Open mike 17/02/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Species of Kiwi
There have been various Kiwi taxonomies – attempts to label and describe social types in NZ. In comments Ad proposed this interesting one, highlighting the tensions created by inequality. Thanks for permission to post it…
Poverty Watch 19
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, more from the Children’s Social Health Monitor 2012 Update Report, the government gets a ‘D’ on child poverty from the Salvation Army, instead of acting the Nats are keen to bury such evidence…
Inequality: even Treasury cares…
There’s a book I’ve heard about that I’m hoping helps push the inequality awareness barrow a little further this year.
Five Broken Things.
Yesterday I rather shamelessly threadjacked one of Irish’s posts on a Colin Espiner column in the direction of the Universal Basic Income idea. […]
Open mike 16/02/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Happy Gilmore returns
So Aaron Gilmore returns as ex-speaker Lockwood Smith heads to London. His Prime Ministerial ambitions can finally continue…
ImperatorFish: A special thank-you to Richard Prosser
Scott thinks Richard Prosser’s done us a favour.
Weekend social 15/02/2013
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
The elite’s excuse for opposing a living wage
Don’t you love hearing the rich say the working poor can’t have more pay? The faux concern that higher wages cost jobs from the same people who support huge executive pay packets and tax cuts? If you really believed higher wages meant fewer jobs, you would cut the CEO’s pay in half, not dick around over a few dollars an hour for real workers.
NRT: Unconstitutional and dangerous
I/S at No Right turn writes on the Ombudsman’s report which finds some of the Nats’ plans for charter schools to be unconstitutional and dangerous.
RBNZ lying on manufacturing
Why are Treasury and Reserve Bank presenting clearly trumped up numbers to pretend the economy is doing better than it is? They’ve been caught out lying that the banks weren’t excessively profitable by international standards, that private electricity suppliers aren’t more expensive, and that we’re not unequal by OECD standards. Now, the Reserve Bank is telling blatant lies about the manufacturing sector.
Irony overload as English calls some bosses greedy
Irony meters everywhere pegged their meters as Bill English accused some bosses of being “greedy”, and not paying their staff enough. Hey Double Dipton – those greedy bosses? – they’re just following your example…
Espiner on wages
For those of you who’ve missed it Colin Espiner is back on the NZ interwebz with a new Stuff blog, the (rather earthily titled) Bull-Dust. Colin was a bit of a pioneer of journalist blogging in New Zealand. He was, I believe, the first Gallery journalist to run a proper blog and certainly the first to get in amongst it in the comments sections.
Open mike 15/02/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Asset Sales delay?
The Herald reports that the Supreme Court will not meet the Government’s timetable for its decision on the Maori Council’s challenge to Asset Sales.
Join the Kereru Count
Forest and Bird need you to get out and count Kereru.
THM: Questions that were never asked
Stargazer at The Hand Mirror has a unique take on the Prosser affair. Prosser claims to have been motivated by concerns for his daughters’ rights and freedoms – which raises some interesting questions…
Obama talks the talk on climate change
The first State of the Union of Obama’s second term was widely anticipated. As many hoped, Obama made a strong statement on climate change. Good start – now let’s see words become actions – please…
$18.40 an hour to live, not just exist
The Living Wage Coalition has released the results of their research, calculating that a wage of $18.40 is needed for workers and their families to have a decent life and participate in society. About 40% of workers currently earn less. The pressure is now on bosses of businesses and public bodies to pay the living wage or explain why they deserve a decent life but their workers don’t.
Poll of polls looking good
Yesterday’s Roy Morgan poll looks good for Labour, but individual polls are noisy. Much more importantly, better measures such as the Pundit poll of polls are also looking good for the political Left. Let’s see Labour and the Greens extend their lead to establish a clear majority, without NZF or any other party holding the balance of power…
Open mike 14/02/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Child Poverty, a high exchange rate and suppression of free speech. It’s that National Government again.
Economic crime
White collar crime – fraud and tax evasion – is in the news again with a new report on the impact. The costs are estimated as several Billion per year. Meanwhile the Nats put all their energy into demonising and chasing $22 Million in welfare fraud.
Government report card: poverty, jobs, housing – FAIL!
The Salavation Army “State of the Nation” report is out today, and, as Metiria Turei says, it makes depressing reading. It describes a nation of increasing inequalities, with those on low incomes, and their children, being hit particularly hard.
Our international shame
It’s not often I agree with Judith Collins but when she describes Richard Prosser’s racist filth as an “international embarrassment” I couldn’t agree more.
Open mike 13/02/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Bully Banks
Good for Damien O’Connor. He’s calling for an enquiry into possible mis-selling of interest rate swaps to farmers. Good for Fairfax’s Rob Stock too, who has written extensively about this issue in the Sunday Star-Times. In Britain, it’s a huge story; their Financial Services Authority has said that more than 90% of these interest rate derivatives could have been mis-sold. Compensation is going to be paid; the only question is whether it will be in the millions or billions.
Just get the f*ck out
Prosser, just f*cken resign. There’s no place for the likes of you. You’ve been elected purely to make up numbers for Peters. And you couldn’t even do that without being a disgusting bigot. You’re not the only rightwinger playing up race fears. Hooton claims Indonesia will invade due to climate change. Key tells scary stories of made-up boat people. But you’re the worst. Just go.
A living wage: living with dignity edition
The concept of a living wage is one that just makes good sense to me. A wage should be enough to live on, right? Because it’s a wage? Because what’s the point if it doesn’t?
Bomber, Tumeke and the next step…
Bomber Bradbury today steals The Pope’s limelight by announcing that he is stepping down from Tumeke. But fear not Lefties – it’s for a good cause…
February 14 – One Billion Rising
Never mind Valentines Day. This February 14 is One Billion Rising…
John Key discovers the usefulness of Yellow Peril
Bad jobs numbers and a succession of collapses of major businesses weighing your government down? You need: distraction! How about an old classic from the New Zealand politician’s playbook – the Yellow Peril! Passed on by Seddon and Peters, Yellow Peril’s now being wielded by John Key as he talks of vague, unsubstantiated threats that boatloads of Indonesians are heading for our shores.
Open mike 12/02/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Key Living Wage: “A matter for them”
John Key, as expected, failed to take any sort of lead – or even fast following – on the Living Wage campaign. It’s “a matter for them” – businesses and workers – not something for a mere Prime Minister to be interested in. He thinks it’s nice if businesses pay more as they can afford it, but obviously doesn’t see higher wages as a priority.
Caption competition
