Posts by Angus Robertson
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
But the twist is that the source of the deception/obfustication (depending on how generous you are) wasn't politicians, but the military itself. That it "blurred" reports which went up the chain of command, kept ministers in the dark and undermined or ignored government directives.
Because politicians are always honest brokers in how they present controversial actions in unpopular wars. Yeah right.
-
Make mine a vodka L&P, hold the ice.
-
That said, I am rapidly wading out of my depth on economic issues, so take everything I say with a handful of salt.
Ditto
-
The Maori Party is radical free, now that Hone has left. Only respectable Maori leaders in it nowadays.
-
OnPoint: Why Rightwingers Should Support…, in reply to James Butler,
They might not realize the highest monetary return, but will perhaps on average live in a nicer house, which might be a good thing overall.
If capital improvements to private dwellings are to be tax free, whilst those on rental dwellings are taxed at 15%, capital improvements to private property will be preferred and those to rental property deferred. Overall this is not good for the people who rent, if their landlord is going to be penalised for making improvements to their accomodation.
-
Hard News: A Capital Idea?, in reply to Rich Lock,
I take your point, even though that first part sounds a little odd - I don't think people actually want sub-par housing.
I think its a lack of understanding what is and what isn't cheap rubbish.
Houses aren't regular purchases for most people and when building/buying we don't know what quality is. We rely on the advice of professionals and the standards imposed by council - which we do pay quite a lot for. If council certifies that a building can be built to compliance by contractor A and contractor B - we'll choose the cheaper contract.
-
The timing of introducing a CGT could be better. Does anybody actually expect NZ realestate to have Capital Gains?
NZ is at or near record highs for property prices in proportion to average income. A lot of that is rental property. In Ireland, UK and America they also had similar record highs and their prices fell by 30 - 50%, but NZ prices only fell by 5 - 15%. This suggests there might be more downside than upside for capital gains for NZ.
If we introduce a CGT and the market goes up then great we get some tax, but it probably won't go up.
If more likely the market goes down then we subsidise every landlord 15% on their captial losses through a tax rebate. Which would suck.
What we should have done is introduce a CGT in 2000 before house prices went apeshit. Or we should do is wait until the market falls and get in at the bottom.
-
In that sense, it’s the same lesson as John Banks being trounced by Hubbard in the mayoral race, then sweeping back three years later with almost exactly the same number of votes.
A lot of independents in Auckland voted against the eastern motorway.
If the Left gets its campaign right, it wins in central Auckland – but the right’s vote is much more reliable.
Or the campaign needs some significant issue that will resonate.
-
Hard News: Libya, in reply to BenWilson,
"War is a continuation of diplomacy by other means."
I'd say it's actually usually a harder war, since said proper noun fights to the last drop of blood they can muster.
Consequently, "proper noun A" will typically spend an extended amount of time posturing and practicing other means of diplomacy in response to "proper noun B". Classifying your enemy thus is an exceptionally good way of avoiding direct conflict.
Fighting against a mass term, like Rebels or Terrorists or Crime, or Drugs, is probably quite easy, they're basically pretty weak.
It is impossible to practice other means of diplomacy (other than war) against enemies such as these. The windmills aren't going to charge back, but they aren't going to get out of the way either.
-
Hard News: Gaying Out, in reply to giovanni tiso,
You are right, we must prohibit marriage.