McJobs
John Key, 20 May 2007: My legacy will be a strong New Zealand economy with higher wages, lower taxes and greater competitiveness. My […]
recession
What, me worry?
Apparently, Minister for Unemployment Paula Bennett doesn’t like reading too much, She prefers to have things explained to her with whiteboards, charts, and […]
Asleep at the wheel
Yesterday, Goff asked Key for some evidence that his government is doing something to save jobs. Key squirmed and squirmed. Goff: What have […]
1 million Aussies? Don’t get too excited
So 1,001,880 Australians visited New Zealand in the year to May, up 3.7% over the last May year despite the recession Yay? Well […]
The man in the mirror
The Budget is already costing jobs. AirNZ has announced that it will be cutting flights. 80 jobs will go. The EPMU has […]
No super contributions = worse net debt
I’ve had a dig into Treasury’s numbers and worked out that they expect the Superannuation Fund will make a 13% return next year, […]
Mission accomplished
John Key famously said “we would love to see wages drop“. It sure didn’t take him long in government to see his ambition achieved. […]
The Debt Bogey Returns
Seems this op-ed was off-message for one of our larger media outlets, we’re happy to run it: _______________________________________ Alan Blinder, Professor of Public […]
Big numbers, Crazy ideas
Most of us work for a living, and worry about money measured in tens, hundreds, or thousands of dollars. For myself, I find […]
Bosses ‘using recession’ to squeeze staff
Well that didn’t take long. Bosses ‘using recession’ to squeeze staff: Bosses being accused of using the recession to exploit workers by driving […]
Another nail in the neo-liberal coffin
Neoliberal economic policy has taken a bit of a beating lately. Unregulated financial markets have exploded spectacularly and the wreckage is dragging the […]
Whatever it takes, except anything
A reader has spotted that Hide wasn’t the only minister telling porkies in Parliament yesterday. Fortunately for Bill English, he’s too smart to […]
Bad or not too bad?
The latest unemployment figures look better than expected but appearances may be deceptive. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is up to 5.0%, lower […]
Don’t fear the reaper
The Government’s response to the recession so far has been to curl up in a ball and hope it will go away. Incredibly, […]
‘Bout that gurgling sound…
The average house in New Zealand should be worth about 3.5 times the average household income. (3.5 * $48k = $168k) The historic […]
Zimbabwe leads the world
It seems that Zimbabwe is, after all, a world leader. Mugabe’s government which followed the IMF and World Bank’s neo liberal plan for their […]
Oh no, not Sweden!
If you’ve been watching your Fox News, you know that the US is turning socialist. It’s going to be Sweden any day apparently. […]
National has blown it
National cannot be blamed for the current financial crisis and recession of course. But they can be blamed for their short sighted and […]
High quality government spending
I suppose the Herald means for us to recoil in horror at the headline “$325,000 bill to save 57 jobs” but I’m fine […]
Leaping into inaction
Cycling is a great way to travel, so it’s great that the government is going to back more cycleways around the country to […]
Elizabeth Warren on the bailouts
The best news source in America, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, interviews the woman responsible for making sure their bailout money is […]
More pain ahead
The current financial crisis originated in America with a wave of defaults in “sub prime” mortgages. The excellent presentation found here covers a […]
NZ’s debt in perspective
Remember when John Key used to say “New Zealand has a growth problem, not a debt problem”? He doesn’t say that anymore, which […]
Barbaric
Restaurant Association chairman Mike Egan on how to treat your staff during a recession: “if some of our employees cannot adapt fast enough […]
American Dream
The next oil spike(s)
Remember the oil spike? Over the course of the last 4-5 years, oil kept on breaking records, culminating in a massive spike to […]
Weak
We’ve all been subjected to mainstream journalists gushing over Key’s ‘strong leadership’ but now it’s being put to the test and we’re seeing […]
Too Big to Fail
Nassim Nicholas Taleb is one of those rare thinkers who has the priceless ability to express complex ideas in ways that are immediately […]
Yes, if Bill will let me
A wag emails us: So Key is keen on offering mortgage holidays like in Aussie. Any bets on how long before English overrules him?
Out of touch
Vernon Small suggests that a further 60,000 workers may lose their jobs by next year. So it comes as a shock to read […]
G20 protests
Tens of thousands of people protested yesterday April 1st in London at the G20 summit. The protest is made up of a multitude […]
Criticising car corporation charity
Here’s why Fickle Cycle is rapidly becoming the best New Zealand blog focussed on international issues: I wasn’t impressed with December’s car industry […]
Fun with labour productivity
We often hear that labour productivity is not growing fast enough and some argue it should be a focus of government economic policy. […]
Take responsibility or take the blame
As Minister of Works responding to a disaster in his portfolio, Bob Semple famously said ‘I am responsible but not to blame’. That […]
Vampire economics
Earlier this week the Prime Minister announced $2.5 million for tourism advertising in Australia. New Zealand is not alone in trying to increase […]
A fairer 9 day fortnight
National’s 9-day fortnight will save only 2-3% of the jobs that are expected to be lost in the recession. It’s a trifling investment […]