elsewhere. Labour has learnt that, the Greens to a degree in perennial opposition have not. Winstone has, hence the 2 Winstons, when he is in power and when he is not
If the world is too complex for them now then they are soon to be provided with far more complexity than they ever imagined….a monkey can kick a can down the road.
All it does is highlight how ineffectual our (so called) leaders are, so what is their purpose?
Gradual change based on evidence based policy and managing the trade offs for the common good ( you can’t make every one happy or eliminate all trade offs and risk) which the electorate will determine every 3 years. Likewise acting decisively and proportionately when the situation dictates, ie Covid Not many would agree how the government has responded to Covid is how you should run and economy long term In regard to state intervention and control
What a load of bollocks….minimalist change in order to manage the narrative of the common good while maintaining the advantage to the investor class regardless of the detriment to the majority, the country or even the survivability of society or even the environment that maintains all …..with no little self interest as a bonus.
( investor class….🙄) You may not like it but it’s reality, and if you think different go form your own party and convince the majority, don’t ask labour to commit electoral suicide on far left ideology, similar National on far right
Unearned income is derived from control of an already existing asset, such as land, buildings, technology, or money, that others lack but need or want, and who can therefore be charged for its use. Those who receive it are ‘rentiers’. Mere ownership or possession produces nothing, and so any return to an owner merely for access or use is something for nothing.
If you buy some shares in M&S or BP on the stock market, the money you pay goes to the previous owner, not the company. You are what Keynes called a ‘functionless investor.’ When such so-called ‘investments’ pay off they extract wealth from the economy without creating anything in return. They are parasitic.
Our minor finance on “that radio show” both the left and right are unhappy about the tax , so we must have got it right.
So now we have a Labour Party that views their agenda as if everyone is unhappy that labour has got the balance right. No wonder so much attention on some left wing sites is directed at National. It is hard to accept what has just been announced. 3 more years of this transformational government. More like continuation from 1999 with nothing changing. 😢
Tactically Labour did not really need to do anything, just run the clock down to October 17. But I guess the TV debates mean some “qvestions vill be aksed” by Frau Collins, so answers were going to be needed for the PM.
Crusher–“What unfair tax increases on the hard working, god fearing, salt of the earth, white, heartland kiwis will you be inflicting?”
Jacinda–“already released, will not affect 98% of New Zealanders” (including obviously the new Labour voters Chris mentions).
I am not going to revisit ( today anyway) my usual litany on the class collaborationist, weak as piss Labour Caucus and chief mini-me Blairites like Mr Robertson. I just want them re-elected so political struggle can resume in earnest in the time of opportunity created by the Covid plague.
Expecting the lumpen elements of town or country to come to anyone’s rescue is indeed a forlorn hope. “she’s a pretty communist” is about the peak political analysis those wretches are capable of! Did anyone ever identify that clown holding the sign by the way?
Also what our Min of Finance may not have thought of. In a time where businesses are struggling, should Labour had proposed an increase in the coy tax rate +1-2% (to reduce those able to manage their incomes), this would delay those companies who are currently making losses in paying tax once they regained profits that exceeded these losses(and next years ?). As you do not pay tax (Provisional or Terminal) until all carried forward losses have been wiped out with profits. So it would have assisted business in need in the short term, for long term benefits. And isn't that what a helping hand is – when in need assist and when times are good to return the favour, in this case by paying a slightly larger tax bill.
Red, good to read a balanced post. It seems to me many commenters have unrealistic expectations of what is possible and not possible and they expect transformation in all areas to happen within months. When there is so much to be done it is going to take years. Governing is a slow and cumbersome process and will never please everyone.
Legal but a bit like friends and family bidding for your item on Trademe to inflate the price.
Farah Hancock: The National Party has spent almost $30,000 getting people to 'like' Judith Collins' Facebook page.
Since July her Facebook page has gained roughly 20,000 new likes, at a potential cost of $1.50 each if they were all gained from the advertisements. Her page is the only politician's page with significant funds spent on it.
. National spends Quarter of FB Budget on chasing Likes for Judith Collins
The National Party has spent almost $30,000 getting people to ‘like’ Judith Collins’ Facebook page … Since July her Facebook page has gained roughly 20,000 new likes, at a potential cost of $1.50 each if they were all gained from the advertisements. Her page is the only politician’s page with significant funds spent on it … Collins now has 56,235 people who like her Facebook page and 58,725 followers. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has not spent any money on Facebook advertising for her page, has 1.7 million followers and 1.4 million likes.
I need help setting up a Givealittle page. On RNZ this morning I heard people being interviewed about the tax increases for those on $180,000+ a year.
Apparently they'll be down the tubes to the extent of around $20 a week. Some woman (in Karori?) is going to find it really tough. If I can get some charity for her to save her the devastation of the tax increase my life would have been worthwhile.
Apparently $180,000 a year 'isn't much really' especially when you look at the cost of housing. Imagine being in a household of one income and it being that low. Maybe there's someone else in the house can go to work.
If I can rally a group from the under 60k band and set up a Givealittle maybe we can save her. Failing that maybe I can direct her to some budgeting advice place.
for gods sake don't give her cash, she'll just spend it on booze and cigarettes. Instead teach her how to grow vegetables, how to cook from scratch and how to budget.
maybe this one should be send to Grant so as to re-consider the hardship espoused by losing $ 23 while on a 180.000 NZD income, and to maybe find it in his hard to add another $ 23 to the beneficiaries that barely make 13.000 grand after tax for the full year?
In case anyone was wondering why that rotting rage-gargoyle lurking under the road-kill hamster was completely unfiltered in spilling his guts to the journalist that's done the most in history to expose presidential misconduct, here's a good explanation:
Cripes weka, you are taking away the employment of numerous right wing academics who would have spent x hours and days to say what you have expressed in one line. If this sort of thing keeps happening there will be bucketfuls of newly unemployed uni grads.
