The economy is a mess, the Nats have no ideas, and their current policies (e.g. hypothetical tax cuts) are getting laughed out of town. National is useless on the economy, and the sooner we the people wake up to this fact, the better off we will be.
In my previous post on how a UBI would address inequality, it turns out I figured out something that is already known as a measure of inequality called the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve. A lower Gini coefficient is better and represents a more equal society. It is a recognised way of measuring and comparing inequality between countries, changes in equality overtime and for the effects of taxation proposals. Looking at it for NZ shows the effects of the last 30 years of neoliberal “reform”.
In an otherwise typically dull piece in The Herald recently, Bob Jones finished up with a typically blunt assessment of the impact of Labour and National governments on the economy. It seems that Jones can acknowledge the truth that most right-wingers try and deny.
Changes to the tax rules that kick in today reverse two decisions made earlier by the government. Dither dither dither.
Plenty of high-profile bad news headlines for the Nats. At least it takes the focus of the boring old economy.
The PSA is launching its election campaign this evening. Our big challenge is to break through the government’s narrative (now reaching mythic proportions) […]
Pundits looking to talk up the economy are hopeful that things will improve in 2011. National have done more harm than good, but there some encouraging signs too, arising from external factors such as high food prices, and returns on old investments such as NZ Super. The NZ economy will eventually recover. Not because of the Nats, but in spite of them.
Seems Eric Cantona wasn’t listening.
I particularly liked the response given by Valérie Ohannesian of the French Banking Federation who, seemingly devoid of any sense of irony stated that, “One of the main roles of a bank is to keep money safe. This appeal will give great pleasure to thieves, I would have thought.”
28% of the population raised out of poverty.
50% growth over a five and a half year period
8.2% growth per annum
Unemployment down from 21.5% to 8.5%
Inflation adjusted wages up by more than 40%
As expected, the economy contracted 0.3% in the March quarter. The drought brought activity in the agricultural sector down after a recent strong […]
National and some of the more wacky commentators are complaining that the $655 million used by the Government to buy back the rail […]
The Labour Cost Index rose a record 3.4% for the March year. That means wages and salaries for doing the same job rose […]
National is a party weak on policy. It has had to drop nearly every one of its principled but unpopular policies to get […]
It’s not often National gets something right but their latest flip-flop, on bio-fuels, is a good policy (well, partially and for the wrong […]
Interesting to see people gradually waking up to what Fidel Castro, last year, called “The sinister idea of converting food into combustibles”. Even […]
In 1974, economist Richard Easterlin, published a study in which he argued that economic growth didn’t necessarily lead to more satisfaction. In poor […]
The internet is awesome; you can use email, learn heaps, and read sites like The Standard. Faster internet is awesomer; you can watch […]
We have all heard of the peak oil crisis that is already manifesting itself in fuel prices. Now, consider peak food, the point […]
Continuing our benefits theme, here’s a look at how much the benefit system costs you. The figures are the combined expenditure by the […]
As you know, petrol and food prices are up. These are international prices spiralling up due to growing demand and limited or falling […]
This graph shows the number of people employed in New Zealand, and employment would have been had the number of people with a […]
National’s latest line is that interest rates have doubled under Labour, with the implication that National would magically lower inflation (while simultaneously pouring […]
The Reserve Bank produces a series of helpful tables of economic data. One table compares our growth to that of Australia, the US, […]
New Zealand First’s opposition to the China FTA is no surprise but it is interesting to reflect on the grounds for it that […]
Today is a big day for government policy affecting Kiwis’ incomes: The minimum wage is now $12 an hour, up from $7 when […]
New Zealand’s coal industry is a mess of contradictions. We worry about carbon emissions and Kyoto while State-owned Solid Energy exports coal to dirty Chinese […]
One of the most interesting questions from the audience at the Stiglitz interview in Wellington last week was whether he thought we were […]
I am intrigued by the recent coverage of the state of the economy. We have reports that things will get bumpy from some […]
The sub-prime crisis is at the heart of the world’s current economic problems. It all boils down to financiers playing fast and loose […]
Meet Guest post. Guest post is 32 years old, he likes long walks on the beach and lively political debate. He is our […]
Check out this groovy little gadget. You put your money in the slot and it gets counted, with the power of ‘digital’! Maybe […]
For those of you who haven’t already found it, Left Business Observer editor Doug Henwood has a bloody good economics-based radio show that […]
Today oil broke US$111 a barrel. Two weeks ago the record price was $101. Just six months ago the price broke $80 for […]
Groups that issued press releases welcoming the Government announcement of the $700 million research and development fund for argiculture (press releases on Scoop): […]
Days after saying ‘we’ve always said, we aren’t that worried about, um, whether the Crown needs to borrow a bit of money [for […]
The Dom reports that “Prime Minister Helen Clark unveiled the $700 million funding boost for research, development and innovation projects today and said […]
