Posts by jh
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Cultural diversity is not some exotic backdrop that provides good food and the odd festival. Immigrants have some serious international connections; they know the markets we are selling into; they provide new trade links and opportunities. Locally, they grow new businesses and new business sectors. They contribute disproportionately to research and development (about half of Silicon Valley employees are immigrants).
But that isn't diversity
http://money.cnn.com/interactive/technology/tech-diversity-data/
We could take the top percent of IQ's from India China; eventually they would be earning the top incomes; living in the best realestate, but would the economy be structurally changed to increase incomes for a larger population?
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New Zealand has never been adverse to remaking itself in various ways during its relatively short life as a modern state. Whether it was the 1890s, the 1930s or the 1980s, far-reaching reforms have dramatically altered the institutions and policies of this society.
The 1980s marked a range of changes – economic, social, cultural – as the country sought to re-align its geo-political connections and the domestic and international competitiveness of its economy. For most of the 1980s, the dominant cultural debates centred around national identity, and what might be labelled “post-colonialism”, or in During's (1985) terms, coming to know New Zealand in our terms, not those which originated with a colonial power. At the core of this re-assessment was an emergent biculturalism which involved placing indigeneity and the effects of colonialism on the tangata whenua as a key consideration of political and policy development from the 1970s, and more particularly from 1985. Whether it was the delivery of Maori-sensitive
welfare and economic policy, increasing the awareness of the impact of colonialism both in an historical as well as a contemporary sense, or Treaty settlements, there was a significant re-orientation of public perception and practice. It also involved inviting others, notably Pakeha, to explore their own post-colonial identity (Spoonley, 1995). But almost simultaneously, decisions were being made about New Zealand's immigration policies that were to have far reaching consequences for the cultural politics of New Zealand, although it was to be almost a decade before there was an awareness of what exactly this meant. Those decisions about immigration that saw policy altered from 1986 onwards have remade the cultural mix of New Zealand and have added a new layer to the evolving imagery and policy concerns of this country.DEFINING IDENTITY AND CREATING CITIZENS :
THE MEDIA AND IMMIGRANTS IN NEW ZEALAND
Paul SpoonleyNo debate there (except in closed circles).
The Treasury and The Savings Working Group deliver a verdict on the economic results;
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/reviews-consultation/savingsworkinggroup/pdfs/swg-report-jan11.pdf
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/research-policy/wp/2014/14-10Sociology under threat
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/05/the_downside_of_diversity/?page=fullSociology in Denial
http://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2007/09/the-downside-of.htmlHuman Nature missunderstood
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/science/11hormone.html?_r=0Carry on Regardless (is good for business)
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1411/S00156/super-diverse-auckland-in-global-study.htm -
Hard News: The uncooling of the inner West, in reply to Amanda Wreckonwith,
Culture is organic. It thrives on change not stagnation.
.........
And maturity and depth.Our multiculturalism has given Vancouver a wonderful variety of ethnic restaurants. There are two minimal requirements for the survival of a quality ethnic restaurant: chefs with expertise in the preparation and serving of its particular food and an appreciative clientele sufficiently large for its owners and employees to prosper. If either number drops below a critical value the restaurant may fail. If enough restaurants of a particular genre fail, the food genre vanishes. When the number of knowledgeable chefs and clientele is small the food culture is very vulnerable to invasion and cultural drift. For example, only a slight change in either the number of good Afghan chefs or aficionados of Afghan food could result in the disappearance of Afghan food from our city.
Moreover, when the restaurant culture caters to a large number of small groups it is vulnerable to cultural invasion. One wonders if our small ethnic coffee bars can survive the Starbucks invasion, if quality French restaurants can survive the onslaught of Italian food, and if jazz and ethnic music can survive the rock music roller coaster. We lost the accordion to the rock guitar, and almost lost the trumpet and saxophone as well.
But there is still another possibility, and it is the one I worry about the most. It is possible for the ethnic chefs to be mediocre and for their customers to lack sophistication in taste.
If this were the case restaurant diversity would remain, but most restaurants would be mediocre. However, we wouldn't know it. To return to the accordion, such a scenario would mean that we would have some accordion players and teachers. They would be poor accordion musicians, but we wouldn't know it.
I claim similar logic applies to cultural traditions, such as Scottish and Ukrainian dancing, bonsai and haiku, as well as playing the accordion. A high level of proficiency in arts such as these takes up to two decades to develop. The proportion of any group with the talent, energy, and determination required to achieve the level of performance required to maintain them at a high level of achievement is small.
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Hard News: Housing, hope and ideology, in reply to Caleb D'Anvers,
What has happened to the esteemed Dr Greg Clydesdale?
Proved right?
While immigration played a key role in house inflation in the three years after 2001 (Reserve Bank 2007), it is unknown to what extent on-going immigration continued to drive price rises.
The housing boom has meant good profits for many New Zealand companies supplying materials and building services, but it implies investors would rather invest in their country’s
homes rather than its businesses (Bollard 2005). The high returns for property has attracted finance and reduced the capital available for productive investment (Moody, 2006). The consequence is investment is going in to industries with limited capacity to increase per capita incomes. For example, real estate and building are domestically bound and do not have the
market potential of export industries. They also have less opportunity to increase productivity through new processes and products. The irony is, as these sectors grow, they have incurred skills shortages which in turn has increased demand for skilled immigrants. The Department of Statistics ‘Long Term Skill Shortage List’ of 28/3/2006 includes carpenter/joiner, plumber,
electricians, fitter and turners, fitter welders; all indicative of a nation building its construction/property sector.
