Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, September 21st, 2011 - 53 comments
Economist Paul Krugman argues that governments the world over need to wake up to the fact that they’ve been trying to solve the wrong problem.
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 pm, September 10th, 2011 - 12 comments
I’ve just read Vernon Small’s piece today and I actually learned things from it, other than opinions plucked out of thin air by the author. Small explains the fiscal and economic challenges now existing that the next government will have to cope with and, with a nod and wink, tells us National is going to push out its date for getting back to surplus.
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, August 6th, 2011 - 79 comments
The global financial system, which has never properly recovered from the recession, is poised on the brink of a second crash. The headlines are a parade of bad news…
Update: US credit rating downgraded from AAA to AA+ with negative outlook (same as NZ). Announcement was made after close of markets. It’s gonna hit the fan on Monday.
Written By: - Date published: 12:28 am, August 6th, 2011 - 25 comments
BBC Radio 4 in the UK has a very interesting debate pitting followers of Keynes vs those of Hayek
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, August 2nd, 2011 - 57 comments
The PSA is launching its election campaign this evening. Our big challenge is to break through the government’s narrative (now reaching mythic proportions) that NZ is sinking under debt the likes of Greece tooand the only solution is to cut public spending and sell assets. As the well informed readers of The Standard know, NZ’s […]
Written By: - Date published: 5:38 pm, July 31st, 2011 - 40 comments
Some inspiration as Monday morning looms.
Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, July 30th, 2011 - 39 comments
I/S at No Right Turn on the public’s perception of the management of the economy, and National’s “dismal non-performance “.
Written By: - Date published: 1:12 pm, July 25th, 2011 - 18 comments
Bill Maher on taxes, the deficit, and why 49% of Americans are voting away their future.
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, July 23rd, 2011 - 84 comments
Over the last couple of months two potential crises have been unfolding in two very different countries. Greece and America both looked to be in danger of defaulting on their huge debts and triggering a cascade of disastrous consequences. The situation is still unfolding…
Written By: - Date published: 7:29 am, July 20th, 2011 - 90 comments
According to a recent report, disadvantaged NZ youth are at the “bottom of OECD league”. The report recommends various interventions in schools. The recommendations completely miss the point, because the problem is not in the schools, the problem is in society.
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, July 19th, 2011 - 30 comments
Back in October 2010 the Nats were quick to claim credit for low inflation. No doubt they will be just as quick now to accept the blame for inflation at a 21 year high.
Written By: - Date published: 6:03 am, July 7th, 2011 - 153 comments
Labour have started setting out a bold, fair and plausible policy framework for the election. Rumours of their tax policy have generated more interest and excitement than anything the National government has done in the last three wasted years.
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, July 6th, 2011 - 59 comments
A conservative council in the UK sacked it’s entire workforce and offered them their jobs again the next day if they accepted a 5.4% pay cut. This is direct fallout from the Global Financial Crisis of course – that monumental greed-made disaster caused by bankers and financial institutions and the bail out of which costs […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:17 pm, July 6th, 2011 - 10 comments
What keeps John Key & Bill English too busy to comment on their own government’s dismal performance, but not so busy that they can’t comment on absolutely anything to do with Labour?
Written By: - Date published: 7:14 am, June 28th, 2011 - 205 comments
John Key was elected promising to stop the exodus to Australia. He has failed. More and more Kiwis, especially the young, are leaving. And is it any wonder?
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, June 25th, 2011 - 18 comments
The snows haven’t come and the ski industry is in trouble. Is it a “cruel blow” from mother nature?
Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, June 20th, 2011 - 41 comments
Are we “roaring out of recession”? No. Is there an “aggressive recovery”? No. What’s going wrong? The problem is that the Nats are squeezing the life out of the economy.
Written By: - Date published: 3:49 pm, June 18th, 2011 - 28 comments
John Clarke and Bryan Dawe calculate the cost of the European debt crisis…
Written By: - Date published: 7:49 am, June 10th, 2011 - 27 comments
The Nats haven’t got a clue how to run a successful country, and most of the things they do try just make matters worse. We’re drifting…
Written By: - Date published: 2:15 pm, June 3rd, 2011 - 7 comments
The CTU’s Economic Bulletin: The 2011 Budget was a victory of story-line over needs… The Budget has no plan to put right New Zealand’s social and economic imbalances, and does little to start cutting back the overseas private debt… The Budget of a thousand cuts put debt and deficits ahead of people’s needs and a plan for the future.
Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, June 1st, 2011 - 41 comments
Renaming, merging and splitting agencies is what a government does when it wants to look busy but has no ideas.
Hard to believe it has only taken two and a half years for National to get to this point.
Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, May 31st, 2011 - 61 comments
Good old fashioned benefit bashing. Another electoral battle line has been drawn – arm yourself with the facts!
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, May 31st, 2011 - 55 comments
This government’s got a real talent for manufacturing crisis to suit them. The debt disaster is a classic – in order to get out of debt we have to cut public spending to the tune of almost $1billion and sell assets.
Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, May 28th, 2011 - 23 comments
No Right Turn on National’s spin about “Mum and Dad investors”.
Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, May 27th, 2011 - 14 comments
This story didn’t get any big headlines. This story slipped by almost completely under the radar. But it’s a very important story. Much more important for New Zealand’s development than the smoke and mirrors of the do-nothing budget.
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, May 26th, 2011 - 62 comments
Last week we had National’s budget and Labour’s conference. A chance for both parties to set out their ideas for the future. National’s do-nothing budget went down like a lead balloon, while Labour started setting out promising new policy. Looks like the 2011 election campaign will be a contest between ideas and schoolboy mockery.
Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, May 24th, 2011 - 24 comments
Prominent scientist Sir Paul Callaghan thinks Kiwis are choosing to be poor. I reckon he’s right too, but we probably disagree about the reasons.
Written By: - Date published: 2:32 pm, May 23rd, 2011 - 10 comments
Cartoonist Guy Body in The Herald, with one of those pictures that is worth a thousand words…
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, May 22nd, 2011 - 13 comments
John Armstrong is highly critical of the sub-zero budget: “The Budget has displayed a degree of cynicism one would expect from a Government in its third term, not its first”…
Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, May 21st, 2011 - 12 comments
As I think you can tell from the budget speech, that Bill English is quite a funny guy…
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, May 19th, 2011 - 25 comments
So, today is Budget day. The big stuff has all been pretty well signposted, tinkering with KiwiSaver, Working for Families, and student loan eligibility. The devil will be in the details of all the cuts that get made to try and limit the damage in health and education.
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