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notices and features - Date published:
6:00 am, August 18th, 2011 - 46 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags: open mike
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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We may think this southerly blast rather dreadful, but fortunately for us it will go and reveal early spring. Not so the financial crisis threatening Europe, and America. The French banks seem to be greatly at risk, and it is hard to add an F to PIIGS.
Read http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/ today to realise the so called rally on stocks looks good until the major banking stocks are examined. Huge loss of percieved “value”.
What does it mean to you and me: shed debt and dont spend unless you wish to end up chased by debt collectors and harassed etc….batten down all hatches for the storm.
And as an antidote to the bad news some fun…satire on climate and markets,,“If the Earth had really become less habitable, market forces would kick in, and we would see a booming spaceship industry. That’s just not happening.”
http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2011-08-17/sp-downgrades-planet-earth-and-humanity-citing-unbalanced-carbon-budget-reckless-
The French banks seem to be greatly at risk, and it is hard to add an F to PIIGS.
F the PIIGs!
Wait for the UK to go (jobless figures from yesterday were woeful [The independent]).
FUKPIIGS.
Only thing is it is the you and I within those countries that will be considered as unwashed ones in need of a good fucking over.
Lets add Germany.. FUKGPIIGS….good one Bill.
And yes, the poor will pay for the misdemeanours of the rich.
how are the Netherlands and Czech republic going?
Truly fabulous, well spotted.
You’re right Bill – things aren’t going to get better in a hurry.
In the UK, 2.49million officially unemployed and another 1.26million in part-time or temporary work because they can’t find full-time/permanent jobs.
The TUC finds that several ‘hot spots’ for the riots are also hot spots for ‘claimants’ (i.e., unemployed).
Gift duty is no more. The coiffured one’s Taxation (Tax Administration and Remedial Matters) Bill is now law.
Gift duty applied a very effective brake to the wealthy and stopped them from instantaneously divesting themselves of assets. If they transferred more than $27,000 a year they had to pay some tax.
Despite the opposition of Labour and the Greens this has now gone. The wealthy can divest themselves of their assets to trusts at will.
The Nat majority said in the report back to Parliament:
The committee is aware of the concern of some submitters that the abolition of gift duty (clause 110) could increase the use of trusts in New Zealand, and suggestions that this provision should be removed from the bill and the issue addressed once the Law Commission’s re- view of trust law is complete. We consider that gift duty is not the ap- propriate mechanism to deal with any inadequacies in New Zealand trust law. Any perceived protection that was provided through gift duty has shown itself to be incidental and ineffective. The outcome of this review is unlikely to bear upon the decision to abolish gift duty. We understand there is no evidence that the abolition of gift duty would lead to an increase in the number of trusts or the value of assets they hold.
This is of course absolute bollocks. Not only will everyone who is engaged in multi year gifting now be able to complete it instantaneously, but others will now be incentivised to set up trusts. The likes of John Hotchin and Rob Petrevich will have even less impediment to the hiding of assets away from the clutches of disgruntled creditors.
And even more bizarrely they have repealed Gift Duty without addressing inadequacies concerning trust law. They could at least have held off until the Law Commission review was complete.
Of course this measure does not favour the wealthy. The poor are now also entitled to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars to trusts instantaneously as well.
I’ll be thinking about setting up a trust now.
When does the abolition actually take effect?
I think when it gets Royal assent but the devil is in the detail.
1 October 2011
Being poor sort of excludes having that kind of dough though doesn’t it!
TE
To paraphrase Anatole
The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich and the poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread but allows them to gift hundreds of thousands of dollars to trusts of their creation.
So as they ignore due process and quietly slide a law under the door that gifts hundreds of millions of dollars into the back pockets of their mates, they make a song and dance production for the public on a few buckets of loose change paid by Mum and Dad
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/5467824/Livestock-bach-tax-reform-eyed
!! nice work !!
How sweet to be an idiot! 🙂
My favourite poem from a long time ago:
‘Oh, look at the happy moron,
he doesn’t give a damn.
I wish I was a moron,
My God … perhaps I am!’
