Low-paid, crappy job? It’s obviously your fault, according to the Right. You mustn’t have enough qualifications, or the correct ones. The good jobs are out there, they’re just hiding. Or, if they’re not, you can weave one from thin air. But, even if this free market magic were real, what’s the end point? The crap jobs still need to be filled.
The autocratic National government is changing the Kiwishare obligation of Telecom without consultation or notice. They say obligations will be the same, but they will no longer be legal restrictions, but changeable company “deeds”.
Are we “roaring out of recession”? No. Is there an “aggressive recovery”? No. What’s going wrong? The problem is that the Nats are squeezing the life out of the economy.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
I haven’t seen the full interview of Brownlee on the Nation. If the clips on the news were anything to go by, it was more of the same. No info for Christchurch residents. No empathy for them either. More haughty bullshit. More vague excuses for delays. More focused on himself than the people who need help. He needs to go.
“Consumer confidence ‘back to normal'”. “Financial woes keep growing”. Take your pick.
Argue with the science if you must, but it’s pretty hard to argue with the world. The effects of climate change are upon us..
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
John Clarke and Bryan Dawe calculate the cost of the European debt crisis…
In which r0b ponders why he blogs, and decides to come out. Very boring and predictable, I promise.
Information about the 22 June Global Day of Action in support of the Financial Transactions Tax (FTT).
We are hearing no end of job loss stories in the news and the government has no plan for New Zealand jobs. Their best idea is to cut the wages of the young, rather than to create jobs of real value. We need workers paid a Living Wage so all Kiwis can have fulfilling lives.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
From Canterbury TV (good to see they are still serving Canterbury) the first news report is better than most of the other stuff […]
One of my favorite bands and one of my favourite of their tracks. Barenaked Ladies playing “When I fall”. Great lyrics for the […]
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 Global Commission on Drug Policy have just released their latest report on the global war on drugs. Its message is quite simple; the war has failed, and it is time to begin new dialogue on what has become the greatest social failure of the last fifty years.
Out of the blue, National has decided to scrap the Telecom ‘Kiwishare’. This is the provision that ensures all Kiwis have free local calling and that Telecom can’t be majority owned by a foreign company. National has refused to supply any justification for opening Telecom to foreign control.
So, the statement of intent from the Ministry of Health has just been released. This document outlines how our health service will operate during the next three years; so what does it actually say? Is health truly safe under National?
In the damaged suburbs of Christchurch, people’s lives, their emotions, in many cases their finances, are all stuck in limbo. Residents need to know which areas are going to be written off. What they don’t need is Gerry Brownlee telling them they are “simplistic”…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Patrick Gower has revealed the Nats are poised to announce a policy to reintroduce the youth minimum wage at a rate of about $10 an hour, and potentially make it apply to people in their 20s. Outrageous and a breach of human rights. You should get paid for the work you do. Not your gender. Not your ethnicity. Not your sexuality. Not your age.
Green Party MP Metiria Turei asked some very important questions of John Key in Parliament today. Once again, the Prime Minister wasn’t there so Bill English tried to answer for the absentee leader. And what we learned is that National not only has no answer to poverty but also doesn’t really give a damn.
National’s election platform is pretty much out. It shows that National is very much dependent on Brand Key. They released the Budget and then the rest of their major policies in rapid-fire succession. This shows National doesn’t believe its policies are vote-winners. They want policy to take a backseat and all the focus on Key’s smile.
Ianupnorth does ‘the Whale’ and has a dig around the National Party websites. It turns out they are registered and run by Parliamentary staffers. In fact, National and ACT’s MPs’ sites are all publicly-funded, while other parties’ MPs’ are not. Is NACT breaking the rules? No doubt everyone’s least favourite cetacean will be on to it.
The Nats’ blogging poodles are still trying to spread disinformation about credit card details (we have the proof). Are they just stupid, or do they know they’re spreading lies? Either way it amounts to the same thing, they are deliberately trying to upset innocent members of the public. The usual scummy tactics.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Natural monopolies should be controlled by councils or government. The so called free market has only one plan for them: extract as much money as they can, then keep milking them for all they are worth till the government steps in and regulates or is forced to buy the asset back with the private owners making a huge profit.
Randian superhero David Henderson has withdrawn his genius from New Zealand in protest at the collectivist government that has persecuted him and attempted to distribute the fruits of his talent to parasites. In a short statement after leaving the country, Henderson said other Atlases would join him in strike and “stop the motor of New Zealand”.
Lack of certainty is killing the spirit and economy of Christchurch. Before the latest quakes there were already threats of protests because Brownlee has failed to announce which areas can’t be rebuilt on. That information is even more needed now. Brownlee says it’s ‘blindingly obvious’ which areas must go. He needs to drop the arrogance and inform people.
National’s first dirty tricks operation of the 2011 election campaign has ended in an embarrassing own goal. But they’ll be back with more of the same. Because the last thing National wants is an election campaign focused on the issues.
My jaw dropped when I heard this listening to Question Time yesterday. Mallard: “Does he understand that real average wages go up when high-income earners get massive tax cuts-$1,000 a week, in his case-and low-income workers lose their jobs?” English: “No, I do not understand that, because it is not true.” Can’t English do simple maths?
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
ianupnorth was interested in the Right’s frequent cries that ‘socialism’, even in its mildest forms, will destroy New Zealand. So, he looked at another small first world country, with much in common with New Zealand – Belgium – to see how its statistics compared to ours, in light of its more socialist policies. What are the Belgians doing right that we refuse to do?
“Substitute the words “convention centre” for “suitcase of cash” and the transaction looks very clear.”*
National wants to change the rules for another foreign corporate. Wouldn’t move an inch for Kiwirail jobs. Maybe that’s because Kiwirail didn’t donate 100K to National (and Labour) in the past decade like SkyCity did.
