Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
Fran O’Sullivan has spilt the beans. John Key thinks that overseas terrorism and by implication climate change are good for the New Zealand economy and that the country should not do anything about overseas corporates paying low tax rates because investment will occur. And he wants New Zealand to become a haven for people overseas fleeing from terrorism and climate change. But only if they are wealthy.
Bunnings management has insisted that a defibrillator bought by the workers at its Dunedin Store be given away to charity.
Bernard Hickey makes some excellent points on the Unconditional Basic Income / Guaranteed Minimum Income.
National’s only idea this term has just been shot down by the public. Meanwhile Labour has been thinking about the future and the issues that confront NZ.
Fonterra was formed to give New Zealand an economic advantage. Instead it is looking like the country’s biggest achilles heel. Time to reform?
Labour’s Future of Work Conference is under way. There is a page with information and live stream here.
Looking to the future – planning to adapt and protect people – this is work a government should be doing. In this case, a government in waiting…
If ‘home is where the heart is’ then what’s the story when everything’s heartless?
The thing about not having great sight is that sometimes you don’t really see things coming.
Power companies are trying to back out of the previously announced commitment to shut down the fossil fueled power plants at Huntly.
Amakiwi analyses why foreign corporations are hurting New Zealand’s economy and questions why they should be allowed the estimate their profitability.
The Taxpayers Union has chosen not to criticise multinational corporation tax avoidance even though it increases the tax obligations of New Zealanders.
Bunnings tries for an end run around employment law by using “paid volunteers”.
The UK has done the sensible thing for public health and introduced “a new tax on sugary drinks”. The Herald asks: UK sugar tax – could NZ be next?
Andrew Little says that NZ should restrict foreigners working as chefs [Update: Not exactly, no]. Jeremy Corbyn says the focus of government should be on health and schools, not restricting immigrants.
Guest Post: by Simon Louisson The news for cow cockies and the wider dairy industry just gets grimmer and grimmer, but relax everyone, […]
Yesterday Andrew Little criticised the banks’ failure to pass on the cut in Official Cash Rate (OCR) to we the people via mortgage / interest rate cuts. Naturally the political right went ballistic.
The dairy crisis is escalating with a further drop in prices occurring overnight. And John Key has chosen to defend the Government’s handling of the crisis by attacking Andrew Little. He would be better off explaining what his Government is doing to address what is becoming a crisis.
Or not.
Labour is calling for an urgent summit of the dairy industry players to avoid the looming bankruptcy of one in ten farmers. National’s response? Crisis, what crisis?
As with capital gains tax, the political left is kicking off a very important discussion for NZ.
Miscellaneous Sunday morning meanderings on technology, inequality and the future of work.
It seems that “serious economists” are discussing something called “helicopter money”. Would it fly in NZ?
People talk of excessive borrowing in the dairy sector. Of course, the real problem is that of excessive lending.
Russel Norman was right in 2014 when he said that the Nats were daft to gamble on oil and bulk milk production, and he’s right again now to draw attention to the failures. We need a green economy!
In the wake of the shooting of four police officers in Kawerau, it’s time NZ had a cold, hard look at our gun culture. We need an inquiry that addresses both legal and illegal gun ownership. But there’s a related matter that also needs looking at …
History clearly shows us that when people are economically stressed they turn to extreme action and extreme leaders. Economist Jared Bernstein argues that the Trump ascendancy is another example of this.
Simon Louisson on the Reserve Bank’s surprise announcement to reduce the official cash rate by 25 points.
A lot of people out there couldn’t give a stuff about the TPP because they don’t see it affecting them. This might change their minds.
The Guardian has an excellent piece on “the 30-year economic betrayal dragging down Generation Y’s income”.
We won’t be able to say that we weren’t warned.
Pundits, most residing in the National Party, just three years ago predicted the economy would surf high on “rivers of white oil” flowing from the dairy industry, but they now have cow pats splattered on their faces as Fonterra today announced another payout downgrade and signalled liquidity pressures.
Labour has forced the Government to back down on plans to entrench zero hour contracts.
The current closing date for public submissions on the TPP is Friday March 11th. Labour’s David Clark is calling for an extension.
Iain Lees-Galloway on Labour offering tentative support for the Employment Standards Legislation Bill.
