Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: The Hager saga continues

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  • Farmer Green, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,

    It does and it’s amongst us every day in every way.

    Welcome to the Hunger Games.
    Yeh that’s right ; we are all in the game now.

    ” The widening chasm between rich and poor is traceable to the policies that were adopted in 2008. That’s why things are so fu**ed up : it’s because of the “surge in paper wealth, fueled by the trillions of dollars pumped into the financial system by central banks via zero interest rate and “quantitative easing” policies.”

    In other words, it’s all deliberate. Robbing the poor and giving to the rich is all part of the plan.

    That strikes me as an important point, and one that’s worth mulling over for awhile; that crushing the middle class isn’t an accident. It’s what they want. It’s the policy.”

    http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/10/20/fed-stops-stock-slide-with-talk-of-qe-extension/

    Lower North Island • Since Nov 2012 • 778 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to DexterX,

    and with a lack lustre opposition he is on a cake walk.

    So here's your chance to complain directly to them. They have announced their review Team and are taking submissions. Be nice if the Greens contributed, they are part of the opposition also. As has been noted this week , left leaning voters could have got rid of Act

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to Farmer Green,

    Welcome to the Hunger Games.Yeh that’s right ; we are all in the game now.

    Panem et Circenses. look over there! ---> It's a flag!

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Farmer Green, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,

    I think that you may be on to it.
    Jong Ki is a 1%er ; always was.
    Your duty is to survive.

    Lower North Island • Since Nov 2012 • 778 posts Report Reply

  • WH,

    In other words, it’s all deliberate. Robbing the poor and giving to the rich is all part of the plan.

    Saving the financial system was the goal - asset price inflation was just a means to an end. Self interest is a defining feature of capitalism, even if it often shows up as a bug.

    Labour has shown that it can manage the economy and consistently run surpluses. It just needs another chance to implement its ideas.

    Frustration with the status quo is not going to change anything on its own - the energy needs to be channelled into something constructive. For Labour, this means focussing on people, issues and policies that meet voters where they are.

    Since Nov 2006 • 797 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to WH,

    For Labour, this means focussing on people, issues and policies that meet voters where they are.

    Can they also have a look at what Team Key are jumping all over while they figure out whose going to lead them somewhere.
    I totally understand them wanting to find a leader, my only concern is that urgency will be a Team key friend while they are busy choosing someone. Can anyone remind me for why Labour did change its way it chose a leader? Maybe as each candidate gets interviewed by media etc, maybe they could throw in why the likes of the TPPA are dangerous to our democracy. I don't want to have to fly to Oz to get my prescriptions in the future, jus' sayin'

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • WH,

    Can they also have a look at what Team Key are jumping all over while they figure out whose going to lead them somewhere.

    National has the numbers to pass whatever it wants. Short of an unlikely mobilisation of public opinion, the Government will be able to ratify the agreement if it chooses to.

    I don't know much the law of withdrawal from international agreements, but in political terms can we do much more than build the TPPA into the critique of National's economic management for use in the next election?

    I think we just need to let Labour's leadership process run its course. Without knowing enough about the various viewpoints to have a favourite, I thought the advice about measuring twice and cutting once was right.

    Since Nov 2006 • 797 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to WH,

    but in political terms can we do much more than build the TPPA into the critique of National’s economic management for use in the next election?

    Yes, still, now is important too. Last night we heard on the news from Phil Twyford regarding the measley 5 houses National have built under their housing plan but nothing of the thousands they plan to sell. Public opinion will be like Dexter x back a page, "Ineffective opposition..". So if the whole Party could get up front and centre about this bunch of arseholes running our Country into the ground , even along the lines of ,"while NACTional MUF have the numbers, we strongly oppose...yada yada yada..." the perception will be that Labour are concerned about the people and all issues that concern, not just their members etc. If they wait until 2017 they, and damage dished will be forgotten.
    Everyone seemed to have a good time at the KA on Sunday, Grant and Jacinda included, (although the muso's inside having to stop for the speech expressed their annoyance at being blindsided) but they were speaking to the already converted. The candidates could use their opportunity to try pull in a fair few undecideds while they have media attention. Especially if they are taking advantage of the likes of Maureens generosity by having their rallies in a public space during a blues session. Be nice to see a bit of fighting spirit against this Government.

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Farmer Green, in reply to WH,

    Saving the financial system was the goal –

    I don't agree , but I guess we'll just have to wait and see if it has been saved by QE etc. to infinity.
    If it doesn't all crash and burn , and the elite are all safe in their bolt-holes , while the 99% are left with sweet fanny adams , then we'll call that a success, right?
    Shame about the collateral damage.