Awww, that's sooo cuuuuute! I wonder if his letters to Ivana and Marla and Melanoma were just as sweet.
In his letters to Trump, Kim addresses him as "Your Excellency" and punctuates them with flowery prose.
"Even now I cannot forget that moment of history when I firmly held Your Excellency's hand at the beautiful and sacred location as the whole world watched with great interest and hope to relive the honor of that day," Kim wrote to Trump on December 25, 2018, following their first meeting in Singapore.
…
In a June 2019 letter to Kim, just before Trump proposed on Twitter that the leaders meet at the DMZ, Trump wrote that "you and I have a unique style and a special friendship."
"Only you and I, working together, can resolve the issues between our two counties and end nearly 70 years of hostility, bringing an era of prosperity to the Korean Peninsula that will exceed all our greatest expectations — and you will be the one to lead," Trump wrote. "It will be historic!"
The super debate fails to revisit the Norman Kirk scheme which was trialed by local and gvt workers in the last term before it was to become compulsary if Labour won the next election. This was a scheme where the worker contributed %2 and the employer matched it. That money was held in a pool and was to be managed by the gvt on the contributers behalf. Local bodies would be able to borrow from that pool at %1 interest in order to carry out local maintainance and infrastructure projects. The howl from the Nats, bug business and insurers waa deafening with cries of socialism through the back door. Unfortunately Big Norm was as some including Bob Harvey believed was assasanated (cia apple ple).before that third term was up. Labour lost the election and Muldoon scraped the scheme immediately. We who had trialed the scheme got our money back and were surprised at the ammount which seemed substancial for such a short time in operation, but it showed how it would have allowed working class pensioners to retire with dignity and not like today where we live on or below the poverty line. Also local bodies would not be in dire straights as they now are. The poor poor cousin of that scheme, Kiwi Saver which is not kept in one pool but administrated by the wily nilly can never reach the heights og Big Norms socialist scheme. Why wont Labour revisit that scheme.
Doctoring the intelligence to fit the propaganda is straight out of the neo-conBushPutin emperialist playbook.
Washington (CNN)A whistleblower is alleging that top political appointees in the Department of Homeland Security repeatedly instructed career officials to modify intelligence assessments to suit President Donald Trump's agenda by downplaying Russia's efforts to interfere in the US and the threat posed by White supremacists, according to documents reviewed by CNN and a source familiar with the situation.
On Peter Thiel and how well he is doing out of Covid-19.
By 20 April,Palantir was emailing to say it had to set up platforms to track Covid-19 and help combat it in 15 countries, including hard-hit Italy. "We could establish similar capability here in New Zealand within a matter of days," the company said. Overseas media have reported that the UK government gave Palantir access to sensitive patient data. (Health data is highly valued and sought after by tech firms.) The Ardern government declined Palantir’s kind offer. As Business Insider reported earlier this year, Palantir is now likely to become profitable for the first time in its 16 year history and will (perhaps) soon be listing publicly:
Could government do that? Would Treasury let them? What barriers apart from their own wetness and timidity, would be against them purchasing the EFTPOS etc – it must be such a good money-maker for the banks.
The average fee charged for credit cards is 1.6 per cent but they can top 2 per cent. That compares to 0.8 per cent on average in Australia and 0.5 per cent in the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, a typical contactless debit card payment costs 1.2 per cent, compared to 0.6 per cent in Australia and 0.2 per cent in the UK.
There's a reason why the banks keep reporting record profits and its not because they're doing a sterling service.
that must be in regards to pay wave who raised their fees after dropping them during L4 and brought them back up in Level 1.
You know what is a really good way for small businesses to avoid these charges? Not using the credit cards and or pay wave.
Use cash. That easy. But hey Labour is finally doing something for the small businesses that are closing shop up and down the country because no one has any money left to spend. Good fucking grief, that bunch of doodas can not not find the most useless shit to 'deliver'.
“Approximately two-thirds of total spending in New Zealand is done electronically on eftpos and credit cards,” says Paul Whiston, spokesman for electronics payment provider Paymark.
Yeah, I really don't think any business is going to go that way.
But hey Labour is finally doing something for the small businesses that are closing shop up and down the country because no one has any money left to spend.
I suspect that the actual reason why small businesses are closing is because they just can't compete with large business.
I've seen the surcharge and even the credit card refusal. Haven't seen paywave refusal although plenty of places that haven't updated their EFT-POS which maybe a result of the paywave cost.
Teach me for not fully comprehending my own quote.
Still, there's really two issues here:
More and more people are using electronic payment as a sole means of paying
Why do the private banks get to charge us for us using our money? We really can call such charges a tax.
So, the best way to get over those two issues is government ownership of the EFT-POS system and making it a state monopoly.
Although the banks do operate the system that makes EFT-POS happen it's pretty close to a monopoly system which simply should not be allowed in private ownership because, as we can see here, they abuse it.
The second is just an ongoing lie at this point. It was proven years ago that the banks don't need our money to make loans. It's also been proven that the reason why we have such massive capital gains is because of the private banks creating so much money for housing and other speculation.
Payment systems and money creation need to be under government ownership/control so as to prevent the abuse of the system that happens under a private, for profit, corporation. And, yes, keep cash for a while longer.
Sabine – agree with your comment about using cash. However the banks are hell bent on having cheques no longer accepted as legal tender by June 2021 ; many shops / all public transport here in Auckland don't accept cash. Countdown grudgingly open a dedicated "cash only" check out but have to be reminded at times.
The banks have long wanted a cashless society and Covid has provided the perfect situation for this to happen. There will be little demand for face to face contact so local bank branches will be few and far between.
There are many elderly people who don't / can't use computers and have no desire to learn about online personal banking, They will be greatly disadvantaged without cheques or cash in their day to day lives.
