Spare a thought for Steven Joyce

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, October 26th, 2017 - 36 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, Dirty Politics, national, Politics, same old national, Steven Joyce, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

Spare a thought for the intellectual titan that is Steven Joyce. He is getting something of a bad rap lately …

Yesterday the High Court ruled that National’s use of a piece of music for its 2014 election campaign described as being “eminem esque” was actually really eminemesque, that eminemesque that it breached Eminem’s right to copyright.  Joyce’s assertion that use of the song was pretty legal was pretty wrong.

Also yesterday he said he had a sneaky feeling that his assertion made during the recent election campaign there was a $11 billion hole in Labour’s budget will be proven right.

From Radio New Zealand:

National’s finance spokesman Steven Joyce is sticking to his guns about Labour not having enough money to carry out its promised programme.

Before the election, Mr Joyce claimed Labour had an $11 billion hole in its budget after it had mistakenly not accounted for rolling out operational allowances year on year, despite a series of economists saying he was wrong.

Speaking to Morning Report today, Mr Joyce said he hoped he was wrong about the $11 billion calculation, but he feared time would prove him right.

He said the new government was already promising more money than it had.

“Grant Robertson has a major problem – he’s like that guy who is going away on holiday and trying to fit three suitcases worth of stuff into one suitcase. That’s his problem.

“It’s not just that, it’s really important for New Zealand. It’s not about a ‘he said/she said’, I don’t care if I’m proven right or wrong. In fact, I’d rather be proven wrong, because then New Zealand’s expenditure would be under control. But sadly, I have a sneaking suspicion I will be proven right over time.”

Poor Joyce.  Sticking to a view which shows that, disturbingly for a former Finance Minister, he does not understand crown accounts.  And continuing with a line even though pretty well everyone with any understanding of the subject disputed his version.

Politically it might have worked.  Labour’s surge in the polls stalled when the allegations were made.  But it was a giant fib and Joyce should have the decency of admitting this.

Maybe he believes that what he is saying is true.  Maybe he really just does not understand.  After all he is a serial failer of economics papers

 

36 comments on “Spare a thought for Steven Joyce ”

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  1. tc 1
    26 October 2017 at 9:52 am

    Just shows the most appreciated qualities in the national party are those of a deceptive, dishonest and arrogant bullying nature.

    Intellect need not apply and it’s a DP ploy to not apologise or admit the lie just keep pushing it as it very nearly worked.

  2. roy cartland 2
    26 October 2017 at 9:54 am

    It’s the death spiral. Trump is gurgling down it at the moment. When there is no credibility left, you have to cling to the dwindling number of denialist supporters who you hope will be enough of a critical mass to influence something. It really is pathetic.

    Like the cornered shoot-em-up-gamer getting overwhelmed by opponents on a difficult level, you go beserk and start flinging your arsenal every which-way hoping that you might just blast through enough of the enemies to limp to the next stage. Never works of course, but may as well go down flailing.

    • JC 2.1
      26 October 2017 at 8:22 pm

      You mean like Climate Change denialists and stuff …

      “Never works of course, but may as well go down flailing.”

  3. Stuart Munro 3
    26 October 2017 at 11:01 am

    In some sense Joyce’s whining is classical opposition tactics – but though it plays well to the sclerotic Gnat base, it won’t persuade anyone unless some crisis shows the new government in a bad light fairly soon.

    Not so keen on the constant use of his academic record however – also an opposition tactic, but perhaps better avoided. Back when NZ degrees took 3-5 years they had the virtue of letting students find something they could do. In Joyce’s case that was evidently zoology. The problem is not a fundamental inability to understand economics (that would be Bill English), but a lack of respect for truth. Joyce lied his way into a hole and depends on lying his way out of it.

    The problem for Joyce is that this government is moving forward on many pro-social items that his team claimed were insoluble. The morale of an army (or a country) advancing is always better than that of a garrison sitting on its hands or enduring budget cuts.

  4. Enough is Enough 4
    26 October 2017 at 11:09 am

    Come on…we can do better than this. Like really?

    Pulling out his academic transcript is Slateresque.

    • mickysavage 4.1
      26 October 2017 at 11:30 am

      He tabled it in Parliament a few years ago.

      I agree with your sentiment but if he is going to continue with the $11b hole stuff then he deserves to have his competence questioned.

      • Matthew Whitehead 4.1.1
        26 October 2017 at 2:13 pm

        Yep. I don’t mind him failing economics if he wants to be a politician, but if he wants to be finance minister it’s relevant, and it’s even more relevant if he’s going to run around acting like he’s the arbiter of every other party’s costings when he can’t even run an election campaign without getting sued.

        Worst. Cabinet member. Of my adult lifetime.

    • Ross 4.2
      26 October 2017 at 12:22 pm

      His academic record is a fact. Slater seldom acquaints himself with the facts. Your comparison is way off the mark.

    • Pete 4.3
      26 October 2017 at 12:27 pm

      Slateresque? Maybe, whatever that is.

      Is the act of putting that up as egregious as the $11 billion hole yarn and the intention of it? As calculated as the lies over the years by Joyce and co?

      It might be fun to some, childish to others, not the way to play the game according to others but let’s have some context.

      When the masses consistently and loudly get upset about dishonesty and cheating, and make a fuss, a real fuss about that serious stuff, having a go at this insignificant peripheral stuff might be reasonable.

      At the moment sneering at a bully might just be good therapy.