    Lower North Island • Since Nov 2012 • 778 posts Report Reply

  • WH,

    I don't agree , but I guess we'll just have to wait and see if it has been saved by QE etc. to infinity.

    The fallout of the financial crisis was managed by Obama and Gordon Brown. It was far from perfect, but it wasn't out and out corrupt.

    However far-reaching your take might be, if you want to change the structure of the economy you are going to have to win a mandate to govern.

    Last night we heard on the news from Phil Twyford regarding the measley 5 houses National have built under their housing plan but nothing of the thousands they plan to sell.

    Yeah - this is really disappointing. New Zealand should be a place where everyone has an affordable roof over their head and where every working couple can afford their own home.

    I'm actually not hugely interested in the outcome of the leadership contest, I just want to see Labour consistently communicate with the public in ways that move the needle. I don't think its strategy has to be centrist, but it needs to be capable of influencing National's soft support.

    Since Nov 2006 • 797 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    I think one of the big problems with the bailout was that it didn't come with consequences for those who had caused the problem in the first place, this meant that no one really learned anything, no object lessons were made for the next generation of money managers

    Equally the politicians didn't undo the mistakes they had made - IMHO the Glass–Steagall act should have been passed again as a prudent measure that had kept things running smoothlyish for the past 80 years

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to WH,

    I’m actually not hugely interested in the outcome of the leadership contest, I just want to see Labour consistently communicate with the public in ways that move the needle.

    Me too. I'd be happy if they just announced someone . Everyone's got strengths in different ways, including Cunliffe, Shearer and Goff. It needn't be about personalities. I'd like it to be about the Party policy. I'm sick of it always being how the Media frame it and who did what to who gossip. How about they look at the Government and the tricks they are up to instead.

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Farmer Green, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    I think one of the big problems with the bailout was that it didn’t come with consequences for those who had caused the problem in the first place

    Exactly, but the consequences for all those who were blameless are far from being inconsequential , and it's far from over.

    Lower North Island • Since Nov 2012 • 778 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to Farmer Green,

    and it’s far from over.

    Because they are all still there. The likes of which ,one became Prime Minister of our Country.

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,

    I’m sick of it always being how the Media frame it and who did what to who gossip. How about they look at the Government and the tricks they are up to instead.

    Because the government has had far better political communications management than their opposition for many years now. Reporting does not happen in a vacuum. Swapping figureheads will not fix it.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Angela Hart,

    Labour needs to sort out its leadership and move rapidly into partnership with other parties to produce an effective opposition. If the opposition, and I don't mean just Labour, doesn't get its act together ASAP we are in for a long period of National government.

    Christchurch • Since Apr 2014 • 614 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to Angela Hart,

    Labour needs to sort out its leadership and move rapidly into partnership .

    Well, that's a given solely because of their numbers but I would hate to be in their shoes so I wont say how I think it should be done. It cant be that easy to expect all opposition parties to come together when they all have bottom lines they wont cross and the fact that they are different parties is exactly because of this. So many compromises required , wont be easy.

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • linger, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,

    It should be very easy for Labour & Greens to find common ground in criticising National’s abuses of process (e.g. urgency), erosion of human rights (e.g. prisoner votes, passport revocation), and policies promoting unsustainable asset-stripping of NZ’s state assets (e.g. energy companies, state housing stock), environment (e.g. water quality), and international reputation (on human rights, fair trade, environment, etc).

    I’ll even give them a combined slogan they can both use:
    (Labour/Greens) OURS vs. (National/Key*) MINE!

    e.g. just for starters – though I can think of at least six ways this could be expanded into other topic areas –
    OURS ———————- ; ———————- MINE!
    [image of native forest] vs. [open-cast pit]

    * If National are going to market themselves on (and hide their policies behind) the image of Key, then the best strategy for a unified opposition is to take that as a weak point to be attacked. Hence the very deliberate plural vs. singular of this framing.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to linger,

    (Labour/Greens) OURS vs. (National/Key*) MINE

    Yes. Always thought 'together' was a useful word for the left.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Sacha,

    Yes. Always thought ‘together’ was a useful word for the left.

    The problem is that Labour isn't 'together' in itself, let alone able to get alongside of anyone else.

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov, in reply to linger,

    That's really excellent Linger, it's not an easy thing putting ideas out there over the web, potential shot guns round every corner, that's fully formed - bonza!

    Also Sacha, 'positive' but with a deep emotional trigger. loving the navigation on this thread, into the great wide open...

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • WH,

    I hope that Labour will find a voice and agenda that's compatible with it attracting 40% - 50% support. While centre-left positioning sometimes creates friction between idealists and pragmatists, there's nothing ideal about a fourth term of a National-led government.

