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notices and features - Date published:
6:00 am, August 29th, 2017 - 82 comments
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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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This election demonstrated what the deep state will do to ensure the continuity of neoliberal rule in New Zealand.
Little
Turei
Peters
What do they all have in common?
They would have challenged the neoliberal paradigm.
+100 ed
Yeah, ummmm. Sorry, how would they have changed the paradigm? Seriously, I’m keen to hear solutions, cause with the feed back I’m getting from the Bots around here, seems my plans where deluded.
Please correct me, but I thought orthodox-economic-norms where set in stone from several decades of entrenched financial regulations, both internal and external.
Must add that Winnie always has a pair of rose smelling underpants up the sleeve, he’ll some how come out of this smelling ok.
Which way forward, Mr Ed?
(Eco-Maori, the invite is open. Bright ideas? Could we innovate with a little Babylonian Banking Number?)
If you’re in Auckland, maybe you could join Marama Davidson and Metiria Turei at a rally against poverty on September 16 at 2.30pm at Otara Town Centre;
And Turei will also be speaking about poverty at the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch on 31 August.
This is where positive change will come from for those suffering most from poverty and inequality: from the flax roots.
Thanks.
Join the rally, or remain door-knocking locally, good options.
Hey the Green policy you link is adequate to stabilise short term. And yes, it’s the only politically speakable alternative. But the Greens would also do govt funded research into the TOP strategies around tax and UBI for medium term solutions. Plus research into Financial Innovation for sustainable funding during the transition/national-rehabilition. Agreed, Greens will get the job do.
See link here for the full detail that would really solve things: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29082017/#comment-1375826
“but I thought orthodox-economic-norms where set in stone from several decades of entrenched financial regulations”
This is entirely voluntary. Sovereign nations have lost none of their ability to regulate big (multinational) businesses. All that has changed is the norms by which they typically do so.
The biggest change under the neo liberal era has been the deregulation (see above) and the abandonment of full employment as a policy goal (presently unemployment is a policy tool). Both changes were voluntary, drive inequality and should be reversed to a great extent.
In turn the neo liberal era has been a slow growth era which is why house and asset prices have been so out of whack.
“This is entirely voluntary. Sovereign nations have lost none of their ability to regulate big (multinational) businesses. All that has changed is the norms by which they typically do so.”
thats true, however consider the constituent response should the likes of Apple, or big oil et al remove or price themselves out of the local market…..the ability to regulate such entities is effectively determined by the size of the market….and NZ is a very small market.
Your saying these industries would leave a safe stable profitable market like NZ on the table? I think thats highly unlikely and I can’t think of any examples of it happening either.
Im saying depending on the level of enforcement /cost that some would determine the trouble was not worth it and note i also said price themselves into a position where they may still remain but accessibility (to the wider populace) would be greatly reduced….no time to look now but internet access costs are one that spring to mind, in many countries internet access is only available to the wealthy due to that very reason.
You have examples of countries where internet access is only available to the wealthy due to regulative overheads? I would think the lack of infrastructure would be relevant but hardly the amount of regulation.
“In other places, like South Africa and Namibia, prices are high simply because of a monopoly or duopoly. Further examination reveals at least two other reasons for these high prices: the largest fiber owners in-country, have until recently, not been allowed to sell or provide services and most importantly, African service providers are still beset with archaic business models and anti-customer mindset! Let’s examine these two factors in some detail.”
http://www.ictworks.org/2010/05/05/why-african-internet-bandwidth-prices-are-still-high/
Industry regulation can and does, as does tax law and corruption…..yes there needs to be regulation and TAXATION but it is a balancing act….and the smaller the market the lesser the leverage
I don’t find that very convincing as a story about burdensom regulation. Regulation was preventing some capacity from being used for internet access and for ISPs to effectively not have access to that infrastructure. Otherwise nothing seems to be preventing ISPs from selling to a broad market but their business model isnt there yet.
If you don’t push regulation onto the likes of Apple or big oil you will never know if there is a boundary there and will effectively just leave them deregulated.
never said don’t push, simply said there is a tipping point which you appear to deny…and there we differ
https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/shell-poised-announcement-nz-assets-182791
“In the year to December it reported revenue of $1.37 billion and net profit of $252.6 million.”
