Open mike 28/09/2022

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 28th, 2022 - 40 comments
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40 comments on “Open mike 28/09/2022 ”

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  1. Stephen D 1
    28 September 2022 at 9:30 am

    “I’ve written a lot over the years about zombie economic ideas — ideas that have failed repeatedly in practice, and should be dead, but somehow are still shambling around, eating policymakers’ brains. The pre-eminent zombie in American economic discourse has long been the belief that cutting taxes on the rich will create an economic miracle.”

    Sound familiar? The idea of National and Act as packs zombies has some appeal.

    Paul Krugman quoted from;

    http://werewolf.co.nz/2022/09/gordon-campbell-on-what-britains-tax-cutting-spree-means-for-us/

    • Drowsy M. Kram 1.1
      28 September 2022 at 10:06 am

      Matthew 25:29
      “For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

      Seems Labour can’t change this – maybe the Gnats can. Who needs wants a tax cut?

      https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/16-08-2022/the-side-eyes-two-new-zealands-the-table

      • Ad 1.1.1
        28 September 2022 at 12:29 pm

        Yet as soon as any tax change goes into the public arena, everyone both business and vox populi has such a shitfit that the government can't do anything except walk it back.

        Here we are just over a year from election, polls going the wrong way, and guess who's coming for dinner?

        • Drowsy M. Kram 1.1.1.1
          28 September 2022 at 1:07 pm

          At least one of the parties coming to 'dinner' believes its an 'all you can eat' buffet.

    • Stuart Munro 1.2
      28 September 2022 at 4:38 pm

      The idea of National and Act as packs zombies has some appeal.

      Sadly, the selection of Bed-leg Sam suggests that National intellectual aspirations fall somewhat below those of the mindless undead.

      'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.' ~ Seth Grahame-Smith

      Brains are not Sam’s forte.

  2. tsmithfield 2
    28 September 2022 at 10:31 am

    Interesting developments in Europe with the the Nordstream pipelines apparently sabotaged. There is evidence of several underwater explosions around the time they started leakin.

    Theories abound for who might have done it. Some are pointing the finger at the Russians. But they had already shut off the gas anyway, and blowing them up removes a bargaining card the Russians had. That is, bargaining to put the gas back on as a contra for removing sanctions etc. Then again, perhaps the Russians were trying to demonstrate their capability and intent to damage other critical European infrastructure.

    Others are pointing to the US, Poland, or even Germany itself as a strategy to undermine energy protests that could derail the coalition.

    Others are pointing to Ukraine. But they already have Russian gaslines running through their territory that would be much easier for them to sabotage.

  4. Chris 4
    28 September 2022 at 12:08 pm

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/129997614/schools-early-childhood-centres-failing-disabled-learners-education-review-office-says

    IHC filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission about precisely these kinds of issues. It was about 10 or 12 years ago now. The last we heard it was sitting with the Human Rights Review Tribunal. I remember reading about it back then thinking the fact IHC is the largest provider of government contracted services for disabled people in the country that the complaint won't go far. We received a glimpse of IHC's gutlessness when they tried to defend paying sleepover workers less than the minimum wage.

    It would've been a slam-dunk at the Human Rights Review Tribunal. Maybe there's still hope and the case is still on track to be heard, I don't know. But I think the safest bet is to assume that IHC's again dropped the ball and that their permanent residence deep up the government's arse has meant yet another disservice to disabled people.

    If disabled people want to know why, despite raising the same issues time and time again, things never change, ask IHC.

  5. Ad 5
    28 September 2022 at 12:25 pm

    Keir Starmer sets out his priorities for the first 100 days of office.

    State-backed energy and a ‘sense of hope’: Starmer sets out stall as No 10 contender | Keir Starmer | The Guardian

    He's going to set up a new very large energy company, British Energy.

    He has already announced plans to make the UK the first major economy to generate all of its electricity without fossil fuels.

    He says this can be achieved by 2030 – five years earlier than being planned by the government (note NZLabour has the same goal).