    Given that National's policies so blatantly privilege narrow constituencies, there must be ways of talking about matters of common interest (housing, transport, jobs, wages and the economy, the cost of living, etc) that can swing 20% of the vote from blue to red.

    While I'm sure there will be many opportunities to work together when highlighting the Government's failings, Labour needs to appeal to a much broader section of society that the Greens currently can.

    Since Nov 2006 • 797 posts Report Reply

  • Caleb D'Anvers,

    I’ve said this elsewhere already on the internet, but I don't know if I can phrase the sentiment any better:

    People confidently pronounced the one-term nature of Britain’s spectacularly awful current Tory administration. It’s doing just fine, thanks to a corrupt and compliant media and the stubbornly low information threshold of most voters. Same in New Zealand, Canada, and other places. Corporate-friendly governments have a habit of entrenching themselves, thanks to money’s ability to purchase public opinion. As far as they’re concerned, this is the new dispensation and the rest of us can go hang.

    The Global Financial Crisis has also horribly exposed the paper-tiger nature of all political parties of the mainstream “left.” Since First World labour parties sold out the socialists in the ’30s, they’ve all really been about preserving capitalism. Social welfare, the widening of educational opportunities and healthcare: these policies were always about ensuring that there would be a competent and healthy workforce available for the factories rather than offering another political dispensation. Now that capital has decided that the vast majority of working people in the First World are superfluous—production can always be automated or offshored—social democratic parties are obsolete. Capital no longer needs them and they have spent the last few decades so thoroughly disavowing whatever residual Left ideology they had left that they’re completely unable to offer an alternative.

    To me, the Left isn’t just “in trouble” or having difficulty finding a leader. It’s over. Everywhere. And when a supposedly left administration does get voted in, like Hollande’s in France, it immediately adopts the right-wing agenda it was voted in to replace and destroys its legitimacy straight out of the box. It’s almost like the medium of politics has become so attuned to supporting the right that anything genuinely “left” cannot no longer survive in that environment. The oxygen of change—the very possibility of it—has been sucked out of the system.

    We’re seeing the End of History, politically speaking, and pacé Fukuyama, it’s not liberal democratic capitalism, it’s Putinism. A strong (male) leader in power perpetually, his political opponents gas-lighted by a state-supporting media and driven to the margins. The leader that embodies this newly assertive one-party system of the right just takes different forms according to local culture. In the UK, it’s a born-to-rule blue blood, with a direct line of descent going back to William IV. In Australia and Canada, it’s a defiantly anti-PC “man’s man.” In New Zealand, it’s a smiley guy who hangs out with star-struck rugby players and gives the strong impression that he likes barbecued meat.

    If you want a vision of New Zealand’s political future, imagine JK phoning in a jokey, “apolitical” chat session on News Talk ZB. Forever.

    London SE16 • Since Mar 2008 • 482 posts Report Reply

  • WH, in reply to Caleb D'Anvers,

    We’re seeing the End of History, politically speaking, and pacé Fukuyama, it’s not liberal democratic capitalism, it’s Putinism

    Bill Clinton and Obama won two terms, Tony Blair and Helen Clark won three. The UK Labour Party is leading in the polls and is currently favoured to win the 2015 election; Hillary Clinton is likely to be competitive in 2016. What you've said is beautifully crafted, but I don't think the ebb and flow of the left's fortunes is a harbinger of general decline.

    While out of power, maybe the left could focus on building its own private sector influence in the way the cooperative movement did 150 years ago. The New Zealand left can always use more reliable, practical and popular public figures who embody our principles and who are capable of pulling soft support home. It's not just a job for politicians.

    We haven't really given this our best shot yet.

    Since Nov 2006 • 797 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov,

    It’s almost like the medium of politics has become so attuned to supporting the right that anything genuinely “left” cannot no longer survive in that environment.

    Sounds about right Caleb. The police at least went to some effort to apologise. All things considered, it’s not like the voters expect the Labour Party to apologise for all their members’ hijinks, or to make amends for every nail The Labour party hammered into the coffin, it’s just that “I’m sorry for being a man” doesn’t come close to beginning to own, let alone atone for the ideological drift. As someone who voted for the 5th Labour Government I get the feeling I’m either supposed to be an amnesiac or live in a vacuum. Focus on the colours and I guess you’d miss the fade.

    Those moments when you lose yourself in the receding tide, you're moving until you're not, that sense of loss, your feet sunken deeper. few will stand their ground, instead we chase the ocean further out, fearful of looking back to that lofty high water mark.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

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