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1506/S00005/z-energy-buys-caltex-service-station-chain-for-785-million.htm
“Chevron New Zealand Holdings reported a net profit of $43.3 million in calendar 2014 on revenue of $2.23 billion, down from a profit of $86.5 million on sale of $2.34 billion in 2013. Chevron’s total assets were valued at $573.9 million with liabilities totalling $374.4 million as at Dec. 31, compared to assets worth $784.9 million and liabilities of $536 million a year earlier.”
a quick couple close to home…
Problem is that the current fix-it solutions will all cost money, so where do you want to borrow that money from. It will take Financial Innovation and Money Sovereignty, otherwise it’s just the old debt spiral again. Can’t truly solve it with tax changes alone, though the full tax reforms from TOP would buy us time.
The NZ government is already fully sovereign in the NZ dollers via the RBNZ. Taxation is about things like, not allowing an aristocracy to develop, making the burden of taxation more equitable, or discouraging certain businesses or activities without making them illegal or removing inflationary spending pressures from an overheated economy. Its never about revenue gathering.
If the old debt spiral is referring to an eventual currency crisis then the point is NZ fully floated the NZ $ in about 1985. It can’t have currency crisis any more as a result.
NZD is in relation to international currencies, especially USD. And RBNZ don’t create NZDs, this would be sovereign. RBNZ buy other currencies, at cost.
We have a crisis if the Rating Agencies give us a crisis. Current official cash rate in NZ is 1.75%, vs Europe at 0.25%, or 0.0% When they buy our houses against their foreign capital, they have a 1.5% advantage over Kiwi buyers.
Interest repayment requires new money, growth. New money comes from debt, thus “debt spiral”. Though interest-rates are very low, but new problem is the effects of Quantitative Easing, lowering the value of our money.
Planet size is limited, and new efficencies from new technology are less significant than the losses from wars and storms. Debt system requires growth. Planet requires a steady state economy. Even the Greens don’t have this in their economic policy. Compromising with orthodox system, though steady state economic system would be investigated once Greens are in Govt.
Taken from here,
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/about-us/what-we-do
“Currency Issue”
“The Reserve Bank is the only organisation authorised to issue currency for New Zealand. ”
This is not to say that commercial banks don’t create money when they lend, they do, however the money created is commercial bank deposits and not of the form of the currency which is created by the reserve bank and spent and collected in tax by the government.
Obviously most of your comment is derivative on the RBNZ not being able to issue NZ dollers.
“where will the money come from?”
money (in all its forms) is simply a means of resource rationing, the real question is how do we use that rationing system?…we can create all the money we like but we are still restricted by resource availability and the desire for those resources….we currently allow ‘the market’ to determine how those resources are rationed…and we see where that has led and is leading, however that is not to say any other form will be any better or worse as ultimately any system will still be driven by human beings wants and needs…changing the amount of ‘money’ doesn’t change human nature
Come on Pat, obviously it’s better to do finance with public banks. Why do you think private banks should be able to profit from money creation? Surely the benefits of this should go back to the people rather than a small group of shareholders.
Deals with state owned banks could be done very different. Creating though debt is driving that growth. If all banking was though the state, then steady state economics would be possible, and the need from more resources to pay back debt, and new debt to pay off the old debt… all could be mathematically solved.
Oh, it matters Pat.
“….the real question is how do we use that rationing system?…”
quality not quantity
This argument simply invalidates itself where it says ‘however that is not to say any other form will be any better’ and goes on to assume the alternatives will further be the same or worse.
Ultimately it appears to be based on some form of Ricardian equivalence where supposidely (but actually not) when the government changes the quantity of spending the non government sector inversely compensates and reduces spending. In reality both quantity and quality of spending effect the outcome and Ricardian equivalence mechanisms don’t happen in the real world.
‘This argument simply invalidates itself…..”
Indeed?..you assume too much, I clearly state…..”that is not to say any alternative will be better or worse” based on the premise they are operated by and for human wants and needs….the onus is on you(or anyone else for that matter) to make the case for an alternative that IS indeed better.
If you take the time to read what I wrote you may grasp that what I am saying is the polar opposite of Ricardian Equivalence…i.e human beings are not forward looking nor rational in their habits….nor are they (in the main ) socially orientated….rather they are self serving and short sighted.
so back to government spending and debt monetisation….what does human nature tell you about the likely outcome of an increase in the willingness of governments to increase the money supply?
I say again….quality over quantity
Isn’t money supply increased every time someone takes a loan and buys a house? Guess the private lending mechanism would have to change, in balance. Better accounting at RBNZ. Your thinkin is still orthodox economics, I’m trying to talk alternatives.
“Your thinkin is still orthodox economics, ”
yes I’m analysing orthodox economics (that is not to say I’m promoting any particular school) for that is what we operate under and to know where you are going you need to know where you are starting from….indeed I seek and zero/negative growth model that appears to have a chance of working in the real world….im still waiting and time is agin us….so kindly talk alternatives but don’t expect me to accept them simply because they are alternative.