There is a danger that a sector of the economy is being augmented that is totally reliant on a small domestic economy. Not only do these industries have limited potential for per-capita growth but ‘deriving growth via factor inputs such as labour places pressure on infrastructure such as transport and land supply, and ultimately have a further negative impact on growth
(ARC 2005). Finally, as the sector gets larger, it gains in lobbying/political strength and can lobby for immigration regardless if it is the best interests of the economy as a whole. This could be seen in Canada where the development industry has lobbied hard for high sustained immigration levels (Ley and Tutchener 2001). -
Hard News: Housing, hope and ideology, in reply to Jack Harrison,
I think treasury needs to move to Auckland. It needs to be louder and staffed with a higher standard of worker.
Economics is a lot clearer than even ten years ago. The GEC shone so much light into the bullshit of moving money around for the sake of short-term profit. We need adults with qualifications to expose money stupidity from the right.
According to Tony Alexander
3. The government is explicitly aiming to grow Auckland’s population as a means of achieving “agglomeration” benefits for economic growth which accrue from high interaction amongst economic players.
Treasury Papaer 14-10 says:
3. 2.3 Changing policy expectations
While useful, models do not capture all the effects policymakers expect from immigration.
When New Zealand moved to increase the numbers and skills of immigrants in the 1980s and 1990s, policymakers appear to have considered that these changes had the potential to have major beneficial impacts on the New Zealand economy, reinforcing the gains from
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the other liberalising and deregulating economic reforms undertaken during that period.
At that time, it was considered that skills-focused inward migration could: improve growth by bringing in better quality human capital and addressing skills shortages; improve international connections and boost trade; help mitigate the effects of population ageing; and have beneficial effects on fiscal balance. As well as “replacing” departing
New Zealanders and providing particular help with staffing public services (for example, medical professionals), it was believed that migration flows could be managed so as to avoid possible detrimental effects (such as congestion or poorer economic prospects) for existing New Zealanders.Since then, New Zealand has had substantial gross and net immigration, which has been relatively skill-focused by international standards. However, New Zealand’s economic performance has not been transformed. Growth in GDP per capita has been relatively lacklustre, with no progress in closing income gaps with the rest of the advanced world, and productivity performance has been poor. It may be that initial expectations about the potential positive net benefits of immigration were too high.
Based on a large body of new research evidence and practical experience, the consensus among policymakers now is that other factors are more important for per capita growth and productivity than migration and population growth. CGE modelling exercises for Australia and New Zealand have been influential in reshaping expectations.
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/research-policy/wp/2014/14-10
Also
4.2 Housing market impactsOn balance, the available evidence suggests that migration, in conjunction with sluggish supply of new housing and associated land use restrictions, may have had a significant effect on house prices in New Zealand.
Looks like Treasury aren't the problem; more likely policy is the result of vested interests; combined with a progressive elite who stifle debate on immigration.
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Speaker: “Foreign forces”, hope and Hong…, in reply to Russell Brown,
Let me answer this: no. The Chinese government doesn’t run New Zealand
but property /construction sector interests do and on the left diversity crowds out any expression of negative influence on locals, so we have a consensus amongst the political elite that immigration is a good thing regardless.
, the language (written and spoken) is in no danger of disappearing, retail still serves the needs of residents
as it does in HK?
the scale of migration and tourism is in no way comparable. It’s just not a comparison.
Are you an advocate of open borders Russell Brown?
In 2036, New Zealand will look very different.
While there will still be hoards of sheep and a handful of kiwis – Auckland will be bigger, the New Zealand population would have significantly increased, there’ll be a soar in the Asian population and every region in the country will be more multi-cultural.
That’s according to Professor Paul Spoonley. His work could have a huge impact on you, and how you live in the New Zealand of the future.http://www.engine.ac.nz/defining-people/paul-spoonley/
There is plenty of economic argument that immigration is harmful (Savings Working Group, Treasury, Reserve Bank - Australian Productivity Commission)
Opposition to immigration is portrayed as racist and the conversation is closed down, yet people are by nature racist (of a sort) and that kin preference has served us well for eons.
In Beijing some people are forced to live underground.
Is NZ the answer to Chinese overcrowding? -
The weapon of choice (given that a Tienanmen Square is out in the digital age) is to do what they did in Thailand; organise an opposing group (red shirts/ yellow shirts)?
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The Chinese presence in Hong Kong has diluted our local culture.
It's called diversity and it's extremely good for you?
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Speaker: An Open Letter To David Cunliffe, in reply to Danielle,
Labour men are eunichs
I suppose someone who uses “PC” unironically is not going to realise how offensive that is, but, um, it’s really offensive.
yes I thought about that as I walked away. It was made in the last moments of an edit. It was meant as a metaphor, but it is way too harsh and I apologise. I believe John Tamihere’s assessment however.
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I think Cunliffe’s performance during the elction (with the exception of apologising for being a man) wasn’t too bad. Except that nothing he said resonated. It was like stew with no meat or bagpipes with no pipes. But that’s the fault of the PC Labour Party.
Labour men are eunuchs.