Posts by Bart Janssen
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OnPoint: PREFU 2011: "What credit downgrade?", in reply to Geoff Lealand,
But I thought the majority of debt is private debt?
One of the philosophical differences between left and right is that right believe private people should pay for (and borrow for if necessary) things like education, health care, earthquake insurance, boats to clean up oil spills. So National will shave public budgets and cut taxes expected the private sector (you and I) to pay for things. That will have the effect of shifting debt and the responsibility for it to the private sector.
An extreme version of that philosophy is seen tin the US republican party.
Theory says that but cutting taxes you stimulate the economy in general and eventually generate growth and hence more govt income. Unfortunately it didn't work in practice and some of the blame for that has been the GFC and the CHCH quake. But even excluding those economic impacts the effect of the tax cuts has been to make rick folks richer and make the public budget fall dramatically short in revenue.
Faced with a shortfall in revenue there are simply two options get more revenue (raise taxes) or reduce spending (cut public sector budgets and jobs). Oh and you could sell assets but that is only ever a stopgap measure (like selling your car). I am excluding magic/economics.
It seems to me that at a very basic level that is what this election is about. How do we balance our budgets. Vote National to cut public sector jobs and spending overall. Vote Labour to raise more tax revenue and keep public spending.
There are a huge number of consequences to either of those choices. But at core it's a philosophical choice, a government that taxes you and then spends the money on your behalf or a government that lets you spend it for yourself and offers stuff all support if you can't make it work out.
For me, I look around at the different systems used by countries around the world and see which works best for the people. Any of the Scandinavian countries can be used as a model for the former and the USA is the most extreme model of the later. It kind of makes the choice simple for me but other folks have a different philosophy.
As for hoping things get better ... well I hope somehow this paper will magically get written and appear on my computer ... dammit
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macroeconomagical growth powers
That so has to be in the next PAS story.
It does seem to me that National are a little bit caught by surprise that they will get a second term. All their budgets promised that sometime (somehow) in the next 3 years things would get better. Now they realise that they will be in power for those 3 years.
Of course if we hadn't cut taxes maybe there might not have been so much pain coming - just sayin'
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Field Theory: A moment of national significance, in reply to Lucy Stewart,
I work out tension via movement
I ate - sausage rolls, little boys, chicken flavoured chips with dip ... oh and quite a nice Pinot :).
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Field Theory: A moment of national significance, in reply to Mike Graham,
the PM appearing at various inappropriate (imho) places
I tend to disagree. The PM of the country should be present and visible at such an occassion.
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Field Theory: A moment of national significance, in reply to Steve Barnes,
Noticed all the National billboards had “Congratulations All Blacks”
I saw them and thought "how crass, claiming the ABs victory as a National election slogan" it just felt really icky
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Up Front: Casual, Shallow and Meaningless, in reply to JacksonP,
but anglicising, or just changing
You misunderstood, get their names on the first day (whatever their names are), note then that you will call whomever sits in that seat by that name.
That means John may well get called Miriama
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Up Front: Casual, Shallow and Meaningless, in reply to Marcus Turner,
men sitting silently together for long periods
Whereas kiwi men just grunt
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Up Front: Casual, Shallow and Meaningless, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
I could see how offering to steam clean the head of state's downstairs carpet
Don't be silly she has little people to do that for her already
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Up Front: Casual, Shallow and Meaningless, in reply to JacksonP,
remembering where students were sitting when I first met them
You could tell them that you will call the person in that seat John regardless of who sits there, then it's up to them if they want to be called by their own names.
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Hard News: Winning the RWC: it's complicated, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
I think Sasha wanted a list of the dancers and singers names so he can look out for them. Or at least that's the bit I'd be interested in.
No-one wants to make you read Laws - that would be too cruel