Open mike 10/02/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 10th, 2010 - 24 comments
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Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner).

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24 comments on “Open mike 10/02/2010 ”

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  1. Bored 1
    10 February 2010 at 7:21 am

    A quick broadside to all those low to middle income Kiwis who voted for “aspiration” and tax cuts….congratulations you are no better off, enjoy paying more GST etc whilst watching the rich get richer, the services you rely upon diminished. Well done fools.

    • prism 1.1
      10 February 2010 at 9:13 am

      Well Sir John the Clueless of Charmalot has charged through the minefield of taxcuts and we could have taken a book on the likelihood of GST going up, nice and clean tax because it appears to be a flat tax and its a tax you incur yourself (unavoidably).
      There is a more emotional and negative response to PAYE as it is paid direct to government, while the business collects GST before passing it on.
      What corkscrew minds these wealthy professionals and politicians have. Overall 80% of the tax take comes from 10% of taxpayers. That’s obviously unfair they say! What is the reason? The laws and the economy has been built so that a few individuals have been advantaged mightily, and wages compressed for the rest, resulting in a great disparity between the elite high and the large low ‘strugglers”.
      So having pots of money leaves the rich dissatisfied and wanting to have more instead of supporting the country they are riding. They are jockeys riding their steeds for a win but not feeding them. Results – obvious and inevitable.
      And as for allowing for more money for investment and skilled employment, but not acting on housing. What a cop-out? What a weak-kneed, wet bunch of politicians we have. All big talk about striding manfully into the tax fray and creeping out through the hole in the fence when the going gets hard. As for employment, half the software developers have been laid off at a firm I know of. There is talk of India.
      We in our wee country won’t survive with a robust economy and public-serving government unless we get some politicians prepared to act quickly where the economy is distorted, instead of steady as we go right towards the reef. Tonga, our sister country we join you.

  2. Jenny 2
    10 February 2010 at 7:29 am

    With the Nats determined to raise GST to 15% The campaign to eliminate GST from food, (as is done in other countries that have this tax) becomes more significant.

    • blinded by the right 2.1
      10 February 2010 at 10:28 am

      define “food”

      This argument is always raised, and is fraught with complication and difficulty. I’m not a fan of GST being raised, but removing it from food is just asking for trouble.

      • Bill 2.1.1
        10 February 2010 at 11:43 am

        Why not have the pro GST brigade define what it is that is not food and have everything not within their definition GST free?

  3. Sanctuary 3
    10 February 2010 at 7:36 am

    From John Armstrong in today’s Herald:

    ” A simple political axiom is responsible for that distinction. The lower paid largely don’t vote National. Those who earn more do. A land tax would have been political suicide in mortgage-belt New Zealand. Likewise a capital gains tax. In contrast, lifting GST should provide enough revenue for large enough tax cuts to keep middle New Zealand voting National ‘

    You know what that is? It is a frank admission of class war by the rich on the poor.

    • vto 3.2
      10 February 2010 at 11:24 am

      Sanctuary “You know what that is? It is a frank admission of class war by the rich on the poor.”

      As opposed to Clark and the envious lifting the top tax rate to 39% when it was not even necessary in 1999.

      That was an even more flagrant and actual act of class war by the poor on the ‘rich’. It was the most horrid act of envy witnessed in these lands. It stunk.

      • prism 3.2.1
        10 February 2010 at 11:51 am

        vto Are you one of the ultra rich, hoping to be, or one of the sycophants who give the impression that they could be if they wanted to?

        • vto 3.2.1.1
          10 February 2010 at 2:46 pm

          None of the above mr prism, and you have now used up your three guesses…

          • prism 3.2.1.1.1
            10 February 2010 at 4:56 pm

            Well why are you blethering. The ultra rich know how to look after themselves, even when they are down, they are up compared to you and the rest of us. The rich usually look after themselves though some enjoy taking other rich people down, spend their money and get home detention or something.

            The middle class spend their time denying they are rich, and disdaining the poor, so they are in limbo poor things. Never quite able to reach the next level of conspicuous consumption. Perhaps that’s where you’re at. But don’t tell me, I’ve used up my three guesses.