Few seem to understand the importance of having cash available to use for our transactions if we so wish. The power that authorities would have over us as we try to live our private lives if we had to pass everything through a machine is immense. Part of the surveillance of the fascist state. Keeping track of what you do, who with, how much, where did you get it, what haven't you disclosed. Bugger off all you machine-mad people, you have already left planet earth and are standing on some invisible one that has lost its connections with simple humanity.
Greywarshark berated my negativity earlier today and he/she was correct to observe my posts have been less than uplifting of late…..I suggest with good reason.
An excellent comprehensive and fundamental explanation by Nate Hagens (thanks to powerdownkiwi over at Interest.co.nz)
"Many challenges we face appear as classic social traps, whereby short-term social pressures guide individual behavior in opposition to the best long-run interest of the individual and society (Costanza, 1987). Cognitively, the implications presented in this paper are understandable to most people fluent in the issues, but behaviorally remain almost the perfect storm for the human brain to ignore or deny. The issues are: complex, abstract, in the future, threatening to politicians and business owners, difficult to answer, largely ignored by leaders, and depressing to think about. Typically, a description of our biophysical reality is met with denial or nihilism.
Both denial and nihilism help the mind remove dissonance and thus emotionally absolve a person from working to make (uncomfortable) changes that might improve our chances. This and other social traps appear to mitigate against meaningful action. Our super sociality results in valuing conformity over science, and valuing fairness of process over quality of results. We attempt to use social sorting mechanisms (popularity/status) to solve complex problems. Perhaps the biggest social trap of all is that we don’t actually need all this energy and material stuff to be happy or healthy. Nevertheless, led by the emergent drive of the Superorganism, we let pecuniary metrics, social comparisons, and novel technology, drag us into unnecessary and wasteful consumption."
Ta for that Pat Not recommended bedtime reading I think. But top of the list for soon, in the light of day. Perhaps understanding will result in surmounting.
A song comes to me, hopeful to keep in the back of the mind. We need some sweet and good thoughts as mind wallpaper.
I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day
Oh, yes I can make it now the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day…
I Can See Clearly Now Jimmy Cliff
We are amazingly miraculous really and being here is so random. When we make children we unwittingly are making life, so like Gods. But that's nothing, we can't be bothered – turn everything over to the machines.
Another set of words to keep in mind are those written by Shakespeare centuries ago – fresh each day. 'What a piece of work is man, How noble in reason'.
Fresh – Hamlet soliloquy by Kenneth Branagh. But stop it quickly as a dross piece of everyday cop show follows to invade your ears.
The crux of issues facing us now are because we do not want to give up or lower our energy use.
As the article poses, "Recognition that the future exists" already is uncomfortable and perhaps we do not see changing our own individual lives now as a huge part of the 'crisis'. There's always tomorrow.
" Perhaps the biggest social trap of all is that we don’t actually need all this energy and material stuff to be happy or healthy. Nevertheless, led by the emergent drive of the Superorganism, we let pecuniary metrics, social comparisons, and novel technology, drag us into unnecessary and wasteful consumption."
Then this quote from same text,
" …. there is no instinctual ‘full’ signal in modern brains – so we become addicted to the ‘unexpected reward’ of the next encounter, episode, or email, at an ever increasing pace (Hagens, 2011; Schultz et al., 1997). Our brains require flows (feelings) that we satisfy today mostly using non-renewable stocks. "
The business world exploits that insatiable wants of humans offering its glittery rewards and most uphold that exploitation by our own daily behaviours.
This week was a work email from Spark , ' sign your business up to our new business plan and you will get a free phone and wait… a second phone free too."
Not many would hestitate and think about the whole process to have that phone, let alone the unneeded second phone. That aside from cheap labour to make that phone, its harvesting of elements from a finite source, ( more likely 'mined' creating negative impacts in someone else's village), is increasingly a lost view in our consumption.
" Despite the pervasive belief that more money and energy makes us happier, evidence suggests this is mostly not true. After basic needs are met, additional energy use yields a slower growth of the Human Development Index (Smil, 2017)."
In a few short years we've forgotten that we could still be happy and healthy using less.
The "disconnect" the article leads too makes some election promises laughable in a sense…
So collective care is now deviously evolved to getting on board with a " strong team", come on you weaklings ! Let's build a road so high energy users can get to the shops faster and more comfortably, so we can all buy some walking shoes, a sham of an election prize.
Ah well, must've misread the intent of your post adding such unchilled serious information then. Here's me genuinely bothering to read all your article's verbiage. Foolish me , lesson learnt.
Dont know what intent you attributed to me but I think the following (accurate) description could be reasonably described as chilling…
"We can’t precisely predict the future, but we can increasingly be confident of what won’t happen. Given the biological and social underpinnings of growth and kicking the can described above, we can hypothesize what scenarios are unlikely:
•
Growing the global economy while simultaneously solving climate change (reducing CO2) or avoiding a 6th mass extinction.
•
Growing the economy while replacing hydrocarbons with low carbon energy.
•
Voting en masse to keep remaining carbon compounds in the ground.
•
Leaders embracing or preparing for an end of growth before it happens.
To avoid paying the societal debt bill we’ve amassed over past decades, we tend to keep kicking the can forward, with more financial guarantees, stories, and rule changes – all in increasingly less sustainable ways. With the backdrop of the Superorganism we might make some predictions:
•
As more people recognize that energy underpins our futures, we’ll witness more schemes focusing on gross energy as opposed to its net contribution to society. Many technologies will be promoted that are viable, but not relevant, affordable or scalable.
•
We will continue to create money and credit expecting their abundance to overcome physical world problems, until they too reach limits (no credit-worthy lenders, interest too high of % of growth, fiscal cliffs, etc.).
•
To avoid social instability, we will remediate wealth inequality via programs like Universal Basic Income (If such ‘wealth transfers’ are direct, they will stabilize society but access more carbon as they are transfers of bank digits to direct calls on resources and energy. (Good for low income humans, bad for dolphins).(These transfers can be indirect e.g. ecological restoration, local public infrastructure etc.)