All Black Supporters: No More Sex For You
wtf
this country is a provincial laughing stock across the world
who is actually steering this joke of a RWC?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby-world-cup-2011/news/article.cfm?c_id=522&objectid=10745792
I’m guessing it’s a prelude to a crass ‘We fucked them’ meme after the first NZ win. (Would have called them by their inclusive colour title, but apparently that’s trademarked.).
edit. Oh. They’ve ditched it. hey ho.
edit again. They used Saatchi and Saatchi! Jeez, that’s so Thatherite 80’s. Didn’t know they were still around…
‘Who is actually steering this joke of a RWC?’
Rugby-heads.
The same genuises who sold out to Adidas, f’d up the 03 co-hosting, created super rugby (yawn) and seem to have no vision for the game at grassroots level in NZ.
A professional code run by amateur old boys and former players trading it for all it’s worth….just ask Strategic Finance investors about their christ college former AB director.
Dunno, Don’t care, Not going to waste my time watching it. I got better things to do.
The same geniuses who lied to the public about the William Webb Ellis Trophy promotion a few months back. We were told it was real, turns out its fake, fake, fake. Is it too late to cancel the RWC, do you think? We could still keep the boozing and the wife beating, just not bother with the rugby games.
And it’s no coincidence that the certain directors are linked to certain agencies that provide these bullshit campaigns…….. as usual no one will be sacked or held to account.
http://www.telecom.co.nz/content/0,8748,200652-1548,00.html
The Sin of Cheapness
This is something that happens everywhere where costs are cut without consideration to the consequences. It’s what caused the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, all our leaky buildings and the Pike River mine disaster. It’s a simple lesson that we need to learn and remember – some costs just can’t be cut.
Such ill-considered cutting always happens when the RWNJs are in charge and it’s what’s happening under this government.
State service employees cut
Building standards cut – again (Yes, use of untreated timer has again been allowed in building houses)
ECE cuts
Health cuts (in real terms)
etc etc
By not having a tax free threshold before income tax kicks in, by not having a CGT,
by not having GST off food, the average citizen pays immediately more. But worse
the economy losses investment which was plowed into housing (much of it
condemned the moment it goes up as leaky). So hollowed out is the NZ economy
when the great
world unwinding of debt begins, there is less far to fall, and so we do not have
to inflate (publically by printing money, or privately by losing money) our way
out of trouble like so many countries. Now that has the pernious effect that
our currency because extremely stable and so desireable. Farmers grew weeds
by buying into the US neo-lliberal voodoo economics and now are paying for it
by collecting even less off the high commodity prices. Who says what goes
around does not come back around. Clueless rightwing economic politicians
who sold farmers on beating up the rest of the economy to sustain their profits
only to find the farmers are even worst done by. We need to stop concentrating
on growing weeds with tax cuts, and concentrate on making our economy
fairer, income equal, and fair playing fields for investment (CGT), and
having similar tax regimes to UK, OZ so that we don’t distort our economy
and run at a lower more inefficient less trustworthy economy (which speculators
take to the bank – usually from inside a bank).
Labour on current policy will win the next election with a landslide, unless
our managers of small and medium size companies are as bad as it looks
like they are, and what’s left of our professional middle class are desperate
to hold on to their rental properties.
So….what do you call a country that worships an egg-shaped piece of leather, builds cardboard cathedrals and plastic temples resembling canoes and condoms, ordains a mincing moneychanger as High Priest, kicks the poor in the teeth and gives alms to the hideously wealthy?
The land of the long white wank; an inane Robin Hood riding backwards on a fist-shaped horse through a village of grinning idiots, butt and mother lode for a generation of the world’s comedians. Monty Python by the Right, the South Pacific Mecca of heartless, witless cringe.
Hop on that plane kids, work on the accent, and don’t look back.
Stuff now: 7600 Kiwis hurt falling out of bed Right on cue.
Another report for NAct and the filthy farmers to ignore.
Time to kill the more farms=good mantra that we’re continuously fed from both this government and farmers in general.
According to an advert I just heard on TV3 “the game you love is now the business you love!” (Thugby of course.)
Oh joy! Oh glory!
The two things that the Nats have been urging us to love for many decades now – I remember Jum Blodger back in the 90s when my son was small, insisting that he wanted kids to ‘hero worship’ business leaders, not just sportsmen.
Given that (partly for health reasons) I have a life-long hatred of sport – especially team sports, I found that bizarre…
Now as they’re banging on about the “abstain for the game” idiocy, I am baffled. It was a Telecom thing it seems? “B’in’ pass’nt bou rubby” said some bald guy on the TV news and like the guy who reached for his gun when he heard the word culture, I want to spew.
