Posts by Kumara Republic
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Hard News: Budget 2017: How do we get…, in reply to Sam M,
Increase the minimum wage, resume more meaningful protections for workers and move to taxes on capital assets.
Also this: relax skilled migrant rules but in exchange, put a proper price on it. Then use the revenue raised for apprenticeships and repurposing "rust belt" workers (of which I consider myself one). It's probably the least worst solution regarding employers who wilfully hire migrants to skimp on training & suppress wages. Surprisingly, there's some form of such an approach in the very Anglo-Saxon economies of the USA & UK.
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Hard News: Budget 2017: How do we get…, in reply to BenWilson,
Well it would screw up the wealthy classes a whole lot more than any of those are likely to. But for that reason, all stops would be pulled if such a thing seemed to be happening. Government would directly intervene to bail out the banking sector, and many other measures even more drastic could be taken.
A bank bailout in the NZ context would be a no-win situation for the Anglo-Saxon model in any case. If Bill English rejects a bailout, his multiple property-owning supporters will go Brexitrump and feel betrayed. If he approves a bailout, those on Struggle St who've been lectured about austerity will go Brexitrump over the hypocrisy of "socialism for the rich".
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Hard News: Budget 2017: How do we get…, in reply to Sam M,
Genuine question: What are the biggest levers the government has access to to influence how the economy develops? I'm assuming, tax policy would be one of the biggest?
Mortgage-belt politics seems to strongly tie in to it. The usual rationale from Anglo-Saxon economic fundies is that raising taxes & spending would drive up interest rates, and hence mortgage rates with it. Rising mortgage rates = pissed off home-owners who almost always vote. John Howard used it in 1996, and Maggie Thatcher during the 1980s with the "right-to-buy" scheme.
The one thing guaranteed to be a game changer would be a housing market crash. Bill English would likely be more scared of it than ISIL terrorists or North Korean missiles, because a crash would heavily discredit the very Anglo-Saxon Model he so adheres to, like the Great Depression did for the Gilded Age.
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From all the struggles I've experienced in education and the job market as a long-time undiagnosed Aspie, I've come to the conclusion that the best, if not the only thing that'll get me ahead now is a Scandinavian/German approach - which the Future of Work study seems to take a few leaves from.
Expect the apologists for the incumbent Anglo-Saxon model to incacurately smear the Scandi/German model as "big government old Labour tax and spend", not realising that 1) Scandinavia and Germany rank highly in economic freedom, and 2) the longer that sort of A-S thinking persists, the more likely NZ could be in for a "hard Brexit" or "Trumpification".
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Up Front: What's the Big Idea?, in reply to BenWilson,
To be fair, The Bubble Bubble guy thinks everything is a bubble at the moment, hence his name. He might be right, but until it all bursts, we can't be sure.
Also take into account the fact he's a Ron/Rand Paul-ite libertarian who thinks the US Federal Reserve should be scrapped.
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Up Front: What's the Big Idea?, in reply to Rich Lock,
If you go somewhere like Hull (north), then sure, it's £119K. But there's a reason for that (no-one wants to live there, and the median wage is considerably lower than the overall UK median wage, at 19.5K).
For the same reasons Detroit and St Louis are affordable: industry has left town and the unemployment & crime rates are high.
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Meanwhile, those on the autistic spectrum also continue to languish. There's hope on the horizon though, with Specialisterne Oz looking for a NZ partnership.
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Up Front: What's the Big Idea?, in reply to Bart Janssen,
Same problem with Labour, the list position favours the "experienced MPs" aka old ones.
In fairness, most of the Clark-era caucus has stepped down from Parliament. Still, there should be a balance between fresh talent and long experience in any case.
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For some perspective...
https://twitter.com/MarkDiStef/status/861109177418039298
@MarkDiStef
Jesus H Christ.Domain valued at $2.2 billion.
The SMH, The Age, The AFR valued at $17.6 million.
http://www.afr.com/street-talk/private-equity-giant-tpg-seeks-new-deal-with-fairfax-media-20170505-gvzdxv via @adharves -
Hard News: Behind those Herald…, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
Made the TV one news also:
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/business/property-investment-coach-labelled-dishonest-after-advising-buyers-target-vulnerableI hope he's a tipping point in the housing bubble debate.