The Standard

Economy

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

Categories under Economy

Alternatives to banks

Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, April 6th, 2015 - 96 comments

We need an alternative to fattening the coffers of Australian banks.

Trends in America

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, April 6th, 2015 - 29 comments

Here’s some slow Monday reading to ponder, on political trends in America.

California drought

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, April 3rd, 2015 - 47 comments

The California drought gives us a case study in how the effects of climate change are going to play out.

Bill English killed Solid Energy

Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, April 3rd, 2015 - 96 comments

More economic genius from the Nats.

Then they came for Child Youth and Family

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, April 2nd, 2015 - 162 comments

The Government has appointed Paula Restock to head an expert panel tasked to review Child Youth and Family.  Even now the intent appears clear, outsource functions and cut costs.  But if they were determined to improve matters they should reduce child poverty.

Generous welfare makes people more likely to want to work

Written By: - Date published: 7:36 am, April 2nd, 2015 - 49 comments

Evidence on levels of welfare and willingness to work suggests that yet another nasty right-wing myth is wrong. Reality and its well known liberal bias strikes again.

Victory for the workers at Cotton On

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, April 1st, 2015 - 29 comments

FIRST Union has announced the ratification of the first ever collective agreement for workers at Cotton On.

Is GCSB using increased awareness of mass surveillance to justify mass surveillance?

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, March 31st, 2015 - 21 comments

Denis Tegg has persuaded the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security to inquire whether the GCSB is conducting mass surveillance on the Kafkaesque grounds that the legislation allows this to happen if a party ought reasonably to expect that the communication may be intercepted.

Drill baby drill will not work

Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, March 31st, 2015 - 25 comments

Simon Bridges announced yesterday the release of the 2015 block offer. Potentially oil companies could be drilling in deep sea pristine environmental areas off the West Coast where the endangered Maui’s Dolphin lives. He calls for a “mixed balance” of energy generation. But all this means is that he wants the good mixed with the bad.

LocalBodies: Northland speaks and National still isn’t listening

Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, March 29th, 2015 - 25 comments

Steven Joyce is adamant that Northland was unique and what it really needed was improved infrastructure such as roads and broadband. Joyce has a narrow, blinkered view of the world. Sadly the election defeat didn’t remove his blinkers or open his eyes to look at Northlands real needs.

Woodhouse: tough on bad employers?

Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, March 26th, 2015 - 22 comments

Michael Woodhouse is talking tough on bad employers … but what does it really mean, coming from this government?

Labour History Project 2015 essay competition

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, March 26th, 2015 - 1 comment

The Labour History Project is inviting essays on the theme of “Another World is Possible”.

Wikileaks releases TPP chapter

Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, March 26th, 2015 - 26 comments

Another chapter of the secret draft TPP agreement has been leaked.

Kiwis Stand Up To Corporate Bully

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, March 25th, 2015 - 14 comments

Cotton On’s act of provocation is matched in its cynicism only by the company’s contempt for the negotiation process. While attempting to feign an understanding of how the new law actually works, Cotton On simultaneously may also have breached the newly amended sections 4 and 32 of the ERA

On poverty, parenting, and Paula

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, March 24th, 2015 - 67 comments

In times of trouble for the National Party, you can always rely on them to raise the rallying cry of “Personal responsibility!!!”

Cottoning on to new ways of exploiting workers

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, March 24th, 2015 - 67 comments

Cotton On has become the first employer in the news for trying to take away its workers’ rest breaks.

Screaming left-wing conspiracy theorist shocked at spying on Diplomats

Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, March 24th, 2015 - 84 comments

In the NZ herald today, Terence O’Brien has been questioned about the recent revelations of spying to get Minister’s jobs after politics. Despite a Press Corp being with the PM in ROK, none has yet bothered to as the Koreans, or the former Foreign Minister GCSB spied upon, for their comment, instead relying on Honest […]

Salvation army says no

Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, March 23rd, 2015 - 48 comments

Where does this leave National’s “social housing” sell-off?

The rich want to hide their wealth because of kidnap threats

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, March 22nd, 2015 - 173 comments

The Liberal National Party Coalition in Australia want to overturn a requirement for corporations with a turnover of $100 million to disclose tax information on the grounds that kidnapping will occur even though the rich’s ostentatiousness is plain to see without the information being published. And in America it has been estimated that Wall Street’s bonus pool is twice the amount paid to full time American employees living on the minimum wage.

A Fool’s Paradise?

Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, March 21st, 2015 - 36 comments

The pre-election, headline-grabbing, so-called “rock-star economy” may be less in evidence today, but there is still a good deal of self-congratulation about an annual GDP growth-rate of over 3%. There is general agreement that the New Zealand economy is doing pretty well, particularly when compared with what is happening elsewhere. It is only when we […]

The “Brighter future”.

Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, March 21st, 2015 - 34 comments

Labour, in 1984, with Richard Prebble and Roger Douglas, promised that if we adopted their prescription we would have a “Brighter Future”. Ruth Richardson in the 90’s promised a “Brighter Future”. Again in 2014 John Key’s National promises a “Brighter Future”.

A “Brighter Future”. For whom?

 

Northland’s ghost jobs

Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, March 20th, 2015 - 42 comments

One of National’s big claims in the Northland buy election was that they had created 7500 new jobs in Northland. Lies lies lies.

$46.25 per week Minister!?!

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, March 19th, 2015 - 6 comments

One way the Government is transforming the disability support system is by keeping quiet about allowances desperately needed by those caring for disabled children.

PM can’t calculate GST

Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, March 18th, 2015 - 66 comments

Gotcha politics is all good sport when the opposition makes a mistake. How about Key’s self-inflicted blunder?

Feed the Kids

Written By: - Date published: 4:16 pm, March 17th, 2015 - 45 comments

Harawira / Turei’s Feed the Kids bill is up tomorrow today in Parliament…

International travel perks for the people who got us into this mess?

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, March 16th, 2015 - 81 comments

The blogosphere leads the way in breaking a story about yet another sack of cash for MPs …

Are you saving to buy a house?

Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, March 13th, 2015 - 164 comments

Are you saving to buy a house? Are you saving more than $1000 a week? If not, you are going backwards.

UPDATED: Developers will save Kauri – for a Price

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, March 11th, 2015 - 40 comments

Was driving through Henderson today toward the City centre and spotted a car with screen painting on its bumper…

“Keep Kauri standing”…

Discussion starter for the day…

Written By: - Date published: 7:49 pm, March 10th, 2015 - 116 comments

I’d love to share these two posts with you and pick your brains on what you think!

John Key’s weird “gotcha” moment on ACC

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, March 10th, 2015 - 41 comments

John Key and his MPs were acting like they’d scored a real hit on Andrew Little in Question Time. The reality is … not so impressive.

Police announcement – 1080 threat

Written By: - Date published: 3:43 pm, March 10th, 2015 - 155 comments

3 News is advertising a special announcement of “national significance” at 3:45. Will update post…

It’s a 1080 threat to the dairy industry – that has been known since last November. Look – over there!