Ruck fugby, the best slogan I ever saw in 1981..
Unfortunately, a lot of people actually do do that. Well, what they do is worship rich people. It’s absolutely disgusting.
Rich people are not going to be very important in 15-20 years time. The current crop of wealth worshipping parents don’t even realise the storm front just beginning to buffett the western world now.
Little 8 year old Johnny is in for a rough ride.
funny.. but the one way I know for sure of insulating my family from the shit storm that is going to come is having money..and lots of it.
Land, water, power and lots and lots of guns.
Have a nice night.
lolz
how many people in your family can handle firearms effectively? Because if its just 2 of you, you’ll only be able to maintain effective 24/7 guard for 9 to 10 days maximum before you are screwed for a week recovering.
Nite nite
PS I have a few more tips to give you based on what you’ve written there, but you have google just like me.
When you start shooting at the other 99% of the population they will shoot back and they will win.
Pinch me Doris, I thought I just saw a TV lass question Paula Bennett till she ran away. Twice in two nights.
Rebecca Wright. Let’s see how long she lasts.
A little late but the counter attack begins….Justice Dept investigates S&Poors…..standard USA. Late for both World Wars, late to see they were being rorted by supra national banksters…
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/business/us-inquiry-said-to-focus-on-s-p-ratings.html?_r=1&hp
They Love Me
I don’t usually like to blog about myself, but in this instance I think the topic might apply to others who utilize social media to convey their beliefs and political viewpoint as well. There’s no such thing as blogger etiquette, or any enforceable rules that apply to blogs, but I’m surprised at the opposition and abuse I’ve recently received for merely using social media to communicate my ideas…
Keep up the good work Jackal. The attention, though unwelcome, is a weird sort of complement.
I guess I’m on the right track if I’m getting up the RWNJ’s noses. Thanks Campbell.
lprent:
Name search is wacky again (non chronological dates) makes it kind of tricky to find threads/ conversations… was fixed for awhile there?
Odd. I checked it yesterday afternoon. I will try it again…
Are you using @author name ?
Seems to be working ok.
You’re aware that there is a time delay before the search updates? Something like 10-15 minutes from memory.
lprent
Search is still delivering one or two non chronological comments at the top of results at my end, date of first appearing comment differs depending on author – after the quirks sequence is then oldest first rather than newest first, getting to most recent comment requires many clicks.
It’s not a big deal – I think there is only a few of us that look for replies using search anyway, I only mentioned it because it appeared to be fixed a couple of days ago but has now reverted back. Thanks for looking into it anyway.
Ok I will have a look at it. Sounds more like an issue with the collation sequence than anything else. Hardly surprising being in mind the way I have been moving servers around for the last few months.
In a video interview with the Wall Street Journal economist Nouriel Roubini warns that the risk of a global recession is higher than 50%, blames George Bush for the United States’ economic predicament, advocates higher taxes, warns of a possible break-up of the European monetary union and states that Karl Marx was right.
WSJ: So you painted a bleak picture of sub-par economic growth going forward, with an increased risk of another recession in the near future. That sounds awful. What can government and what can businesses do to get the economy going again or is it just sit and wait and gut it out?
Roubini: Businesses are not doing anything. They’re not actually helping. All this risk made them more nervous. There’s a value in waiting. They claim they’re doing cutbacks because there’s excess capacity and not adding workers because there’s not enough final demand, but there’s a paradox, a Catch-22. If you’re not hiring workers, there’s not enough labor income, enough consumer confidence, enough consumption, not enough final demand. In the last two or three years, we’ve actually had a worsening because we’ve had a massive redistribution of income from labor to capital, from wages to profits, and the inequality of income has increased and the marginal propensity to spend of a household is greater than the marginal propensity of a firm because they have a greater propensity to save, that is firms compared to households. So the redistribution of income and wealth makes the problem of inadequate aggregate demand even worse.
Karl Marx had it right. At some point, Capitalism can destroy itself. You cannot keep on shifting income from labor to Capital without having an excess capacity and a lack of aggregate demand. That’s what has happened. We thought that markets worked. They’re not working. The individual can be rational. The firm, to survive and thrive, can push labor costs more and more down, but labor costs are someone else’s income and consumption. That’s why it’s a self-destructive process.