Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, October 22nd, 2012 - 74 comments
Slavery was abolished in the 19th century, wasn’t it? From wage-slavery to human-trafficking, modern day forms of slavery have many faces, all in the interests of profits for the few. What are these different faces, and what impact do they have on the lives of ordinary people?
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, October 22nd, 2012 - 38 comments
A Victoria University study shows that tax evasion is costing the country at least 25 times what welfare fraud is costing, while welfare fraud is punished more harshly in court.
Written By: - Date published: 3:40 pm, October 21st, 2012 - 59 comments
We moved out of the rental back into my old apartment in a flurry of concrete dust from polishing concrete and cursing from fitting storage two months ago. But I still haven’t bothered with connecting up broadcast TV. Why would I want to bother? Broadcast TV is largely mindless and endlessly frustrating. These days there are better alternatives than video stores.
Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, October 21st, 2012 - 122 comments
While Labour Day commemorates the 40 hour week, 13% of Kiwis are working more than 50 hours per week, and ANZ are predicting unemployment to rise to 7%… couldn’t we distribute that work a bit better?
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, October 21st, 2012 - 5 comments
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. This week: plutocrats, the New World Order, benefits and solving slavery and extinction.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, October 20th, 2012 - 18 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, “International Eradication of Poverty Day”, and the tragic link between poverty and child abuse.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 20th, 2012 - 50 comments
Labour Day celebrates, what was at the time, a cutting edge victory for working people – the 8 hour working day. But the struggles continue for men and women. Now is not the time to be going backwards on issues that impact on workers, people struggling on low incomes, or beneficiaries. Updated.
Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, October 19th, 2012 - 109 comments
Revolutions, political movements and protests are fueled by songs. They bring people together in common cause, draw attention to devastating conditions, reassure the oppressed that they are not alone, and inspire people to take political action. What songs have engaged, inspired, or motivated your political conscience and compassion? Update: : The winner is…
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, October 19th, 2012 - 92 comments
A great piece by Byran Gould yesterday on National’s refusal to acknowledge the jobs crisis in manufacturing, even as the ANZ says unemployment is on its way up to 7%. National is really on the wrong side of public perception and the wrong side of history here. They look like ostriches trying to deny the problem, while the Left is presenting the solutions.
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, October 19th, 2012 - 26 comments
Foss has effectively challenged the PM’s stance on ruling out changes to the age of eligibility for NZ Super. A minor rebellion? A faint flickering of independent and rational thought form within the National caucus?
Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, October 18th, 2012 - 115 comments
This afternoon David Shearer gave a speech about jobs at the Hornby Workingman’s Club. It’s exactly the kind of speech I want to hear from the Labour leader, with plenty of substance to add weight to rhetoric.
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, October 18th, 2012 - 28 comments
Paid Parental Leave, Charter schools, compulsory early childhood education for beneficiaries: for NAct it’s all about money, and they use ‘shonky’ figures to justify their ‘shonkey’ policies and vetos. This is ostrich and patriarchal behaviour, ignoring the evidence of the wider benefits to communities and society of good quality child care, education and Paid Parental Leave.
Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, October 18th, 2012 - 48 comments
There’s no class war in New Zealand. It’s not class war when the company that is laying off workers boosts its directors’ pay by 28%. It’s not class war when rich Tories who have given themselves massive tax cuts deny people on benefits are in poverty. It’s not class war when a rich Tory makes up numbers to oppose extending paid parental leave.
Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, October 16th, 2012 - 7 comments
Dave Kennedy (bsprout) at Local Bodies writes on crime statistics and the vulnerable in our society.
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, October 16th, 2012 - 2 comments
Treasury is trying to tell us that private power companies don’t charge more than SOEs to justify privatisation. Of course, a moment’s thought tells you that private owners, with higher costs of capital, need larger profits than public ones. And private owners always complain the SOEs don’t charge enough. Moreover, Treasury’s spin is a complete fail.
Written By: - Date published: 5:50 pm, October 15th, 2012 - 37 comments
Amidst all the current scandal and chaos, the Nats’ privatisation agenda grinds on.
Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, October 15th, 2012 - 30 comments
In 2010 the largest protest for a generation in NZ marched down Queen St to oppose mining. But by squinting sideways at some rigged polling questions, industry advocates (aided and abetted by dumb headline writers) would have you believe that we the people support mining…
Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, October 15th, 2012 - 10 comments
Should have reposted this last week – NRT on a bizarre and scary US legal opinion. Thoughtcrime will be next…
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, October 15th, 2012 - 59 comments
Here’s Granny Herald’s genius plan for economic development: if Meridian can get more money for its power elsewhere, it should let Tiwai Point close. 3,000 jobs would be lost. Invercargill and Bluff would effectively be killed. But, hey, market forces! Problem is, if Meridian only considers its narrow commercial interests, it ignores the cost to the country as a whole.
Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, October 15th, 2012 - 230 comments
Keith Ng has uncovered a truly massive breach in MSD’s computer security.
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, October 14th, 2012 - 133 comments
There is ample evidence of a deep and lasting crisis, but in the delusional world of Planet Key it doesn’t exist. The EPMU Job Crisis Summit opened a much needed conversation. Russel Norman likened the New Zealand economy to a rudderless sailing ship In Stormy Seas. Will the summit be the start of a sea change for NZ?
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, October 13th, 2012 - 139 comments
Seriously, people, what on Earth can David Smol, CE of MoBIE, possibly do to earn $590k a year?
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, October 13th, 2012 - 6 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, three good pieces on the recent Children’s Commisioner’s report, the Nats dither on food in schools, and much more…
Written By: - Date published: 3:07 pm, October 12th, 2012 - 43 comments
Today leaders of 3 opposition parties took part in an historic press conference. Winston Peters, David Shearer and Russel Norman jointly announced the launch of a parliamentary inquiry into the crisis in manufacturing. Update: Links to articles added. One News Video.
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, October 12th, 2012 - 19 comments
Unions, businesses, and political parties will come together today to form a united front on the need for change to save manufacturing in New Zealand. If National want to stand isolated against the new consensus, that’s their problem.
Written By: - Date published: 1:09 pm, October 11th, 2012 - 26 comments
I don’t have a problem with more information-sharing on vulnerable children. But Bennett could have done something substantial to improve the lives of children – extending the child payment to beneficiary families. National won’t spend the money on kids. So, after 4 years, all Bennett can produce is a bit of bureaucracy to look like she’s taking action.
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, October 11th, 2012 - 21 comments
Youth rates are an admission of economic failure.
Written By: - Date published: 11:12 am, October 11th, 2012 - 63 comments
Bill English on quantitative easing: “There are big risks with it and it is just barmy to suggest that in an economy growing at all that you would do it”. So, are the countries that are using QE to push up our currency growing? EU: -0.3% (14 of the 27 member states are growing), US: 2.1%, Switzerland: 0.6%, Japan: 3.3%. So, yes, countries use QE while growing – and it lets their businesses undercut ours.
Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, October 11th, 2012 - 18 comments
Why is John Key backing the flagging tourist industry as a major export earner for NZ’s future? His trip to Hollywood was partly about using the Hobbit to promote NZ as a tourist destination. Why is the government so fixated on attracting more US tourists?
Written By: - Date published: 6:44 am, October 10th, 2012 - 16 comments
So, we know what Key’s utopia is: golf, holidays, no jobs, and, um, no toilets. But where are the Nats’ economic policies heading? Fast forward 20 years: low-skill, low-pay, ununionised, foreign-owned, volume-based extractive industries, rather than value-added manufacturing, massive current account deficit … it’s a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately,there’s an alternative.
Written By: - Date published: 1:41 pm, October 9th, 2012 - 60 comments
When foreign companies want hand outs, John Key says ‘ how much?’ But there’s no such concern for Kiwi workers.
Young people need work – National gives them a pay cut.
40,0000 manufacturing jobs lost – Key turns a blind eye.
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