Its dead simple in that regard.
“what does human nature tell you about the likely outcome of an increase in the willingness of governments to increase the money supply?”
This is a weird way of putting it but I assume you are referring to something like the government buying up all the unemployed labour and putting the work towards public goods. Whats the outcome? First of all the labour will be for sale because the unemployment is not due to a voluntary choice but due to an actual lack of jobs. Second the unemployment rate will go down because many people who were unemployed will be in work (this will be an improvement in the outcome). Third growth of GDP will increase in real and nominal terms with the additional public goods the government purchased being produced being the real increase. Fourth there will be no inflationary outcome because the idle labour never had a bid in the jobs market so the additional spending does not compete with the private sector in setting wages.
You don’t get a similar outcome just focusing on quality because the economy is facing a quantity of spending problem. The mainstream of economic thought and your dogma believes that the economy is inherently self rebalancing in real terms
but there is no evidence for this in the real world.
I would say the market mechanism is the only future, but if we’re feeding the markets wholesome organic money from a central bank and not GE sugar from private banks, then govt can regulate lightly. Current system requires very heavy regulation.
Labour think they can fix the country and contiune with orthodox TPPA etc. Is this a pre-election bluff to win votes, avoid media attack?. Or are they really planning to fail?
Pivoting international economic relations is very bold, but we are well poised. The last 30sec of this video shows what’s required. If global finance isn’t going to play cricket, then we’ll have to change the game to rugby.
you’re a strange fellow….I am constantly amazed how you attribute positions to me that are frequently diametrically opposed to those i state…this comprehension problem may resolve itself if you spend less time learning text by rote and practise applying the theory to the real world.
Its pretty clear we can identify the nexus of the problem here.
“Yes I’m analysing orthodox economics (that is not to say I’m promoting any particular school) for that is what we operate under and to know where you are going you need to know where you are starting from”
Your misunderstanding is that orthodox economics is not something that we ‘operate under’ at all. It is instead a consistent failure to explain how the actual economy functions. The related problem being you don’t appear to know or understand the assumptions being made by the orthordox economics when you say for example ‘expand the money supply’. Do you not know the assumptions there do imply Ricardian equivalence is a genuine phenomenon there?
Thanks Pat, working on it. Moving from farming support, to small business, but seasonal work requirements and family issues also to hurdle.
Hey, pointing out paradox is part of my job here. Failure to spot paradox seems no less common among the politically educated.
You may be an exception Pat, I’m still undecided. Qualitative reflection upon degree content is generally very low especially in economics. How many people at the end of their first year still don’t know where money comes from? Don Brash still claims money isn’t created by private banks! It’s guys like him who give the Free Masons a bad name.
Analysis of orthodox views can reinforce them. So seeking to express alternative economic paradigms is very important, though yes, confusing.
Range of organic veges grown and marketed this year. Developments for next year: sell vege boxes at a set price, along with vouchers, thus creating a tradable regional currency alternative. The central bank need not fear me at this stage, but the future is open. And yes, I can still find some normal money to pay my taxes on transactions. Ethics are valuable, but costly.
Yeah Nic, you could be on to it, but does sound more like a side-step that a try or a conversion. I think their biggest assumption is, that after 3 years of orthodox economics, graduates will be whip-lashed and hypnotized from the magic of supply-n-demand curves.
Yes. We should have some pity on the poor graduates of economics who have paid for the privelege of being brainwashed. Unfortunately some of the more successful ones (like Don Brash and Bill English) will be rewarded for further basing policy on and popularizing their delusions so this is self perpetuating.
CoroDale gemmon
Here it is. A serious Strategy of the next Govt to end poverty:
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29082017/#comment-1375826
Apparently Tolley knew about Peters, I’m guessing the leak came from her office.
They are well on their way to being the least trustworthy govt dept.
Tracy Watkins sayys Dunne knew in advance. He is Revenue Minister and has not called for an investigation of his office. Or has Tolley taken over since he resigned?
Why arent the press hounding the revenue minister and PM til they say they will investigate?
Dunne is not Revenue Minister now. He’s Internal Affairs, and has a couple of associate minister roles: health and conservation.
Sad thing is that often the participants in that ‘deep state’ don’t actually realise they are.
Whether its a WINZ case manager at the coal face (probably on a short term contract); or an Ummagration officer, or many others “only following orders”. Worse still, when shit hits fan, they’re the obvious targets when blame is apppoetioned.