•
Around the world, as economic prospects deteriorate, people will foster group cohesion by blaming their problems on outgroups, and tend to vote for leaders who promise better economic futures, or things to be more like the past, (linked to more economic growth, linked to energy, linked to carbon). Trump, Bolsonaro, Matteo, LePen, Morrison, etc. are but recent examples. (Conservative names listed, but most liberal types also promise "better economic futures.").
•
As USA and Brazil attest, one of the few remaining economic cans to kick is de-regulation and removal of environmental protection. As the economy gets worse, environmental initiatives (e.g. climate mitigation) will become less popular – not because people disbelieve or care less but because they’ll have less financial and emotional bandwidth to advocate for them.
•
As a globally tethered economic system, we will likely do anything we can to kick the can further down the road. We are caught in a spiral of growth, limits to growth, response to limits, more growth, more limits, more response.”
Im sorry you felt obliged to read the article for my benefit….that was unnecessary.
Sorry about that Pat. I thought you were being dismissive, with "chilling" being ambiguous. My bad, apologies. And no I was not obliged to read the article, I enjoyed absorbing the take and thanks for your added commentary.
Should I trust the The New Zealand Initiative? Do they represent a fair and reasonable opinion?
The New Zealand Initiative is a pro-free-market public-policy think tank and business membership organisation in New Zealand. It was formed in 2012 by merger of the New Zealand Business Roundtable and the New Zealand Institute.
And I say raise the inflation level to allow some maneouvrability. And that money is a system devised by man for man and this country wants the Imf and their acolytes to remember that.
We have to act in the most canny way we can to get our own way, with as little fall-out as possible from outside. Inside it's too dark to read. (Allusion to Groucho Marx.) If you can confuse them enough, you can steal their gold and run away down the beanstalk.
The old raise the age of Superannuation eligibility canard. Eh? Brash wanted it at 75 IIRC and others want Covid-19 to see all of us shuffling off the mortal coil ASAP so that business can get back to the normal amassing of private fortunes at the expense of the public good.
Remember there'll be "Pie in the sky when you die!" Woody Guthrie.
"Working folks of all countries unite
Side by side we for freedom shall fight
When this world and its wealth we have gained
To the grafters we'll sing this refrain
You will eat, you will eat, by and by
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry
Chop some wood, it'll do you good
And you'll eat in that sweet by and by, that's no lie."
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Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
I suspect some wag in Treasury converted Grant Robertson to nudge theory. If you nudge a complex system, the influence cascades down through all the levels within, transforming all subsystems & interrelations subtly. It likely derives from the butterfly effect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect
So the general idea would be that a wee nudge of top income earners will transform the behaviour of all in the economy, and everyone will live happily ever after.
You got it, it's a sophisticated form of herding. Well, better not oversell the concept, so maybe replace sophisticated with trendy.
Happy valley? Well, toss in the even trendier notion that spiritual consultants will turn zombie employees into inspired new-agers, and you can see why capitalism still hums along eh?
Nudge theory works in governance by escalating compliance. Nowadays, when folks are getting increasingly random, administrators need all the help they can get.
Yeah but since when have wage slaves ever needed autonomy? The social system is meant to work like a well-oiled machine. Humans as cogs are habitual. It's why National & Labour think the way they do.
There was, btw, a prior, more elaborate version of the theory in 1971 (google nudge nudge wink wink say no more).
My Nudge Theory is that when you nudge a sleeping dog, it is not going to wake up.
I wondered why I saw those pics of USA people elbowing each other as an alternative to shaking hands. You nudge people with your elbows, but hey, giving someone the elbow means to get them to go away. If nudging is taking off what does it really mean? What springs to mind is a saying about 'nudging someone off their perch'. In these precarious times we want to feel safe on our perch. So we need to watch to see what this new craze is really about! Some new conspiracy??
Listening to RNZ during Checkpoint and the financial news was on.
The news was rosy. ANZ survey business confidence is up 16 points, ASB have revised their figures for the GDP from falling by 20% to falling by 11%.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018763314
Senior economists are scratching their heads and coming up with reckons left right and centre. Bring back the horoscopes, they are based on science.
yes. all the experts and economists(often two different groups) predictions about the economy, should be given full airtime, showing how far from reality most of them have been.
I am a great believer in the saying, Put 5 economist’s in a room and they will come up with 8 different answers and none of them will be right.
No Dennis it's about the money.
Enough with the tortured analogies.
Ad @3
well nudge theory sounds a bit kinder and gentler then 'trickling down' theory. That always had a certain nasty tone to it.
Treasury mandarins know what to do with Labour ministers of finance. The working model was devised as Muldoon lost the plot, and got traction within a few months of being applied to the incoming socialists during early '85. Obviously the rerun of the application was always gonna happen once the update got bolted on.
Grant was never likely to reject a formula approved by "the World Bank, the OECD, the European Commission, and the World Economic Forum". https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/neuroliberalism-welcome-government-21st-century/
No Ad, it is about the control of the money. You know, who gets what, who has more than they need, who gets to keep it, et cetera. It should be about fairness and equality but these are just words without meaning in the real world. It is not about the money, but about how you toil away and spend a large chunk of your life because you have been brainwashed that it is about the money. When we go completely cashless, I cannot even show you my money, I’ll have to log into my bank account and show you a number, on my screen, that tells how much I have toiled and how many more years I have to toil – the toil calculators are the best thing since sliced bread.
Unheralded, a brave new world of social engineering via algorithmic control is dawning. Universities breeding behavioural scientists that view humans as similar to pinballs in that, if you zap them, they will ping off others and you can cause a chain reaction, have been pushing the mechanist-materialist worldview for a century.
That's due to Freud & Jung advocating depth psychology, then other psychologists reacting by pointing out that you can't measure the psyche so `we can only study behaviour' – and because behaviour can be measured and counted psychology won't seem pseudoscience.
From this past, we get this future:
Don't worry. She'll be right. All one need do is spot the manipulation techniques, then do the opposite of what is intended – if you're nonconformist. If you like being part of the herd, accept your fate with equanimity. Vote National/Labour.
