Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, November 10th, 2011 - 99 comments
National would get the books back into the black with a $1.5b surplus 2014/15. It’s on their ads, it’s in the PREFU. So, it’s gotta be true, eh? Well, we already know they’ve cooked the books by claiming both that they would have the revenue from asset sales and the dividends from those sold assets. Now, their ETS changes have opened a second great big hole in their budget.
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, November 9th, 2011 - 48 comments
National want it both ways. They’ve brought us economic recovery through their brilliance (we’ve just not felt it yet), but also the lack of a recovery is not their fault and is in fact why all the stats are so bad. Here’s a reminder of what they’ve said…
Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, November 9th, 2011 - 19 comments
The first of the CTU’s online election ads.
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, November 9th, 2011 - 125 comments
Nothing separates the political Right and Left like their attitude to welfare. The difference is very starkly highlighted in the recent policies from National and Labour. Which approach better serves the children of New Zealand? How much do we care?
Written By: - Date published: 5:01 pm, November 8th, 2011 - 79 comments
Not as much fun as a Letterman Top Ten, but here’s John Key’s vital statistics – his record to be judged on. (h/t Phil Goff…)
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, November 8th, 2011 - 30 comments
Yes, that’s an actual quote [sans ‘serfs’] from David Farrar lying about his master John Key’s lies about not raising GST.
hattip: frank macskasy
Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, November 8th, 2011 - 272 comments
Labour released its excellent children’s policy yesterday that will lift 150,000 children out of poverty and enhance families’ quality of life. The Right is wailing. Fuck ’em. They’ve turned a blind eye while 32,000 more kids have fallen into poverty. Only a Labour-led government will have the policies for a truly brighter future for all Kiwis, especially our kids.
Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, November 8th, 2011 - 20 comments
The focus of attention has moved on to costing the policies, promises and projections of the major parties. The Nats’ are desperate to have the media focus stay on the mote in Labour’s eye, and ignore the beam in their own. In the interests of informed choice, let’s hear both sides of the story…
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 pm, November 7th, 2011 - 15 comments
In an Editorial that would not have been out of place as a post on ‘The Standard’ The Herald praises the Occupiers of city squares around the country, (and around the world).
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, November 7th, 2011 - 67 comments
We live in a time of inter-related crises of the environment and the capitalist economic system. So, I guess it’s not surprising to see Labour becoming more environmentally aware at the same time as the Greens propose economic policies that would normally be out of Labour’s playbook. Don’t worry about them becoming too alike, welcome the solid platform for a new government.
Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, November 7th, 2011 - 46 comments
hattip William Joyce
Written By: - Date published: 6:56 am, November 7th, 2011 - 49 comments
Sunday morning’s RNZ Insight program was an excellent examination of poverty in NZ. Labour’s policies were slowly reducing poverty. National’s are making it worse again. How much do we care?
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, November 6th, 2011 - 160 comments
Last year and the year before, the portions of the assets National wants to sell paid over $400 million in dividends. Labour estimates lost dividends from those assets would total $11 billion by 2026. That’s an $11 billion hole in National’s budgets they haven’t accounted for. When will National front up and show us the money?
Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, November 6th, 2011 - 32 comments
1980 saw the election of Ronald Regan as US president. On taking office at the start of 1981 he ushered in a package of right wing economic policies that soon picked up the nick-name “Reganomics”. How did that work out for workers and for inequality?
Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, November 5th, 2011 - 46 comments
Unemployment up again. Key had bet on some kind of economic boost from the RWC. It didn’t happen. 3,000 more jobs lost in the last quarter. There’s 59,000 more people out of work since the Nats won power. It’s like a whole city the size of Hamilton has gone out of work under National. This government has the worst economic record in generations.
Written By: - Date published: 8:43 pm, November 4th, 2011 - 44 comments
John Key was really revving the crap out of his denimic environment generator today trying to discredit Labour’s costings for its policies. Either Key really is shit at math or he’s no clearer on Labour’s policies than he is on National’s.
hattip: a very prescient Jackal
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, November 4th, 2011 - 155 comments
Labour has shown us the money. In surplus in the same time frame as National, and paying off debt faster because we keep the revenue streams from owning our own assets.
Written By: - Date published: 6:37 am, November 4th, 2011 - 113 comments
It’ll be interesting to see the full fiscal details from Labour today. National is planning to borrow too, the question is how much they differ by. Only $2.6b in the first term with both having net debt about $50b. That’s the alternative to selling our profitable assets to pay for capital investment. The Nats’ $17b claim is riddled with basic errors. Updated with more bad adding from Key
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, November 3rd, 2011 - 80 comments
There’s a TVNZ poll out tonight and a Herald poll tomorrow morning but, ahead of them, here’s some other new polls results that point to trouble for the Nats. 27% of young people want to leave New Zealand. 82% of people oppose farm sales to foreign buyers. 24% of people will change their vote over the Rena.
Written By: - Date published: 10:38 am, November 3rd, 2011 - 4 comments
This address from Dr David Suzuki to the world, delivered to a gathering at Occupy Vancouver, attracted some attention in comments yesterday. Well worth watching.
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, November 3rd, 2011 - 222 comments
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, November 3rd, 2011 - 82 comments
So, a government says that the people will have the say on its budget, and global markets plunge. Was there ever a clearer sign that the interests of the capitalist elite and the people are at odds, and the capitalists know it? It’s interesting that Papandreou has chosen to force a crisis and headed off a coup. Around the world, ordinary people want radical change.
Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, November 2nd, 2011 - 45 comments
Over 100 meat workers have now been locked out for 10 days at the Canterbury Meat Packers works in Rangitikei. They are told they must sign an agreement that cuts pay by 25% and loses conditions in order to return to work. Some migrant workers face deportation if they lose their jobs. It’s a disgrace; they all need our support. Here’s how you can help.
Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, November 2nd, 2011 - 39 comments
NRT on the issue that is most important to Kiwis. It isn’t the economy.
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, November 2nd, 2011 - 20 comments
Yesterday was a dramatic day for Occupy Dunedin. A trespass eviction deadline of 8pm came and went, but after a big show of public support, the Occupation is still there. Dunedin North Labour candidate David Clark lends his support to the movement.
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, November 2nd, 2011 - 10 comments
National have a rubbish short-term plan for Government debt: Asset Sales.
But they have no plan at all for the private debt that is forecast to blow out worse than ever under their policies. Bit like the economy in general really.
Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, November 2nd, 2011 - 61 comments
National says it’ll get 57,000 more people off benefits and into work over 4 years. That would require 50% more job creation than Treasury projects. Unless you do something about the lack of jobs, you won’t get benefit numbers down. Promising the latter without doing the former is a fraud on New Zealand. Just another broken Nat promise waiting to happen.
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, November 1st, 2011 - 48 comments
You’d think if the Nats could convince anyone that they knew what they were doing it would be the business community. But no, less than 35% of business owners think that the government has a plan…
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, November 1st, 2011 - 48 comments
National’s got 60,000 more on benefits after 3 years. Nats’ plan: get 46,000 off in 4 years (only 11,000 into work, the rest?)
So, National’s welfare plan = 14,000 more on benefits 7 years after coming to power. Ambitious for New Zealand?
Where’s National plan to reduce corporate welfare? Like the $400m free irrigation they want to give farmers and keeping them out of the ETS.
Written By: - Date published: 2:03 pm, October 31st, 2011 - 20 comments
Labour candidate for Northcote Paula Gillon has submitted us a post on National’s proposed starting Youth Rate that appears to be ready for peer-review – with academic references and everything.
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