    "The road to net-zero is no longer one of stern, austere, self-denial," he said in his speech.

    "It's at the heart of modern, 21st century aspiration. Technology has turned everything on its head. Green and growth don't just go together – they're inseparable.

    "The future wealth of this country is in our air, in our seas, and in our skies. Britain should harness that wealth and share it with all."

    So that's a long way short of nationalising the entire major energy generators.

    But it says for Labour UK, energy bills are the way to the voters' hearts.

  6. Corey Humm 6
    28 September 2022 at 3:11 pm

    Edit: I see there’s discussion above oh well lol Anyone watch the UK labour party conference?

    They've rebranded energy nationalization into patriotic ownership that will stop the french sucking money out of the UK.

    When all else fails bash the french and appeal to British patriotism 😂

    I think NZ labour could learn a thing or two from this strategy ie sell the water reforms solely as a way to keep water from being privatized and sold to china, by kiwis for kiwis. I think the left would be surprised how much of middle NZ would go for that…

    Painting nationalization of things as patriotism and keeping kiwis money and assets in NZ hands not overseas appeals to a lot of people.. most new zealanders hate privatization with a firey passion and branded correctly as a patriotic act instead of as some sort of social justice act I can see it being overwhelmingly popular

    Good luck to UK labour, the economic suicide cult that's just been placed in power is more radical than thatcher, and Boris was elected on a populist nationalist faux anti trickle down agenda so seeing this new Truss administration embracing extreme trickle down when even America has abandoned it is not going to win the Tories any fans in the red wall and elsewhere.

    I do wish UKLP would hurry up and embrace proportional representation, they'd be much more competitive, and the Tories would often be knee capped by coalition partners.

    • Ad 6.1
      28 September 2022 at 3:14 pm

      I covered this at Comment 5.

      It's not renationalisation. It's a specific new public corporation.

    • Poission 6.2
      28 September 2022 at 4:04 pm

      When all else fails bash the french and appeal to British patriotism

      The BOE has three main mandates in its charter.

      1) Monetary policy

      2) Provision of currency

      3) Waging war on the French.

    • Nic the NZer 6.3
      28 September 2022 at 8:07 pm

      The anti-French stuff makes a lot of sense in the UK. This is simply because the main outcomes of 'privatisation' of the UK energy markets was a very large chunk of UK energy now comes from French SOEs. Especially with Nuclear the private sector was never going to take the risks of its operation.

      Its similar to NZ banking conversations ending up talking about Aus owned banks.

  7. Blazer 7
    28 September 2022 at 3:22 pm

    Russia has a new citizen….

    'The only thing that has changed is that as a result of his Russian citizenship, apparently now he may well be conscripted to fight in the reckless war" in Ukraine, he added.'

    Putin grants Snowden Russian citizenship | The Manila Times

  8. KJT 8
    28 September 2022 at 3:24 pm

    Why flying school strikers aren't hypocrites (msn.com)

    Comment: Climate advocates are no stranger to the sort of bad faith attacks deployed last week to undermine the credibility of striking students.

    The suggestion, on talkback radio and on social media, that student activists who take flights, drive a car or eat meat should shut up and quit complaining is ignorant at best and disingenuous at worst.

    We won’t comment on the breathtaking “hypocrisy” of right wing pretend “Journalists” , collecting tax payer dollars by the handful.

  9. arkie 9
    28 September 2022 at 3:49 pm

    Author Barbara Ehrenreich died early this month.

    Prolific and passionate, her work will always be worth reading.

    Here is a particularly profound excerpt:

    When someone works for less pay than she can live on—when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently—then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life. The ‘working poor,’ as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else.

    ―From Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

  10. Poission 10
    28 September 2022 at 5:31 pm

    IMF issues warning to UK,over leveraged tax cuts .

    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63051702

    JP Morgan issues stronger warning ( mp's jobs may be at risk)

    https://twitter.com/ReutersJamie/status/1574530414303068160?cxt=HHwWgICqibrE7dkrAAAA