The control system is moving with the times. Fed up with neoliberalism? Don't worry, your liberal paternalist controller has something better awaiting your subscription.
Oops, forgot the source: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/neuroliberalism-welcome-government-21st-century/
Don't forget the sauce, it makes the thing just about edible, though not digestible.
"Climate change is my generations nuclear free moment."
Around 2 years ago it was stated by those at the frontlines of climate study that we had a little over a decade to make serious changes to our emissions profile in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change (a timeframe since shortened)
We have witnessed the previous 3 years of inaction by the Coalition and with the general tone of the current electioneering it is almost certain we waste the next 3 years as well.
What was an almost impossible ask to achieve in 10 years will need to be achieved in half that.
Transformational?
Are you always negative Pat? I forget the positives.
Take a look around greywarshark and regale me of all the 'positives' you foresee for our species
We have to check in now and then to remind ourselves and the people we care enough about to converse with, that there are some positives. Personally I do this so I can get out of bed in the morning and keep fighting for a better pathway even if it gets down to a wormhole in the garden. Worms are good! Hooray for worms. I have a ton in my compost who know nothing compared to me and yet are possibly saviours of the planet.
Perhaps worms should be in Parliament
JLR’s competition has been awfully quiet.
Luxon doesn't need to campaign. All them Chinese immigrants will dutifully vote National. Then there's god's will. He knows it. 😉
Thanks for that xenophobia comment you sound like Michael Joseph Savage in some of his highly racists speeches regarding the 1920 immigration act that continued through to his time as PM.
so you think Chinese are so stupid that they cannot think for themselves and act as Lemmings following the one in front?.
That's what prior media commentary based on polling of that ethnic community has suggested, and the stats were extremely one-sided. It was a while back & I can't recall details. Re xenophobia you ought not to read motives into online opinions as if you're operating on autopilot – I have no such fear!
How the ignorant operate. Take some time out and look at the Botany Electorate. I will even help you out. Many with preconceived attitudes have this " I have nothing to fear", You have no links to support such statements. ps there is a difference between Chinese and Asian.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/historical-electorate-profiles/electorate-profiles-data/document/DBHOH_Lib_EP_Botany_People/botany-people#_45
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botany_(New_Zealand_electorate)
Well here's the polling on how Chinese vote in this country:
I had a lengthy conversation with one of "them Chinese immigrants" from the Botany electorate on Sunday. He was well versed on what was happening in their electorate, knew the names of all the candidates and was not inclined at all to vote for Jamie-Lee or Chris Luxon.
Cool, glad to know some have transcended the hive mind thingy. 👍
Building up the guy being doorstepped and asked a few questions about COVID response and responsibilities. Wonder if he’ll answer the door?
Like all opposition when they get into power the world becomes a lot more complex, pet favourites now need to be balanced against complexity of the system, trade offs and unintended consequences Any one overly focus in one area ( a luxury of opposition) in a complex system can have massive affects elsewhere. Labour has learnt that, the Greens to a degree in perennial opposition have not. Winstone has, hence the 2 Winstons, when he is in power and when he is not
If the world is too complex for them now then they are soon to be provided with far more complexity than they ever imagined….a monkey can kick a can down the road.
All it does is highlight how ineffectual our (so called) leaders are, so what is their purpose?
Gradual change based on evidence based policy and managing the trade offs for the common good ( you can’t make every one happy or eliminate all trade offs and risk) which the electorate will determine every 3 years. Likewise acting decisively and proportionately when the situation dictates, ie Covid Not many would agree how the government has responded to Covid is how you should run and economy long term In regard to state intervention and control
What a load of bollocks….minimalist change in order to manage the narrative of the common good while maintaining the advantage to the investor class regardless of the detriment to the majority, the country or even the survivability of society or even the environment that maintains all …..with no little self interest as a bonus.
( investor class….🙄) You may not like it but it’s reality, and if you think different go form your own party and convince the majority, don’t ask labour to commit electoral suicide on far left ideology, similar National on far right
I ask Labour to do no more than endeavour to achieve their stated goals
The investor class are bludgers. Nothing more – they don't even invest:
The evidence calls for immediate action – not trade-offs and more kicking the can down the road to make the capitalists happy.
Our minor finance on “that radio show” both the left and right are unhappy about the tax , so we must have got it right.
So now we have a Labour Party that views their agenda as if everyone is unhappy that labour has got the balance right. No wonder so much attention on some left wing sites is directed at National. It is hard to accept what has just been announced. 3 more years of this transformational government. More like continuation from 1999 with nothing changing. 😢
I thought Tiger Mountain on TDB has a 'balanced' realistic view in Chris Trotter's latest on why the lost thousands of voters may never be found:
Tiger Mountain September 10, 2020 at 8:42 am
Tactically Labour did not really need to do anything, just run the clock down to October 17. But I guess the TV debates mean some “qvestions vill be aksed” by Frau Collins, so answers were going to be needed for the PM.
Crusher–“What unfair tax increases on the hard working, god fearing, salt of the earth, white, heartland kiwis will you be inflicting?”
Jacinda–“already released, will not affect 98% of New Zealanders” (including obviously the new Labour voters Chris mentions).
I am not going to revisit ( today anyway) my usual litany on the class collaborationist, weak as piss Labour Caucus and chief mini-me Blairites like Mr Robertson. I just want them re-elected so political struggle can resume in earnest in the time of opportunity created by the Covid plague.
Expecting the lumpen elements of town or country to come to anyone’s rescue is indeed a forlorn hope. “she’s a pretty communist” is about the peak political analysis those wretches are capable of! Did anyone ever identify that clown holding the sign by the way?
