Posts by Idiot Savant
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OnPoint: 3 News Exclusive Investigation…, in reply to Keith Ng,
But the change is to the value of the loans held, not to how much people owe. Writing off people’s debt for non-payment would encourage them to not pay.
If its been more than a decade, I think we've already established that they will not and can not pay. So what's wrong with admitting that? Or must we make people suffer the burden of a lifetime of unrepayable debt, for fear that acknowledging the reality might set "a bad incentive" for people to spend their entire lives earnign less than the minimum wage?
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Muse: The Very Odd Future According to…, in reply to Rageaholic,
But on the other hand, the owner in this case is the government and the government deciding which shows are ok in which venues makes me uncomfortable.
Ditto. And that's why we have the BORA. Which clearly applies to the Auckland Council in this instance. But somehow, I suspect they didn't bother to consider the public's freedom of expression. Sadly, there seems to be very little we an do legally about such well-meaning dickery.
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Muse: The Very Odd Future According to…, in reply to Keir Leslie,
I have sent an OIA request off to the Council asking for the reasons for the decision, and for the correspondence --- I am really curious to find out what they say.
Prediction: "That'll be $76 an hour". To which you should respond by saying "Ombudsman! Ombudsman! Ombudsman!"
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OnPoint: 3 News Exclusive Investigation…, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,
Or taxable income that's below the repayment threshold. Or non-taxable income (e.g. via capital gains). And charging interest could encourage that lot to pay up.
At the expense of drowning everyone but the third group in more unrepayable debt.
The core problem here is that the "private benefit" of tertiary education, on which the scheme is predicated, isn't all its cracked up to be. A fairly significant proportion of graduates never see that benefit, even using the government's sub-minimum wage definition of it. Which means they end up saddled with debt, with nothing (at least, nothing that Treasury would recognise) to show for it.
We need some way of dealing with this. If someone left study in 1992, has stayed in NZ and has never made a repayment since, then I think its fairly clear that they're unlikely to, and their loan should be (gradually) written off. Debts that can't be repaid won't be repaid, and it is false accounting to pretend otherwise.
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Hard News: The Politics of Absence, in reply to Russell Brown,
I'd be surprised if there was a problem without it outside the term of an election campaign.
There shouldn't be. But I think its potentially an issue around elections. Honest MPs should step back from such roles during the regulated period.
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Hard News: The Politics of Absence, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
If there is criticism or questions on John Key having an hour on Radio Live, what position does that put David Shearer's show, on Planet FM, in?
Potentially an election programme, depending on its content and timing. And in the context of an election, implicit content - such as Key's branding exercise - can become important, even in the absence of explict calls for support.
That said, the Electoral Act says its an election advertisement if it "may reasonably be regarded" as encouraging support. The Broadcasting Act says its an election programme if it encourages support. That seems to be a tighter test, so politicians may in fact be free to advertise themselves on TV or radio, provided they never explicitly ask for votes (and this would not even have to be declared as an election expense). It'll be up to the BSA, and possibly the courts, to decide.
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In Palmerston North there are a lot of signs up for Leonie Hapeta (all of which feature John Key), and fewer and smaller ones for Iain Lees-Galloway. Labour only has big signs at the entrances - Massey, Pioneer Highway - whereas Hapeta has them everywhere.
Shannon is a Peter Foster (Labour) zone, with a lot of huge signs up.
The road to Levin is a National zone.
First Green sign is in a field north of Otaki.
Mana is covered in Labour hoardings.
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OnPoint: Set it on fire, then, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Well, no - but I've yet to see anyone convincingly make the case that student unions are equivalent to nation states with any conviction.
I think you should read up on their history. From the beginning, they've been about the student body governing itself, and exacting concessions by waging war (by strategic rioting and/or threats to depart) with both their Masters and the town that hosted them (some, BTW, even organised themselves into "nations"). Its always been about government; its just that nowdays the stakes are a lot lower.
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OnPoint: Other People's Wars, in reply to Russell Brown,
Feeling it. My copy arrived this afternoon and is is sitting by my keyboard staring at me. 439 pages, including 73 pages of endnotes in tightly-leaded six point type. By next week.
Dammit, I had Other Stuff To Do this weekend!
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Hard News: Is that it?, in reply to Che Tibby,
"an appreciation of the erotic qualities of soy-based soups".
That would be misophilia, and its probably a love-hate relationship.