Posts by Luke Williamson
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
I am in basic agreement with the idea of keeping the books balanced but agree that the previous tax cuts pushed the cost of that disproportionately on to the middle class and poor. I still have memories of my dad listening to a Muldoon budget that raised the top tax rate to 65c/dollar (I think). There appears to be no sound case for asset sales and I wish that Labour would come out and say that they will re-nationalise anything that gets privatised this term, thus all shares will be worthless. That would be music to my ears. Have some nuts and add capital tax on anything other than own home, raise superann to 67 and put top tax rate back up to 39c. OK, so I am raging lefty but that would just be a start. More teachers, better paid nurses, Hone's financial transaction tax, etc. etc. As a struggling middle classer, it would probably make little difference to me and a big difference to those at either extreme - rich pay more, poor get a hand up.
-
Hard News: A storm in any port, in reply to merc,
The halcyon days of the Omaha bar - 1973-76 approx - were the result of dredging in the nearby channel in the mid- to late-60s, i.e. man made. The groyne just hastened the return to slightly more "normal" contours of the beach post-dredging. I can flick you the whole story if you want.
Would love to see a train line to Warkworth/Matakana (and on to the Sawmill for concerts!). Not sure if it would survive economically, however. -
I think the wharfies are screwed. I don't want it to be so but I suspect it will be.
I don't think anyone really cares anymore (outside of Public Address and a few sundry others) and what would have happened in the good old days - every port in NZ shutting down in support - is now seen as a golden business opportunity by the others, e.g. Tauranga nicking as much business as possible from Aucks while the strikes were on. Maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps the Public Service workers will rise up as they get slashed again, along with fire fighters and others, but, as pointed out previously, where are the other big unions? -
Hard News: A storm in any port, in reply to Sacha,
Can we not use the term "Holiday Highway" please. Happy for the relative merits of roads versus rail versus roads somewhere else to be discussed but that term, coined by an Aucklander, is so patronising for Northlanders. The other day, someone from Whangarei described the proposed highway as Northland's lifeline. If Northland is not allowed a rail connection or a highway, then they are being consigned to years more of being an economic backwater.
-
I guess, Craig, because the gummint is saying they have a mandate and is rushing ahead. I presume the idea of the "referendum" is to give people a quick way of saying "you don't have a mandate for this particular action". Blunt instrument but effective? I agree on Capital gains tax discussion - the time is right and people barely flinched when Labour offered it up as policy in the lead up to the election. maybe even capital tax as proposed by Gareth Morgan - oooooooooooo . . .
-
As in the UK where the big power companies have massively increased profits over the last 10 years to the point where The Independent newspaper is running a campaign to try and overcome "energy poverty" for the increasing number of people in the UK who can't afford to heat their homes properly in winter.
-
And as for the "Mum and Dad" investors crap . . . most of the population is struggling to keep food on the table and the mortgage paid, and will not be chucking a few spare thousands at SOE shares. Those shares will go straight to the wealthy and overseas interests, i.e. National Party voters and supporters. Buying shares in SOEs must have been what John wanted me to save up for when I got my incredibly generous tax cuts over the last two years = $15/week (minus extra GST, increased ACC, higher rates, etc. etc.). Sorry, sounding too lefty and whiney.
-
I guess it's a problem with having to be re-elected every three years. You have to make all of your financial decisions based on looking good in election year. So keep the cash flowing and ignore the long term consequences. I agree, though, that a so-called clever bastard in finance, like our John, should be able to see the drawbacks here. He has fallen in love with being PM.
-
That Homebrew video just scares me. Even if it's being sarcastic/cynical, there's too much truth in there. I feel slightly depressed.
-
This brings to mind a spat I had on the phone around 7-8 years ago with Fran O'Sullivan because of a graph she had used for a story on the FRONT PAGE of the Herald. It was a classic example of inaccurate labelling of axes, no margin of error, etc. etc. - just abysmal. I wrote her a scathing e-mail about it and she actually rang me up to tell me off! Her answer, distilled down, was, "It doesn't matter because it is obvious what the graph is saying." Which set me off on another storming rant about accuracy of graphs and stats, and how it's easy to make it say what you want it to say if you manipulate the presentation. In the end, she hung up on me with the parting shot, "You're just being pedantic." Ahhh . . . yes!