Watch what happens over the Winnie affair…..or perhaps after the election when we look back on the dawn raids (modern day equiv) that come to light
Shout out to those from Nelson, Bill English will be addressing Grey Power at a public meeting TODAY at 2pm in Stoke at the Annesbrook Church on Saxton Rd.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96241989/pm-to-face-questions-at-nelson-grey-power-election-meetings
If you are not working or busy go and check it out, they are taking questions from the floor, if it’s the same moderators from grey power that run the motueka meet the candidates, and if you are a young woman with a question, I strongly suggest you stand up and make it known you have a question, the old boys don’t like young women with questions, and will do their best to ignore you.
Would be really nice if people asked questions that concern many peoples needs instead of just their own
I’ve a huge workload today, but if time allows I will go check it out.
Remember Bill English’s shifty/shifting stories on the taping saga? Maybe a repeat at Stoke today over the superannuation leak. But he is better prepared now at just saying “I know nothing”.
Paula’s there with him
Ask about Winnie and the overpayment. Its been admitted that she was personally briefed before it all broke
Sadly i was unable to make due to work commitments.
Lmao Smith still trying to get elected from pushing the same agenda he has been doing for around 20 years. The southern link lmfao, if any politician wants to win the nelson seat, I’d suggest they look at bringing back rail.
Southern link is massively polarising in Nelson, and with Matt Lawrey against it, and he has been for years, it will be an important topical issue. Looks like the government tried to withhold info on the southern link from the council until after the election.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96235755/national-pledges-green-light-for-southern-link-route-at-nelson-if-reelected
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96267494/southern-link-announcement-draws-mixed-reactions
My condolences go out to the people in Texas.But as a fellow blogger on this site points out there are much more people died in India Bangladesh because of global warming and these events don’t make our headline news.WTF Now I don’t like to capitalise my views on someone else’s disaster.We have had the reality of what’s going on around our WORLD sencered by National Muppets .
So I will endorse the Greens please if you want to leave a habitable World for our grandchildren vote Green Party
Considering the bumpLabour got I’d suggest Labour had something to do with Turei, I can just see how the conversation went: “Hi Labour as per the MOU we’re thinking of having MT announce she ripped off the taxpayer, do you think its a good idea”
Labours response, after doing a dance of celebration, “oh yes Greens its absolutely a good idea, we foresee no issues with this at all”
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I doubt that happened.
Absolutely not ! chris 73. You’re just trying it on ….. we all know you’re a Nat – so just quit the stupid trolling.
I’m going to make a plea.
On this Winston ‘affair’
Can we all stop pontificating for a moment?
Bit by bit, more is emerging-the latest being the ladder puller upper was involved.
I’m by no means a Winnie fan.
He’s smart enough to know however not to show his cards.
You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.
There are bubbles and bloody big egos at play here.
There is no reason WP should release details to a gotcha-inspired media UNTIL the source ( peraps sauce) of the leak is identified.
Phat chance tho eh?
If we STFU, my suspicions are there’ll be one or two resignations.
If not, opportunity lost
Tracy Watkins suggests Seymour Dunne (Revenue Minister) and Tax Payers union new in advance about Peters. Can you find someone from the press corps wjo suggests labour did for MT?
Seymour is a nasty chap who is fully capable of trashing Peters at every turn. Why would he have known in advance? Leaky leaky!
Silly me. There I was thinking that the bump came from superior policies, fatigue with a tired and failing government, a bright and connecting leader, and small matters of ongoing corruption, mismanagement and ignorance.
But why not prefer a conspiracy to sense?
New Zealanders are world leaders let’s lead the WORLD in the right direction.
And promote a carbon free industries that create local jobs and a healthy environment!!!!! .WE CAN DO IT
This sure puts the Greens’ proposed 20cent tax on single use plastic bags into perspective:
Bill English doubts anyone wakes up worried about Climate change.
I doubt he woke up worrying about nuclear war and his predecessor didnt give a shit about apartheid… enough did and change happened. We have done big stuff without National. It is time to do it again.
Yes!
Yep and I DON’T think he likes what we have to say on this site looks like the Muppets have spun to get someone high in the national party to think I’m a threat to national with letting everyone no national and John Key sign OUR PRIVACY RIGHTS AWAY SO SOME COUNTRY CAN USE US TO SNOP ON THE REST OF the World
Farmers Bill hayseed English
Labour makes tertiary education first year of degree free from next year:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11913047
Plus the student allowance goes up.
If she implented this, it would be getting back to like it was back in my day.
We need hundreds of thousands more bright minds pushing our national productivity along. Without debt.
Hope those young people get out and vote, if they want this.
I think Ardern will take the news cycle for at least today with this:
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news
Worth a look
Thanks.
