Economy

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

LB: Bill’s Busted Budget and Tim’s Exploding Emissions

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 13 comments

Local bodies points out a couple more of the National government’s sad-sacks. For some strange (but obvious) reason a warmish market for milk powder doesn’t do much for NZ apart from destroying our environment. English’s taxcuts for his wealthy mates have destroyed the fiscal base of the government and done nothing to cause any investment in the productive and employable parts of our economy. Tim Groser has also made an artform of making NZ worse off.

NRT: Is the Minister of Energy a muppet?

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 11 comments

When looking at Simon Bridges – a purported government minister. You have to remember that he is damn sloppy even for a politician. But oh so typical of his usual muppet behaviour is that he wasn’t aware that he was opening up our biggest forest park for oil and gas exploration. Of course it could just be National’s bulldoze anything for a little immediate profit….

September 18th

Written By: Bill
Date published: - 46 comments

The 18th of September 2014 is a big day.

On that day, people living in Scotland will decide if they want to become citizens in a nation that will have reclaimed its sovereignty.

Poverty denial – NZ Herald editorial

Written By: karol
Date published: - 210 comments

Today’s NZ Herald editorial joins Paula Bennett’s beneficiary-bashing stunt, asking for flying privileges to be cut, & denying there is a lot of poverty in NZ- a view from the privileged part of NZ’s inequality gap.

The image is the story …

Written By: karol
Date published: - 15 comments

Images from today’s mainstream media news: tales of class, crime, drugs, disasters…… and jet-setting beneficiaries.

Local Bodies: The Great Oil Gamble and Wasted Opportunities

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 24 comments

Gamble Big’ rather than ‘Think Big’ should be this National Government’s mantra.Opening up huge areas of our land and territorial waters for open slather oil and gas exploration is a gamble on so many levels. When many countries like Denmark are actively chasing a sustainable, clean energy future, this government is throwing all its hopes on a big strike of fossil fuel.

Bugger the polls!

Written By: karol
Date published: - 83 comments

Auckland Against Poverty protest the Young Nats Ball and Paula Bennett’s war on the poor.  Steven Joyce is cynical about the polls. A Stuff poll shows everything that is wrong with the media’s poll beat ups.

Go Annette!

Written By: karol
Date published: - 53 comments

Mana Party candidate Annette Sykes has been developing an effective organisation in her electorate.  Her speech at the TPPA rally laid out its threats to livelihoods in the Bay of Plenty.  Her views on the Internet Party will be listened to when discussed by the Mana Party.

Rogernomics, income inequality & gender politics

Written By: karol
Date published: - 22 comments

All of us, in our diversity, can make a big impact this election year. Time to end the “neoliberal” tyranny!  Crime stats are celebrated masking the continuing impact of income & social inequalities. Rogernomics fractured gender politics & rape crisis intiatives.

Drill baby drill

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 40 comments

Two days after the IPCC has warned us of the threat posed by climate change and Simon Bridges has announced a huge block offer of parts of New Zealand and much of its territorial water.  This will include the pristine waters off Auckland’s west coast, home of Maui’s dolphin.  In a world that has to address its consumption of petroleum you have to question if it is worth the risk.

NRT: Privatization is theft

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 33 comments

A government is carrying out a crash-program of privatization without a mandate. It is desperate to sell, so it sets the price of the shares artificially low, and loses $1.5 billion in a single day. No, this isn’t New Zealand (yet) – its the UK:

Hone Harawira: No prestige in iwi leaders trying to hide poverty

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 52 comments

When so-called iwi leaders condemn teachers for daring to highlight the massive failings of the New Zealand education system for Maori children in case the minister of Education might be embarrassed, then they show themselves up as a sad and pathetic group for whom the warm embrace of government has become more important than the needs of their own children and grandchildren. Just who the hell do they think they are, trying to hide the truth of New Zealand’s failed policies just because the international community is in town?

Patricia Grace takes on RONS

Written By: karol
Date published: - 48 comments

The Kapiti Expressway is one of the National government’s RONS projects:  it makes no sense economically.  It is destructive to the environment and the local communities. The NZTA is attempting to run roughshod over ancestral lands, including that of writer, Patricia Grace.  She is taking a stand.

Highlighting the income gap

Written By: karol
Date published: - 84 comments

A high proportion of Kiwis know that there is too big an income inequality gap. Economic power & media discourse too often work to maintain such inequalities.  How can knowledge and understandings be changed via the media, social media and creative political action?

Walking the talk – protests Sat 29 March

Written By: karol
Date published: - 63 comments

Tomorrow Today: Support the important Day of Action across NZ against the TPPA – the TPPA is anti-democratic, pro-corporate & will make life harder for ordinary Kiwis; Support the NZEI demonstrations in Auckland & Wellington, for a living wage, for an excellent public education system, against poverty that undermines education. [Update: photos & reports]

The struggle over gambling corruption

Written By: karol
Date published: - 48 comments

There has been a long struggle by the Problem Gambling Foundation & others against SkyCity & the powerful and secretive Pokie Trusts.  The government has tended to support the trusts, while maintaining their distance from them.  The defunding of the PGF is the latest chapter in the struggle.

