OnPoint: If Wishes Were Horses...
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Prime Minister John Key's opening address of the National Party election campaign was disrupted by chanting protesters shouting "stop the war on the poor."
About four protesters chanted as they were escorted out of Auckland's Sky City Convention Centre by police.
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NZ is borrowing 380 mill a week, if we nnualise this we come up with a shortfall of 20 billion or therabouts - there are approx 1.2 million paying tax - so to do what we are currently doing as a Nationa and with out buying Len Brown a trainset - we should bill each tax payer an additional $16,500.
Problem solved - ViteDexter for books balanced early and problems solved.
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merc,
It's not their spending it's how they're spending...
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
Speaking of war on the poor, are the Lhawses and Garrottes of this world happy now?
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DexterX, in reply to
There is an interesting look at a cause/problem of child abuse - abandoned youth by Owen Glen here - he quates a Dame.
"more than a change of government, what is needed is a change of heart".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/population/news/article.cfm?c_id=608&objectid=10760501
Advocates for a lift in the minimum wage should start their own businesses and employ people at a socially just wage.- Be the change you want to see in the world.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
3 of my closest friends are post-grad qualified – one a doctor in bio-chem, another a Masters in Library IS, and the third in ICT – and all of them have been under-employed for some time. 2 of them have gone freelance but things aren’t much better. No wonder the Occupy Wall Street movement took off the way it did.
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Bart Janssen, in reply to
but assets sales and introduction of taxes well they last forever
No they don't.
Governments regularly develop and buy new assets
Governments regularly cut taxesWhether either of those things is the right thing to do at the time is something only obvious with 20/20 hindsight and even then sometimes not.
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Bart Janssen, in reply to
I think National’s reasoning is pretty solid there: put assets up for sale so their friends in business can buy them, and devolve the proceeds to their friends in business to build roads. It’s beautiful really.
And entirely consistent with the belief that putting the money in the hands of business leaders is the right thing to do.
But really they are going to spend the money from the asset sales on schools for your children ... Anne Tolley is going to spend money on children? Really?
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Bart Janssen, in reply to
and all of them have been under-employed for some time
That's what happens when you effectively freeze research funding in NZ. It's an easy area to cut for a government because the consequences are several election cycles away. And this is nothing to do with National, Labour had also effectively cut science funding throughout their 9 year occupation of Wellington.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
Anne Tolley is going to spend money on children? Really?
Of course she is - on Grammar boys that is.
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James Francis, in reply to
Or Wanganui Collegiate (as noted in the Dom Post this morning).
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merc,
It's how all politicians frame cause, affect and time that is so confusing. This will never change because apparently if you speak your truth in a straight manner you become un-electable.
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DexterX, in reply to
Governments regularly develop and buy new assets
Governments regularly cut taxesMaybe yes maybe no.
Once a tax has been introduced it will never be removed and once an asset it sold they won't rebuy it unless it is run so bad it is failing and then they will bail it out or buy it again and then later resell it - e.g. Air NZ.
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giovanni tiso, in reply to
Once a tax has been introduced it will never be removed
Like estate taxes, you mean?
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merc,
I guess it all revolves around the definition of asset, and tax.
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OK Skippy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wh-i-V48Xkk
Meanwhile...It hardly boded well for the Commonwealth's future when the New Zealand Prime Minister decided it was unnecessary for him to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth.
So what is he actually doing?.
Oh that's right, he's playing Hobitses and Town Halls 'n' stuff. -
It seems from this Herald piece even Key's chums have doubts. :)
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BenWilson, in reply to
Interesting. I'm still stymied by:
Sixty per cent of businesses said increasing the literacy, numeracy and basic skill levels of the workforce was the number one productivity issue for the Government to address.
Is illiteracy and innumeracy really that much of a burden on productivity? I don't think they're good things, but really? Considering we're talking about minimum wage school leavers here, who are most likely being put into menial labour. Is productivity being dragged down by these people so much that it's worth dicking around with our education system over it? I don't know the answer to this question, btw.
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We have some of the best rates of literacy and numeracy in the world, at 15. There are problems, but there's also a big chunk of people who don't want to go on to tertiary (and end up with a massive debt) but can't find other training alternatives. Poor productivity seems like a problem everyone wants to talk about, but noone wants to own.
Specially not employers... -
merc, in reply to
That’s interesting because the vast majority of business in NZ is 5 employees and under, we never hear Mr Key talk about them. I think the tax regime for sole traders and SME’s (small to medium enterprises) needs a radical rethink (tax write-offs discourage growth).
This is the area where productivity gains can be made, these are the people that need to be listened to.
Rob is right, what about those who chose not to study at tertiary level, what can we offer them?
Oh and conspiracy level 3; tertiary funding is the second bubble behind sub-prime lending ;-) -
Islander, in reply to
Rob is right, what about those who chose not to study at tertiary level, what can we offer them?
Used be called 'night classes', also known as adult education (?WEA?)
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Sacha, in reply to
Is productivity being dragged down by these people
Managers, yes.
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merc, in reply to
Sounds like a digital opportunity, and we don't even need faster broadband for it. Tertiary wont like it though.
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Islander, in reply to
You are not wrong!
But - would be an ideal solution for the rather large number of people who want to become more skilful at a large range of things (I was fielding questions yesterday from a family member who is a trawlerman about how to get study-driven info about the kinds of fish he was engaged in catching and general ocean ecology & health. Just as an e.g.) -
merc,
Sounds like time for a digital open polytechnic, possibly better than a cycleway?
When I see these sorts of ideas it confirms for me that Mr Key wanting to sell our assets is simply him admitting defeat.
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