Also what our Min of Finance may not have thought of. In a time where businesses are struggling, should Labour had proposed an increase in the coy tax rate +1-2% (to reduce those able to manage their incomes), this would delay those companies who are currently making losses in paying tax once they regained profits that exceeded these losses(and next years ?). As you do not pay tax (Provisional or Terminal) until all carried forward losses have been wiped out with profits. So it would have assisted business in need in the short term, for long term benefits. And isn't that what a helping hand is – when in need assist and when times are good to return the favour, in this case by paying a slightly larger tax bill.
https://www.business.govt.nz/tax-and-accounting/business-finance-basics/what-to-do-if-your-business-is-operating-at-a-loss/
Red, good to read a balanced post. It seems to me many commenters have unrealistic expectations of what is possible and not possible and they expect transformation in all areas to happen within months. When there is so much to be done it is going to take years. Governing is a slow and cumbersome process and will never please everyone.
Legal but a bit like friends and family bidding for your item on Trademe to inflate the price.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/a-quarter-of-nationals-fb-ad-spend-chasing-likes-for-collins?utm_source=Friends+of+the+Newsroom&utm_campaign=12e5e9be25-Daily+Briefing+10.09.20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-12e5e9be25-95522477
An unkind opponent would suggest that it's a shame she has to buy friends.
.
National spends Quarter of FB Budget on chasing Likes for Judith Collins
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/a-quarter-of-nationals-fb-ad-spend-chasing-likes-for-collins
I need help setting up a Givealittle page. On RNZ this morning I heard people being interviewed about the tax increases for those on $180,000+ a year.
Apparently they'll be down the tubes to the extent of around $20 a week. Some woman (in Karori?) is going to find it really tough. If I can get some charity for her to save her the devastation of the tax increase my life would have been worthwhile.
Apparently $180,000 a year 'isn't much really' especially when you look at the cost of housing. Imagine being in a household of one income and it being that low. Maybe there's someone else in the house can go to work.
If I can rally a group from the under 60k band and set up a Givealittle maybe we can save her. Failing that maybe I can direct her to some budgeting advice place.
Was that the poor dear who reckned 180G wasn't much but $23 was a swingeing shitload?
for gods sake don't give her cash, she'll just spend it on booze and cigarettes. Instead teach her how to grow vegetables, how to cook from scratch and how to budget.
maybe this one should be send to Grant so as to re-consider the hardship espoused by losing $ 23 while on a 180.000 NZD income, and to maybe find it in his hard to add another $ 23 to the beneficiaries that barely make 13.000 grand after tax for the full year?
In case anyone was wondering why that rotting rage-gargoyle lurking under the road-kill hamster was completely unfiltered in spilling his guts to the journalist that's done the most in history to expose presidential misconduct, here's a good explanation:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/why-trump-talked-to-woodward/index.html
tl;dr massive ego makes man stupid.
Cripes weka, you are taking away the employment of numerous right wing academics who would have spent x hours and days to say what you have expressed in one line. If this sort of thing keeps happening there will be bucketfuls of newly unemployed uni grads.
Awww, that's sooo cuuuuute! I wonder if his letters to Ivana and Marla and Melanoma were just as sweet.
Shots fired..
https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald/status/1303789547461971969
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/pelosi-warns-no-chance-of-us-uk-trade-deal-passing-congress-if-brexit-law-breached-1.4350920
The super debate fails to revisit the Norman Kirk scheme which was trialed by local and gvt workers in the last term before it was to become compulsary if Labour won the next election. This was a scheme where the worker contributed %2 and the employer matched it. That money was held in a pool and was to be managed by the gvt on the contributers behalf. Local bodies would be able to borrow from that pool at %1 interest in order to carry out local maintainance and infrastructure projects. The howl from the Nats, bug business and insurers waa deafening with cries of socialism through the back door. Unfortunately Big Norm was as some including Bob Harvey believed was assasanated (cia apple ple).before that third term was up. Labour lost the election and Muldoon scraped the scheme immediately. We who had trialed the scheme got our money back and were surprised at the ammount which seemed substancial for such a short time in operation, but it showed how it would have allowed working class pensioners to retire with dignity and not like today where we live on or below the poverty line. Also local bodies would not be in dire straights as they now are. The poor poor cousin of that scheme, Kiwi Saver which is not kept in one pool but administrated by the wily nilly can never reach the heights og Big Norms socialist scheme. Why wont Labour revisit that scheme.
Because it doesn't give bludging shareholders free money.
Oops. Spellcheck needed
Byd0nz Please paragraph – easier to read and absorb in the mind.
Doctoring the intelligence to fit the propaganda is straight out of the
neo-conBushPutinemperialist playbook.Washington (CNN)A whistleblower is alleging that top political appointees in the Department of Homeland Security repeatedly instructed career officials to modify intelligence assessments to suit President Donald Trump's agenda by downplaying Russia's efforts to interfere in the US and the threat posed by White supremacists, according to documents reviewed by CNN and a source familiar with the situation.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/dhs-whistleblower-white-supremacist-threat/index.html
Gordon Campbell on Scoop. Interesting. https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2009/S00042/on-saving-small-firms-and-disowning-peter-thiel.htm
On Peter Thiel and how well he is doing out of Covid-19.
By 20 April,Palantir was emailing to say it had to set up platforms to track Covid-19 and help combat it in 15 countries, including hard-hit Italy. "We could establish similar capability here in New Zealand within a matter of days," the company said. Overseas media have reported that the UK government gave Palantir access to sensitive patient data. (Health data is highly valued and sought after by tech firms.) The Ardern government declined Palantir’s kind offer. As Business Insider reported earlier this year, Palantir is now likely to become profitable for the first time in its 16 year history and will (perhaps) soon be listing publicly:
https://twitter.com/DracoTBastard/status/1303202039711719424
Could government do that? Would Treasury let them? What barriers apart from their own wetness and timidity, would be against them purchasing the EFTPOS etc – it must be such a good money-maker for the banks.
Our government can, pretty much, do whatever it likes. There's nothing to legally stop them.
Treasury probably wouldn't let them but, in this case, Treasury would be wrong.