Power disconnections increase as hardship grants are cut

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 38 comments

Radio New Zealand has reported that power disconnections have soared at the same time that WINZ hardship grants have plummeted. Simon Bridges has suggested that it is the power companies fault. The Government should be blaming increasing poverty and inadequate WINZ hardship grants instead.

Corporates for TPP

Written By: karol
Date published: - 47 comments

Big (US) Pharma has been the leading lobbyist that has shaped the TPP, followed by corporates in the following industries; Hollywood, automobile, textiles, dairy. This makes the TPP a major threat to the interests and well-being of Kiwis. Good reasons to take part in next Saturday’s Day Of Action (29 March 1pm) across NZ.

And now for the real news…

Written By: karol
Date published: - 15 comments

“Rockstar economy”?   Let’s hear it for another chorus of,”There is no depression in New Zealand”!  Demographia reports on absolute food and housing poverty for too many Kiwis.  Simon Collins reports on the ethnic inequality gaps & high rates of Maori imprisonment.

NRT: A good idea from NZFirst

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 4 comments

From an environmental economics perspective, mining is a wealth transfer, shifting public wealth (minerals) into private profits of mining companies. Along the way, it creates jobs, but it is basically spending capital. When the resources run out or become unprofitable to extract the jobs disappear and a regional economy geared solely to resource extraction withers and dies. NZ First wants to change that.

What use is oil extraction here?

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 26 comments

One of the more irritating traits of National politicians is their bone-headed and short-term obsession about being rentiers selling raw and lightly processed […]

Taiwan

Written By: Bill
Date published: - 9 comments

Taiwanese legislature occupied. Could be news…

NRT: An economic upgrade?

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 60 comments

No Right Turn reacts to David Cunliffe’s speech on Friday. “…one thing is clear: we need to move our economy away from a focus on milk. Our environment can’t sustain it, and its not delivering for anyone other than a narrow class of wealthy farmers.” “… rich economies have multiple sources of income. And they consciously develop them through industrial policy.”

Closing the Gaps – Education & work

Written By: karol
Date published: - 8 comments

Simon Collins article on reducing inequalities for Māori & Pacific people. Māori and Pacific youth have become significantly disadvantaged in employment.  However, the article supports charter schools, without examining how such neoliberal intitatives are ultimately damaging for Māori & Pacific people.

Russel Norman on consumerism & happiness

Written By: karol
Date published: - 38 comments

An interview provides an insight into Russel Norman’s working class background & frugal, anti-consumerist outlook. Combines well with Metiria Turei’s working class background –  which has motivated her campaign against child poverty and inequality.

Officials’ dinners off in China

Written By: Mike Smith
Date published: - 36 comments

Fran O’Sullivan thinks that the only reason why Collins is still a Minister was Key’s need to save face in his impending visit to China. I think Key may have got a better reception from Xi Jinping if he had followed the Chinese leader’s example of taking a hard line on  dinner-table corruption and sacked Collins.

Power of an informed public

Written By: karol
Date published: - 5 comments

The West Auckland Peasants Film Club FB page says: “The greatest threat to freedom and well-being everywhere is corporate ambition: the greatest threat to corporate ambition is a well-informed public”. This week the PFC is showing, I Am (Dir. Tom Shadyac)  – how to get such information seen more widely?

Tony Benn 1925-2014

Written By: karol
Date published: - 34 comments

Sorry to hear that Tony Benn has died today, at age 88.  He came from an aristocratic background, but became part of the UK Labour Party’s “radical” left.  He spoke for Unions, people power and democratic process, and against neoliberalism. [Update – Tony Benn quotes]

Stand up for fairness in & for NZ – TPPA, March 29

Written By: karol
Date published: - 6 comments

International, cronyist, corporate capitalism skews democratic processes in NZ, making it harder for the majority of battling Kiwis to get a fair go – harder to ensure all New Zealanders live in a society that works for them. The TPPA is a power-play between the US and other powerful countries.  There’s nothing in it for NZ. National Day of action March 29th, 2014.

National – pissing debt against a wall.

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 77 comments

The deficit was $637 million dollars bigger than expected. In fact it was more than double the expected size. Why? Well  mostly because of much smaller tax revenues than previously estimated. So much for the mythic recovery that National’s spinners have been pushing over xmas. We just finished paying off the mountain of debt that National gave me back in the 1970’s and early 80s. Now the shifty party of crony business morons are trying to do it to another generation.

Union communicators and RSS – please join the 21st century

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 27 comments

Just at present I’m particularly interested in adding union sites with RSS feeds to our feeds. But it is somewhat irritating. Many of the sites don’t have a RSS feed. They should have one. Unions are an inherent part of the labour movement that we like to think that we’re helping and a part of.  It’d be nice if they did their bit to help us help them.