Nah. Just end poverty, wait two generations*, then see what scale of problems are left to mop up by some other interventions. *For two generations lets say 40 years, exactly the same period of time since we started the radical right-wing experiment that we...
Second, many essential jobs are unskilled.. I'm off on a tangent here admittedly, but this sentence is so striking for the odd and self-contradictory understanding of what constitutes value. If some piece of work is 'essential', then by definition it must...
Impressed and shocked. Because the whole purpose of provincial Mayors in NZ is to protect the business interests whose profits are secured by perpetuating the defects you describe.
It's a grievous mistake to think that in 2024 a politician cannot win if their policy platform makes no rational, economic or moral sense. If it was true, then NZ would not now be governed by a selection of the worst people in our society. The left (and ...
Benign but unprofitable uses of AI seem a bit unlikely? Though the genius of contemporary Capital lies in finding ways to monetise useless, inhuman crap - so who knows.
Luxon and National have never loved localism. What they love is provincial Tory fiefdoms perpetuated by shockingly low turnout in local body elections and run by politer Kiwi versions of Faulkner's southern Gothic Snopes Clan.
Luxon seems to have a too cosy relationship with ZB and the NZ Herald. When he's talking to them he loses caution and reverts to the sort of loose, blokey blather that happens among friends. He may be a shallow, self-aggrandising goose, but that's been ...
Seems likely. It's that sentimental favourite of the right - "mum and dad" investors - who will probably exit the rental ownership game when interest rates go up. But even if they ceased to exist, it would still be the heart-rending struggle of these ...
"Get on with it" is one of those phrases like "Getting things done". Both blissfully leave out key definitions - in the first case the definition of "it" and in the second case the definition of "things". They are laughable nonsense - anyone using either ...
Questions that Corin didn't ask Luxon on RNZ this morning when discussing accusations that TPM misused census data: Why is Luxon calling for a public enquiry into the data security of systems, that he does not yet know have actually been breached? Why is ...
Let’s spend $4 billion on potholes instead of funding cancer treatments. Oh ye of little faith Incognito! Others disagree - Kerre Woodham for instance says that "the pothole fund gives me hope". Now I had always thought that poor old ST Coleridge had ...
Not altogether surprising that providing low-level hospitality and the collective sharing of food by predominantly poorer cultural minorities is outlawed as 'treating' - while individual donations of very large sums of money by wealthy individuals in the ...
Yes, so are the libertarian freaks from ACT trying to pull a trick here? Let's assume for simplicity that a full-time working year (minus weekends, public holidays and annual leave) is 40 weeks (200 days) - it's a bit longer in reality, but this keeps the ...
Luxo is apparently not ruling out a public enquiry into the allegations against TPM concerning misuse of census data. Though he says he will let the current Police enquiry run its course. This is a terrific opportunity to distract from the dumpster fire ...
Online services are supported by the back-office team (obviously) and we can cut back-office costs without affecting front-line services (oh....wait) To my mind, any manager or politician who pretends there is an operationally meaningful back-office vs ...
Every time I turn on the radio I hear Luxon or Willis crapping on about "fiscal cliffs" and "fiscal holes" left by Labour - and especially so in justifying the CoC's failure to fund the 13 promised cancer drugs. The story of these supposed cliffs and holes...
Gattung has always looked line a fine example of the intellectual and moral feebleness of NZ's business class. However, the award mentions "philanthropy" - whereby some of the undeserved wealth that has been extracted from the population is returned to ...
A stonking win for the "candidate from MI5" - shame they don't have PR to moderate it.
Participants were given $100 supermarket vouchers... That would be bad, if true. Were any of them offered fast-track approval to mine on conservation land?
Janice, I hope you feel relieved to see your cats relieved from hunger by your relief from taxes. A note of thanks to Ms Willis (the EngLit graduate) could even quote the bard: "For this relief much thanks. 'Tis bitter cold, and I am sick at heart"
This explainer from the Guardian seems to agree: Any punishment is likely to consist of fines, probation, community service or some combination of those The Guardian piece is also useful on the likely Appeal process. First to the New York Court of Appeals,...
Not responding at all does count as "comprehensive" - it is internally consistent, wide-ranging and final. Though "terminal" might be a better word than "final".
Free speech (for opinions I don't like) should be confined to the weekends. I'm also deeply (oh so deeply) committed to free speech.
Maori are not a 'race'. They can't be - because there is no such thing as 'race' anyway. It has no biological basis and is a relatively recent social invention (maybe 400 years) that created racial hierarchies in order to justify European colonial ...
NACT will not do any of those 5 things - they are all contrary to the interests of their core supporters. Those 5 things will keep rents down, house prices down and wages up. Whereas NACT is intentionally engineering the opposite, wages down, rents up and ...
This should be a reminder of how much people care about their livelihoods and want to keep living in a location they love. So strong is this attachment, it can lead us into behaviour that denies reality and is self-destructive in the long term. I think ...
I'm tempted to say it's astonishing how these stories are disappeared from the media so quickly, while every transgression (often minor ones involving stupid personal conduct) by leftish politicians is dragged out for weeks until a scalp is obtained. But ...
Quite right tc. There is an extensive literature in human geography and anthropology around the notions of "home" and the distinction between "space" and "place" and the relative levels of attachment (love even) that we give to each. Damien Grant is a ...
As usual, the only things that matter are sustainability and ownership. Sustainability means the extraction and use of minerals etc. is carbon net-zero and has no/minimal effect on biodiversity. That pretty much rules out coal, but will allow other things ...
It shows he just does not care about the health of government finances. And wants to divest government of its assets and capability Yep - and and also true for Luxon, Willis, Seymour etc. The scary talk about debt is just to garner popular support for ...
Kiwi Keith and Kinloch. (Hamer, Paul. New Zealand Journal of History, 44, 2, 2010)
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