Migration: the spectre at the feast
The challenge posed by migration pressures is real and often underestimated. They are greater today than ever before in modern history.
economic growth
GDP figures expose business confidence survey nonsense
ANZ Bank’s Outlook business confidence survey has been forecasting gloom and doom for the economy ever since the surprise election result turfed out the National Party. Today’s GDP data showed the economy has actually been pumping along faster than the Reserve Bank believes is good for it.
Uncertainty doesn’t bother “the market” at all
There is no “strong and stable” government to “lead” us. Maximum uncertainty! No end in sight! According to received wisdom (and all those people in a self-interested rush to ordain the born-to-rule-party) the market should be panicking! In fact…
National – Delivering no pay rises for NZ
Expect plenty of Nat boasting on “the economy” in the election campaign. They’ll be desperate to hide the inconvenient fact that ordinary workers are going backwards.
Dire warnings of the bleeding obvious
Warnings from the government and the Reserve Bank that first home buyers are taking on too much debt. Prices are too high, wages are too low, interest rates are rising. These warnings are effectively telling the average first home buyer to give up.
This is not the growth you’re looking for
There are different views on The Standard about growth and whether we really need it. But here’s one bit of growth that really seems pointless to me: that achieved only by increasing the number of people. Because if we’re only increasing GDP by increasing the number of people, as we are currently, we’re loading up the environment and we’re not even individually getting any richer for it. Thanks National.
Masters of Finance? 2
Boots Theory: Numbers are meaningless when families are living in cars
There’s something obscene about the way the economic story gets framed: the figures on a page, the points on an index, the number of dollars someone can swap for a number of different-coloured dollars, when people are suffering.
The only way National know to grow the economy
On Firstline this morning, John Key tried to compare National’s and Labour’s policies by saying “You can’t grow the economy when you restrict labour laws.” It’s nonsense, and it’s scary.