And its an excellent money maker for the banks that own it. As the article you link showed:
There's a reason why the banks keep reporting record profits and its not because they're doing a sterling service.
lol
that must be in regards to pay wave who raised their fees after dropping them during L4 and brought them back up in Level 1.
You know what is a really good way for small businesses to avoid these charges? Not using the credit cards and or pay wave.
Use cash. That easy. But hey Labour is finally doing something for the small businesses that are closing shop up and down the country because no one has any money left to spend. Good fucking grief, that bunch of doodas can not not find the most useless shit to 'deliver'.
Well, that's certainly one way to miss out on 70% of business. Had to use the WaybackMachine:
Yeah, I really don't think any business is going to go that way.
I suspect that the actual reason why small businesses are closing is because they just can't compete with large business.
There are quite a few small businesses around that outright refuse credit card payments, or add a surcharge to pay for the fees.
My local chippie is a refusenik – eftpos with no paywave or credit.
And I just paid a bill with a 1.5% credit card surcharge – 2degrees I think.
So in the real world, it happens.
I've seen the surcharge and even the credit card refusal. Haven't seen paywave refusal although plenty of places that haven't updated their EFT-POS which maybe a result of the paywave cost.
Teach me for not fully comprehending my own quote.
Still, there's really two issues here:
So, the best way to get over those two issues is government ownership of the EFT-POS system and making it a state monopoly.
They get to charge us because we use a service they developed. Just as they pay us to use our cash.
At the moment, for maybe a limited time, we can still choose (as vendors and as customers) to not use that particular service.
Maybe EFTPOS should be nationalised. But maybe we should also keep the use of legal tender for a while yet, for those who don't wish to use it.
Although the banks do operate the system that makes EFT-POS happen it's pretty close to a monopoly system which simply should not be allowed in private ownership because, as we can see here, they abuse it.
The second is just an ongoing lie at this point. It was proven years ago that the banks don't need our money to make loans. It's also been proven that the reason why we have such massive capital gains is because of the private banks creating so much money for housing and other speculation.
Payment systems and money creation need to be under government ownership/control so as to prevent the abuse of the system that happens under a private, for profit, corporation. And, yes, keep cash for a while longer.
1: yeah they did
2 meh. Go with the analogy of paying bus companies to ride on their buses then. They provide the service, people choose to use it – or to not use it.
Didn't know that Paymark was around in 1870.
And I think riding on buses should be free as well so as to bring about a more economical result.
Sabine – agree with your comment about using cash. However the banks are hell bent on having cheques no longer accepted as legal tender by June 2021 ; many shops / all public transport here in Auckland don't accept cash. Countdown grudgingly open a dedicated "cash only" check out but have to be reminded at times.
The banks have long wanted a cashless society and Covid has provided the perfect situation for this to happen. There will be little demand for face to face contact so local bank branches will be few and far between.
There are many elderly people who don't / can't use computers and have no desire to learn about online personal banking, They will be greatly disadvantaged without cheques or cash in their day to day lives.
Few seem to understand the importance of having cash available to use for our transactions if we so wish. The power that authorities would have over us as we try to live our private lives if we had to pass everything through a machine is immense. Part of the surveillance of the fascist state. Keeping track of what you do, who with, how much, where did you get it, what haven't you disclosed. Bugger off all you machine-mad people, you have already left planet earth and are standing on some invisible one that has lost its connections with simple humanity.
Dennis Frank Chinese migrants are for more freedom of enterprise less taxes.
Greywarshark berated my negativity earlier today and he/she was correct to observe my posts have been less than uplifting of late…..I suggest with good reason.
An excellent comprehensive and fundamental explanation by Nate Hagens (thanks to powerdownkiwi over at Interest.co.nz)
"Many challenges we face appear as classic social traps, whereby short-term social pressures guide individual behavior in opposition to the best long-run interest of the individual and society (Costanza, 1987). Cognitively, the implications presented in this paper are understandable to most people fluent in the issues, but behaviorally remain almost the perfect storm for the human brain to ignore or deny. The issues are: complex, abstract, in the future, threatening to politicians and business owners, difficult to answer, largely ignored by leaders, and depressing to think about. Typically, a description of our biophysical reality is met with denial or nihilism.
Both denial and nihilism help the mind remove dissonance and thus emotionally absolve a person from working to make (uncomfortable) changes that might improve our chances. This and other social traps appear to mitigate against meaningful action. Our super sociality results in valuing conformity over science, and valuing fairness of process over quality of results. We attempt to use social sorting mechanisms (popularity/status) to solve complex problems. Perhaps the biggest social trap of all is that we don’t actually need all this energy and material stuff to be happy or healthy. Nevertheless, led by the emergent drive of the Superorganism, we let pecuniary metrics, social comparisons, and novel technology, drag us into unnecessary and wasteful consumption."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800919310067
Not for the faint of heart but worth the read
Ta for that Pat Not recommended bedtime reading I think. But top of the list for soon, in the light of day. Perhaps understanding will result in surmounting.
A song comes to me, hopeful to keep in the back of the mind. We need some sweet and good thoughts as mind wallpaper.
Thanks for that, Greywarshark
I listened to this today, by Joni Mitchell, on youtube. It has hope and reality too.
"We are stardust. Billion year old carbon.
We are golden. Caught in the devil's bargain.
And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden."
We are amazingly miraculous really and being here is so random. When we make children we unwittingly are making life, so like Gods. But that's nothing, we can't be bothered – turn everything over to the machines.
Another set of words to keep in mind are those written by Shakespeare centuries ago – fresh each day. 'What a piece of work is man, How noble in reason'.
Fresh – Hamlet soliloquy by Kenneth Branagh. But stop it quickly as a dross piece of everyday cop show follows to invade your ears.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxvvkXYN7wg
Thought provoking read Pat.
The crux of issues facing us now are because we do not want to give up or lower our energy use.