  5. cleangreen 5
    26 October 2017 at 11:33 am

    Hi Mickey,

    My answer to that suggestion is;…….
    “Spare a thought for the intellectual titan that is Steven Joyce. He is getting something of a bad rap lately”

    Everytime I think of this man I feel like taking a dump!!!!!!!

    I have meet this man and he is the worst most arrogant man I have met in my entire 73 yrs of my life, so I wont loose any sleep when they finally for him out to pasture.

    • Barfly 5.1
      26 October 2017 at 4:30 pm

      perhaps he could market himself as a constipation cure?

      • cleangreen 5.1.1
        28 October 2017 at 8:35 am

        LOL 100% but if Joyce marketed himself as a laxative we alll would be overloading the sewerage systems all over the country then.

        Better we just dig a ‘hole for him without the ($11.7 biilion) in it of course’ – he does not deserve a nickel from any of us.

  6. Kay 6
    26 October 2017 at 12:04 pm

    What a waste of a perfectly good thought.

    • Macro 6.1
      26 October 2017 at 1:20 pm

      Hehehehe

    • OnceWasTim 6.2
      26 October 2017 at 1:46 pm

      Eggsektery! He’s already got an entire discordant band complete with a cat’s chorus, and a menagerie of penguins, stoats, rabbits, weasels and others sparing him their every thought.
      Not so much sour grapes as the lemons my brother and I used to chew as kids in front of the Salvation Army band when they came round the suburbs on the back of a truck.

  7. Frida 7
    26 October 2017 at 12:15 pm

    I spared a thought for him. Done. On with my life now!

  8. Keith 8
    26 October 2017 at 12:41 pm

    Keep telling the same lie over and over and it becomes truth.

    Or just maybe what he knows that most of us didn’t because National had ways of dealing with bad news, is that the books were much worse than National let on. Then he could justifiably have a sneaking suspicion.

  9. piper 9
    26 October 2017 at 3:04 pm

    He is attempting to be relevant, like that other sad sack Dunne, the latter gone to political obscurity the former wondering who shall have the longest fork to delve into the boned carcass of the xmas turkey and scrape enough stuffing to say, I!m strong enough to be leader.

  10. Keepcalmcarryon 10
    26 October 2017 at 3:24 pm

    It’s ok everyone, the highly regrettable Max Key is gonna smash out a “dis track” on Eminem to settle the score.
    I bet Eminem laughs even harder than I am!
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11936877

  11. ianmac 11
    26 October 2017 at 3:59 pm

    The National Caucus confirmed Joyce as Minister of Finance so that means either he is very good or that there was nobody else who is better. We could offer a Remedial Maths program but you need an open mind to succeed at that.
    Sad isn’t it.

  12. Ad 12
    26 October 2017 at 4:03 pm

    My partner observed Joyce walking down The Terrace this morning and described him as ‘dejected-looking’.

    • Andre 12.1
      26 October 2017 at 4:09 pm

      Don’t vogons always look dejected? Except when getting smacked in the face with a dildo, of course.

    • Robert Guyton 12.2
      26 October 2017 at 4:18 pm

      Probably realizing he’s been ejected.
      Or deselected.
      That the Government offices have been disinfected?
      New Zealanders are no longer feeling disaffected?

      • Stuart Munro 12.2.1
        26 October 2017 at 5:14 pm

        No-one’s listening to his voice even
        Getting time to make that choice Stephen
        Next thing we see is gonna be Joyce leavin’.

    • Anne 12.3
      26 October 2017 at 10:22 pm

      He’s smart enough to appreciate the immense amount of goodwill being shown to this new coalition govt, – and Jacinda Ardern in particular- means they are almost certainly going to be in power for the next six years at the least. He won’t be hanging around waiting for them to be voted out of parliament.

  13. AB 13
    26 October 2017 at 5:09 pm

    Remember that Joyce (despite his repellent personal qualities) is just one node on the huge neural network of ‘business-friendly’ propaganda and misdirection. If one node goes on the blink, the others can quickly work around it.

  14. Brian Tregaskin 14
    26 October 2017 at 9:06 pm

    To be fair to Stephen he did turnaround Nationals decline in the polls.
    I dont agree with how he did it but it worked…. without Stephen National would be in the high 30s –I estimate he gained 6% points with the tactics.

    • Chris 14.1
      26 October 2017 at 9:21 pm

      So you’re saying it was fair for Joyce to lie to the public if it meant a rise in the polls? FFS. I shouldn’t be surprised because this is of course part and parcel of neo-liberal filth. If there was any doubt it’s gone. Thanks for the confirmation.

  15. piper 15
    26 October 2017 at 9:12 pm

    Capitalist,your power word profit has now to be shared.

  16. esoteric pineapples 16
    26 October 2017 at 9:20 pm

    My thoughts are too precious to spare on Steven Joyce. I imagine he will be gone from Parliament soon.

  17. piper 17
    26 October 2017 at 9:29 pm

    Capitalist,your power word profit has now to be shared.
    Spark a socialist care Government,has social care in its mind.

  18. Incognito 18
    26 October 2017 at 9:58 pm

    Joyce seems to be arguing that when he’s right, he’s right but when he’s wrong, he’s still right …

    Anyway, he’s only trying to put the brakes on the new Government implementing progressive policies.

    He should read Bryan Gould’s latest piece http://www.bryangould.com/why-does-the-left-so-often-disappoint/

    The Government should not have put on a fiscal straitjacket IMO but now they may have to wear it for 3 years and open themselves to scrutiny by the Opposition.

    • cleangreen 18.1
      28 October 2017 at 8:41 am

      Exactly Incognito,

      Joyce is just “a figment of his imagination” – just as an infamous German was once also.

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