The Standard

Economy

Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour

Categories under Economy

Global elite plan their escape from “pleb masses”

Written By: - Date published: 11:03 am, March 29th, 2016 - 35 comments

So, Key has now come out and revealed to us how afraid the global oligarch class (and their well paid professional enablers) are. They appear to have no plans to reverse their activites to make things better for us.

A quick question (again)

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, March 29th, 2016 - 231 comments

“More than 2400 benefits suspended since 2013”. I have a quick question…

Key wants to turn New Zealand into a haven for the 1%

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, March 29th, 2016 - 95 comments

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 has no heart

Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, March 27th, 2016 - 47 comments

Bunnings management has insisted that a defibrillator bought by the workers at its Dunedin Store be given away to charity.

Easter Sunday

Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, March 27th, 2016 - 56 comments

easter-sunday

Hickey on the UBI

Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, March 27th, 2016 - 200 comments

Bernard Hickey makes some excellent points on the Unconditional Basic Income / Guaranteed Minimum Income.

Labour’s Ten Big Ideas

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, March 26th, 2016 - 167 comments

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.

It’s time to reform Fonterra

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, March 25th, 2016 - 49 comments

Fonterra was formed to give New Zealand an economic advantage.  Instead it is looking like the country’s biggest achilles heel.  Time to reform?

Future of Work Conference

Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, March 23rd, 2016 - 69 comments

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…

House Tales.

Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, March 22nd, 2016 - 32 comments

If ‘home is where the heart is’ then what’s the story when everything’s heartless?

Glasses and Brick Walls (& woods and trees).

Written By: - Date published: 9:41 pm, March 21st, 2016 - 47 comments

The thing about not having great sight is that sometimes you don’t really see things coming.

Don’t extend polluting Huntly power station!

Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, March 21st, 2016 - 134 comments

Power companies are trying to back out of the previously announced commitment to shut down the fossil fueled power plants at Huntly.

Guest Post: Government’s multi billion dollar lies

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, March 20th, 2016 - 39 comments

Amakiwi analyses why foreign corporations are hurting New Zealand’s economy and questions why they should be allowed the estimate their profitability.

Taxpayers Union is relaxed about Multinationals not paying tax

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, March 18th, 2016 - 150 comments

The Taxpayers Union has chosen not to criticise multinational corporation tax avoidance even though it increases the tax obligations of New Zealanders.

Bunnings trying for end run around employment law

Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, March 18th, 2016 - 69 comments

Bunnings tries for an end run around employment law by using “paid volunteers”.

UK sugar tax

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, March 17th, 2016 - 27 comments

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?

Compare and contrast: Little vs Corbyn on immigration

Written By: - Date published: 10:44 pm, March 16th, 2016 - 284 comments

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.

Don’t stress, our banks will be ok – RBNZ

Written By: - Date published: 4:34 pm, March 16th, 2016 - 36 comments

Guest Post: by Simon Louisson The news for cow cockies and the wider dairy industry just gets grimmer and grimmer, but relax everyone, the banks will be fine, according to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand today. On a day when prices fell another 2.9 percent in Global Dairy Trade auction and Fonterra announced it […]

Interest rates and banks

Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, March 16th, 2016 - 185 comments

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.

Key fiddles while dairy industry burns

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, March 16th, 2016 - 46 comments

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.

Key is on top of the dairy crisis

Written By: - Date published: 3:28 pm, March 15th, 2016 - 107 comments

Or not.

Safe As Milk

Written By: - Date published: 1:44 pm, March 14th, 2016 - 110 comments

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?

Labour considering Unconditional Basic Income

Written By: - Date published: 12:43 pm, March 14th, 2016 - 361 comments

As with capital gains tax, the political left is kicking off a very important discussion for NZ.

Go, technology, inequality, the future of work

Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, March 13th, 2016 - 42 comments

Miscellaneous Sunday morning meanderings on technology, inequality and the future of work.

Quantitative easing for the masses

Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, March 13th, 2016 - 136 comments

It seems that “serious economists” are discussing something called “helicopter money”. Would it fly in NZ?

Who is ultimately responsible for NZ’s massive dairy farm debt?

Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, March 12th, 2016 - 82 comments

People talk of excessive borrowing in the dairy sector. Of course, the real problem is that of excessive lending.

Norman on the economy

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, March 12th, 2016 - 58 comments

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!

The Gun Club

Written By: - Date published: 2:34 pm, March 11th, 2016 - 172 comments

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 …

Economic anger and political madness

Written By: - Date published: 7:28 am, March 11th, 2016 - 66 comments

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.

RB snaps awake, jolts markets

Written By: - Date published: 3:06 pm, March 10th, 2016 - 49 comments

Simon Louisson on the Reserve Bank’s surprise announcement to reduce the official cash rate by 25 points.

TPP to criminalise ordinary viewers

Written By: - Date published: 2:44 pm, March 10th, 2016 - 53 comments

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.