It all sounds alarmingly familiar.
Nationals latest attempt
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11913181
But didn’t National use a financial veto against parliament to prevent the same thing they are offering now?
Ok so its fake but still a good image
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIWtC8bUQAA0BHu.jpg
This isn’t.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/8847784-3×4-700×933.jpg
Yes it is, the electricity is on they must be all dead.
Bonded neutral.
Houston,we have a problem.
Well over the 500-year-average-return event risk now, and still going.
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/8/28/16211392/100-500-year-flood-meaning
This is a good start at shifting the climate change discourse in the USA – even with this kind of President.
Francis Maxwell aces it.
Oh yeah, that Hitler humor never gets old. Funny as that Two and a Half Men, Christmas special.
What was Hooton on last night and why was he not dressed down by the host. Is this what is to be expected in the lead up to the election ?
I ask those more aware. Is there an issue regarding Broadcasting standards here ?
His rant commenced at 12 minutes. Bt be warned you may feel a little nauseous
http://120.138.20.16/WeekOnDemand/ZB/auckland/2017.08.28-16.45.00-S.mp3
Why do commentators on the left continue with this Jacinda syndrome. This makes it IMO all about her. Should it not be that Labours vision is now being given a vehicle in which it is being heard and accepted by the nation ?
Jacinda Ardern’s favourite joke is actually pretty funny!
“Okay, so there are two sausages in a frying pan and one sausage turns to the other sausage and says, ‘Oh my god it is so hot in here,’ and the other sausage says, ‘Oh my god a talking sausage.'”
Man the police must have heaps of money to follow me around all day and any were I go O hang no it’s national money or is it our tax dollars being wasted I no I pay taxes WTF
Respect, Eco Maori. I have never known conversation to be killed for nearly 3 hours. I am sure it is not your fault, old boy.. (Often wish I could do the same on some threads.)
I don’t mean to be mean, but …. to get things going again?
All this new language learning The Nats are proposing for primary schools it now turns out comes to one hour per week per student. Huh?
One hour per week will NOT produce anything other than the ability to say hello and parrot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 in some other language and they will soon forget it.
None of the policy-setters can ever have tried to master a second language, let alone teach it. What a bunch of buck-tooth idiots.
Financial Innovation can be solely limited to gentle price stability tools. The beauty is that Rating Agencies will up interest-rates for NZ, and the NZD will fall. NZ thus gains income on exports and tourism, to cover fiscally. At the same time all first-home-lenders with floating-rates could be covered from a govt top-up to prevent melt-down in housing market. Only a small international money transaction tool will be require to prevent further foreign investment in real-estate and markets, plus minor restrictions on govt bonds. All these factors will essential freeze the market for a year or two until Royal Commissions come back with clear and democratic solutions on further Financial Innovation, to gently land prices. Meanwhile UBI and rent controls can stabilise poverty, while general reforms in Corrections, Tax, Education, Health and All are implemented.
Declare a State of National Disaster over Real Estate prices within the first three months of the next term. This will spook the markets early, hopefully before the crash/irreversible-dysfunction. The Govt then doesn’t use their new financial powers, they just focus on Corrections, Tax, etc. So claim can slowly return to the international observers.
Then, apply non-orthodox Financial Innovation before the 2020 election. Passing on a hot-but-functional-potato, to hopefully a second Green/NZF/TOP govt. If Nats or Labour got back in in 2020, they would fail big to turn back to old orthodox ways.
Check-mate!
Apologies to my fellow bloggers for the eco maori effect. I have notice this effect has been influencing others in our beautiful country.
Now we need a Paradigm shift with all our policys as one can not run a country like a business like National has they are to totally different Beast and do not responed the same.
My opinion about our education get the basic right first English Math teach our children about civic teach our children to respect everyone surviving in our system get the class sizes down to 25 pupils per class .
Our best teachers no how to come down to our children level and engage them. the good teachers have a lot of art in there class room and there pupils ardor them
NOW TEACHING CHILDREN IS NOT THAT COMPLICATED GIVE THE TEACHERS THE RIGHT TRAINING AND THE RIGHT RESOURCES TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN .
I no that using the KICKS systems works so Keep the system that run our school simple.
Come on this works give all our children at least the Basic make sure our children are well fed well housed one wont listen if you are hungry .These children are our future.
lets invest in our Future . Its not rocket science!!!!
Hey, thinking I’ve solved the riddle. It’s not “Eco maori”, its short for Emo. It’s not a bot, its an Emo Kid.
Cheer Up Emo Kid. Here, a FB page specially for you.
https://www.facebook.com/cheerupemokid