As the article poses, "Recognition that the future exists" already is uncomfortable and perhaps we do not see changing our own individual lives now as a huge part of the 'crisis'. There's always tomorrow.
" Perhaps the biggest social trap of all is that we don’t actually need all this energy and material stuff to be happy or healthy. Nevertheless, led by the emergent drive of the Superorganism, we let pecuniary metrics, social comparisons, and novel technology, drag us into unnecessary and wasteful consumption."
Then this quote from same text,
" …. there is no instinctual ‘full’ signal in modern brains – so we become addicted to the ‘unexpected reward’ of the next encounter, episode, or email, at an ever increasing pace (Hagens, 2011; Schultz et al., 1997). Our brains require flows (feelings) that we satisfy today mostly using non-renewable stocks. "
The business world exploits that insatiable wants of humans offering its glittery rewards and most uphold that exploitation by our own daily behaviours.
This week was a work email from Spark , ' sign your business up to our new business plan and you will get a free phone and wait… a second phone free too."
Not many would hestitate and think about the whole process to have that phone, let alone the unneeded second phone. That aside from cheap labour to make that phone, its harvesting of elements from a finite source, ( more likely 'mined' creating negative impacts in someone else's village), is increasingly a lost view in our consumption.
" Despite the pervasive belief that more money and energy makes us happier, evidence suggests this is mostly not true. After basic needs are met, additional energy use yields a slower growth of the Human Development Index (Smil, 2017)."
In a few short years we've forgotten that we could still be happy and healthy using less.
The "disconnect" the article leads too makes some election promises laughable in a sense…
So collective care is now deviously evolved to getting on board with a " strong team", come on you weaklings ! Let's build a road so high energy users can get to the shops faster and more comfortably, so we can all buy some walking shoes, a sham of an election prize.
thought provoking is one way to describe it…..Im inclined to 'chilling' myself.
Ah well, must've misread the intent of your post adding such unchilled serious information then. Here's me genuinely bothering to read all your article's verbiage. Foolish me , lesson learnt.
Dont know what intent you attributed to me but I think the following (accurate) description could be reasonably described as chilling…
"We can’t precisely predict the future, but we can increasingly be confident of what won’t happen. Given the biological and social underpinnings of growth and kicking the can described above, we can hypothesize what scenarios are unlikely:
•
Growing the global economy while simultaneously solving climate change (reducing CO2) or avoiding a 6th mass extinction.
•
Growing the economy while replacing hydrocarbons with low carbon energy.
•
Voting en masse to keep remaining carbon compounds in the ground.
•
Leaders embracing or preparing for an end of growth before it happens.
To avoid paying the societal debt bill we’ve amassed over past decades, we tend to keep kicking the can forward, with more financial guarantees, stories, and rule changes – all in increasingly less sustainable ways. With the backdrop of the Superorganism we might make some predictions:
•
As more people recognize that energy underpins our futures, we’ll witness more schemes focusing on gross energy as opposed to its net contribution to society. Many technologies will be promoted that are viable, but not relevant, affordable or scalable.
•
We will continue to create money and credit expecting their abundance to overcome physical world problems, until they too reach limits (no credit-worthy lenders, interest too high of % of growth, fiscal cliffs, etc.).
•
To avoid social instability, we will remediate wealth inequality via programs like Universal Basic Income (If such ‘wealth transfers’ are direct, they will stabilize society but access more carbon as they are transfers of bank digits to direct calls on resources and energy. (Good for low income humans, bad for dolphins).(These transfers can be indirect e.g. ecological restoration, local public infrastructure etc.)
•
Around the world, as economic prospects deteriorate, people will foster group cohesion by blaming their problems on outgroups, and tend to vote for leaders who promise better economic futures, or things to be more like the past, (linked to more economic growth, linked to energy, linked to carbon). Trump, Bolsonaro, Matteo, LePen, Morrison, etc. are but recent examples. (Conservative names listed, but most liberal types also promise "better economic futures.").
•
As USA and Brazil attest, one of the few remaining economic cans to kick is de-regulation and removal of environmental protection. As the economy gets worse, environmental initiatives (e.g. climate mitigation) will become less popular – not because people disbelieve or care less but because they’ll have less financial and emotional bandwidth to advocate for them.
•
As a globally tethered economic system, we will likely do anything we can to kick the can further down the road. We are caught in a spiral of growth, limits to growth, response to limits, more growth, more limits, more response.”
Im sorry you felt obliged to read the article for my benefit….that was unnecessary.
Sorry about that Pat. I thought you were being dismissive, with "chilling" being ambiguous. My bad, apologies. And no I was not obliged to read the article, I enjoyed absorbing the take and thanks for your added commentary.
Not at all….it IS food for thought, but I also see the inevitability he describes.
Of course.
https://twitter.com/DavidNeiwert/status/1303716729609048066
Should I trust the The New Zealand Initiative? Do they represent a fair and reasonable opinion?
For example:
lol…think you answered your own question
And I say raise the inflation level to allow some maneouvrability. And that money is a system devised by man for man and this country wants the Imf and their acolytes to remember that.
We have to act in the most canny way we can to get our own way, with as little fall-out as possible from outside. Inside it's too dark to read. (Allusion to Groucho Marx.) If you can confuse them enough, you can steal their gold and run away down the beanstalk.
The old raise the age of Superannuation eligibility canard. Eh? Brash wanted it at 75 IIRC and others want Covid-19 to see all of us shuffling off the mortal coil ASAP so that business can get back to the normal amassing of private fortunes at the expense of the public good.
Remember there'll be "Pie in the sky when you die!" Woody Guthrie.
"Working folks of all countries unite
Side by side we for freedom shall fight
When this world and its wealth we have gained
To the grafters we'll sing this refrain
You will eat, you will eat, by and by
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry
Chop some wood, it'll do you good
And you'll eat in that sweet by and by, that's no lie."
Was that not called way back the Business Round Table, later known as the Libertarian Party now known as A,C,T.