  4. travellerev 4
    10 February 2010 at 7:50 am

    As the news hits this morning that John Key signals National park mining which I predicted was inevitable based on John Key’s PR company and it’s links to the CIS neocon think tank I would like to leave you with this little equation for the day.

    John Key+Cosby and Textor+CIS= Mining in our most pristine nature reserves.

  5. Pascal's bookie 5
    10 February 2010 at 8:03 am

    News from the war:

    http://returngood.com/2010/02/08/fallujah-new-orleans-and-marja/

    Operation ‘ Moshtarak’ is about to get going.

    Before the second Fallujah offensive, Willingham remembers seeing American planes drop flyers ordering citizens to leave the city.

    “The flyers let them know we were getting ready to start bombing the city, (and) anyone who stayed we assumed was an insurgent,’ Willingham said.
     ….

    …. (re Moshtarak) US Second Marine Expeditionary Force commander Larry Nicholson said that the evacuation of most civilians would give commanders leeway to use air-to-ground missiles, declaring that he was “not looking for a fair fight.’

    Nicholson is telegraphing he’s letting the air strikes off the chain and that he intends to use rapid, furious attacks in Marja, and somehow that is supposed to lead to reduced civilian casualties. Well, that would be great if we didn’t already know that the single greatest cause of U.S.-caused civilian casualties was airstrikes in support of troops involved in intense firefights.

    Now, one should give people the benefit of the doubt. Nicholson is gearing up for a fight, and when he speaks, he’s got at least two audiences: the Afghan public and his troops. So, one could just write this off as (pardon my French) a little bit of dick-swinging machismo meant to get his troops fired up and his enemies scared. But the problem is that he’s talking trash about using the tactic most responsible for U.S.-caused civilian casualties in a densely populated area, and if he follows through on his swagger, lots of people not a party to the conflict will be torn to pieces by U.S. munitions.

    Oh, and “leaflets have been dropped in the Marja district, urging residents to get out of the area.’ In a country with 28 percent literacy rates.

    As residents flee Marja in advance of this operation, some that remain behind will be members of armed opposition groups like the Taliban. They will be mixed, however, with the poor, the elderly, the sick and the heroic who stay behind to help them.

    Hearts and minds baby.
    COIN is hard.

  6. Jim in Tokyo 6
    10 February 2010 at 8:46 am

    This one slipped out before the big speech, and it looks like neoliberalisation 101 to me – I’d be keen to hear from someone who knows a bit more about the specific changes. How would this effect, say, a multinational mining company extracting West Coast iron sands?

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3301556/Tax-change-boost-to-big-Kiwi-exporters

    • Draco T Bastard 6.1
      10 February 2010 at 11:23 am

      That sounds remarkably like a gift from of our money/resources from this government to its foreign owners.

  7. marty mars 7
    10 February 2010 at 11:19 am

    can’t wait to put up this video

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3311679/Key-no-GST-rise-video-emerges

    “Labour has unearthed a video of Prime Minister John Key on the campaign trail in 2008 ruling out a rise in GST if he won the election.”

  8. Draco T Bastard 8
    10 February 2010 at 4:48 pm

    As reported by Idiot/Savant
    National lied about health cuts

    When National signalled health cuts and “spending discipline” in last years budget, they said the money would come out of bureaucrats and the “back office”. Frontline services would be unaffected.

    They lied. Thanks to National’s cuts, my local DHB is looking at a $9 million deficit for this year. Which means job losses, and cuts to services:

    So much for cutting the bureaucracy and boosting the frontline…

  9. pollywog 9
    10 February 2010 at 4:49 pm

    Damn… so if you’re a gen x’er who didnt make a shitload and get a few houses when the getting was good you’re pretty much fucked and so are your bludging, dumbass gen Y kids cos now can they not only not get a job, cos their arent any, but they can’t even afford a decent education to even compete.

    oh well, theres always the armed forces.

  10. NickS 10
    10 February 2010 at 8:26 pm

    http://hot-topic.co.nz/the-annotated-rodney-hide-treating-parliament-with-contempt

    /facepalm

    Not only does Wodney not perk-bust, along with screwing up Auckland, he also repeats claims that are easily exposed as pure bullsh*t and can’t science to save his life.