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6:00 am, December 20th, 2024 - 29 comments
Categories: open mike -
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Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Biden leaves office supporting measures that will lower carbon emissions. (Trump will trash these of course.)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/19/biden-carbon-dioxide-emissions
But as the article says Biden has heavily supported increased fossil fuel production:
"As well as boosting renewables, Biden leaves a thriving fossil fuel sector – under his presidency, US oil production rose to record levels, and the country became the world’s biggest exporter of natural gas. Last year, the US issued a record 758 new licences for oil and gas extraction projects – almost as many as in the previous three years combined."
What ever happened to peak oil, ?
Chicken Little comes to mind
we still live in a finite world, and there is only so much oil in the ground.
New exploration/extraction/production technology.
you know how we pay $2.30+ per litre for petrol? That's Peak Oil. We're over the other side of the curve, and so it's more expensive to extract the remaining oil. As Joe points out, tech improvements have delayed the crisis.
Longer answer is the degree to which sustainability experts were over-estimating how much PO would mitigate climate change 🙁
It's a shame peak oil is happening harder and faster, we adapt but unfortunately the greedy ones and the morons won't until they have to.
yeah, we could adapt to peak oil ok, climate collapse is beyond what we can manage. We still have time, but for some reason most humans just won't face facts.
Nah thats not peak oil, sure extraction is more expensive but the main increase we see here realates to tax including tax (gst) on top of other taxes. The barrel price hasn't changed all that much.
Speaking of oil, that sound is Biden scraping the bottom of a barrel.
The criminal underworld is far wider than the gangs usually portrayed by politicians.
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/guns-cocaine-meth-seized-otago-raids
Yep, career crims have always been around in NZ, patches regardless. In my area an older guy managing a building supply company was sprung eventually–partly due to some nasty assaults–for a large supply operation. Most local folks were oblivious like a lot of kiwis that seemed to have grown up in Sunday School rather than the real world.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/underworld-kingpin-sentenced-on-drug-charges/SFXIPMKO33BDIECSST3HXZNCKY/
Plenty of business people get involved in drug financing in NZ: high returns, no tax.
Interesting explainer of how 'rent maximiser' software has driven rent rises internationally via cartel pricing, strategic evictions to automatically force rent rises, and paradoxically, squeezing supply by not renting all your stock (10 min). It explains something I had been strugglIng to understand, why rents were going up and up everywhere internationally, with no apparent hand behind it. But there is a hand – of the crooked market.
ProPublica has been following the issue in the US, where now half of people can't afford their rent. With the return of no-fault evictions, this will help nz landlords and letting companies to follow the rip-off paybook better.
Unaffordable rent is the single most poverty-making economic tool, and is why the first Labour government set up social housing as keystone government policy.
Legislation to address this issue should be targetted by lw parties for the next election, starting by educating the public now. First off, letting agencies can only charge flat fees, not a percentage of rent.
Rest in Peace Michael Leunig. Fly your big warm humanist soul.
Ditto to that Ad – he was one of a kind. Will miss his 'cartoons' – illustrations more apt.
A forecast that the year 2025 will be one of mild change from 2024.
https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1177331131/photo/money-worries.jpg?s=612×612&w=0&k=20&c=6BWaz0t0pWLRu91fa9hvlUJK4KFRLyRiXwPP1g5ELMI=
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/tony-alexander-an-abrupt-end-to-falling-interest-rates-and-what-that-means-for-house-prices-46843
The alternative housing policy is to cancel 60% of social housing projects planned for 2025.
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Moreover, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), which manages the public housing waiting list and the Emergency Housing Special Need Grants, are placing barriers in the way of those who are urgently seeking housing.
There are credible reports that to verify applicants seeking housing because they are victims of domestic violence, staff at MSD Community are encouraged to phone the abusive partner to confirm that their partner did not contribute to the violence. Community advocates report that the criteria for state housing help are becoming less and less transparent and people are increasingly having to reapply.
Community providers are increasingly having to turn away applicants, who are desperate for sustainable housing, but not counted in formal statistics as in need of housing.
Meanwhile the Government does not have an alternative housing policy and keeps no record of housing need.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/homelessness-in-nz-the-christmas-reality-is-theres-no-room-at-the-inn-for-kiwis-needing-help/BPRSLBGA5ZDHFNKWFKCN6FNC2Y/
Good to see the government is remaining laser focused on things that matter the most to ordinary kiwis: like ensuring that the Manawatū and Rangitīkei District Councils can't use the correct spelling of their own names for checks notes reasons
Another triumph of localism over central government overreach!
I vote we collectively and deliberately misspell Chris Pīnk's name for the rest of his political career. Since spelling things correctly is now unacceptably woke and all.
[link fixed – Incognito]
Does a macron addition change spelling?
Short answer: yes.
More technical answer:
In te reo Māori, the tohutō (macron) indicates a long vowel sound. Which can fundamentally change the pronunciation and meaning of a word. Because of that u and ū are considered completely different characters.
Which means that adding them when they need to be is correcting a misspelling.
That “localism” link is down already.
I fixed the link; spurious space removed
Proposal to rename Chris Penk to Cry Spenk:
This proposal has been approved.
The name Cry Spenk better reflects the attitude and appearance of the honourable member.
So many options.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=penked
Oh dear…
You'd think a political party would be onto that and have done a quiet deed poll as the candidate rose up the ranks, or eliminated them at selection. Nomistic determinism is a bitch.
When you lose Roger…..
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Act founder Sir Roger Douglas has expressed disappointment at his party’s response to this week’s bleak Treasury forecasts.
He says the libertarian direction Act has taken has meant it is not proposing the right solutions for New Zealand’s fiscal challenges and he warned that the party might be “sending NZ bankrupt”.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/roger-douglas-disappointed-with-act-praises-nz-first-on-response-to-fiscal-challenges/R6WTJYVUH5GXRB5JUEMMRI3PZM/
Sure, ACT supported the government of 2008 to 2017, which made no provision for future cost of tax paid super and reduced the number of state houses – despite selling half its shares in power companies.
BUDGET STUFF
I support OBEGALx. But to be consistent, ACC assets need to come out of government assets as well.
Thus the "new debt" figure (NZSF assets included) replacing net Crown debt in 2022, should be adjusted again (to be sans ACC assets).
The articles stated cost of NZS rise to GDP in the future does not account for the NZSF's existence to contribute to that future cost.
There should never have been any tax on the NZSF (and it should have been a 1% employer and employer contribution funded from the get go). The tax on the NZSF should at least end when contributions cease (when pay out begins).
As for irony, the government currently contributes and takes back in equal measure
The rise in cost of health (aging population) is not yet provided for, nor the cost of aged care.
Then there is the to government cost of those retiring (unable to work) and without home ownership – facilitating granny flats/small build factories and planning for small build villages for the retired is long overdue.
This is related to the decline in state/social housing to the total population (even as the population ages and a lower number reach age 65 owning housing).
BUDGET OPTIONS
Include more income support (short term industry unemployment and work related sickness of workers) in ACC.
Bring in couples income insurance, with support to the partner unable to claim unemployment benefit paid at the MW rate.
A surtax on the work income of those over 65 (excluding those who not own their own home or equivalent assets) once the contributions into NZSF end.
Where does one start with this joker.
He put his snout back in the parliamentary trough in 2007 so must have been to plead his case for a non-liberatarian agenda eh ?
A hand wringing filler piece of airbrushing from granny….must be xmas.