Posts by Kumara Republic

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  • Polity: Saudi sheep: Misappropriating…,

    Don't the words 'graft' and 'embezzlement' come to mind?

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Speaker: Why we need to stop talking…, in reply to SHG,

    Thought experiment.

    Dumb luck is not a manifesto. America’s GI Bill and the German Soziale Marktwirtschaft are.

    And will the wealth gap still be ‘not your problem’ if those on the wrong side of it decide the only way to close it is with AK47s, and one of them happens to be pointed at you? JFK once said that ‘those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable’.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Speaker: Why we need to stop talking…, in reply to SHG,

    However that is not inequality that I care about very much

    Apples and oranges. Modern inequality is being propped up by survivorship bias dogma that thinks anyone can be a CEO or a dropout tech tycoon.

    Is a zero-tax, zero-government society worth it, if you have to live in a bomb shelter and be escorted in your daily life in an armoured car by SAS troops? Somalia is a little bit like that, and to a lesser extent Joburg, Lima and La Paz.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Polity: Too much to swallow on the TPP, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,

    Dr Mapp is a smart man, but he's missed the point: that the TPPA isn't even a free trade agreement.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Speaker: Why we need to stop talking…, in reply to Kirk Serpes,

    In an ultra-right wing frame, punishing the poor with higher taxes and cutting off social services is the morally correct thing to do. And they have a whole lot of metaphors and language that in absence of an alternate emotional story, get the middle on their side. It’s the whole “spoiling your kids metaphor”. Works like a charm. These stories will win over evidence not every time but enough of the time to win elections and change policy. Working on my next post that goes into more detail on these deeper framing issues.

    I’ve come to the realisation that if only 2 words could sum up the likes of John Key, Paula Bennett and Steven Joyce, it's the "survivor’s bias" fallacy – and they’ve successfully spun it as an excuse to steal the ladder they climbed up and blame the victim.

    There hasn’t been much of a matching counter-narrative. Is it really that expensive to carry out, or is it just quickly shot down as whingeing or ‘reds under the bed’?

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Access: Disability as a wicked policy problem, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,

    What happened to the big push a few years ago to get the media to use less ‘inspiration porn’ language when telling stories involving disabled people?

    Yep, 'inspiration porn' is little more than a polite way of attacking the symptom. Too often it's an excuse to ignore the fact that the disabled need wheelchair ramps and sign-language interpreters.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Polity: Too much to swallow on the TPP, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,

    Fighting talk from Tim….http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11490776

    Comical Ali insists that Allied tanks aren't rolling into Baghdad, and Karl Donitz insists that Allied tanks aren't rolling into Berlin.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Polity: Too much to swallow on the TPP, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    How does he get by on so little information?

    The prospectuses of the multi-nationals benefiting from the TPPA, maybe?

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Speaker: House prices and the "Magic Money", in reply to Russell Brown,

    Authority X said it was supply constriction due to RMA restriction. I am sure they did.

    It's surprising how often this is offered as a received truth.

    I've been having fun & games with yet another ACToid on Twitter about the inconsistency of said argument.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Polity: Too much to swallow on the TPP,

    In any case, the Pacific trade deal isn’t really about trade. Some already low tariffs would come down, but the main thrust of the proposed deal involves strengthening intellectual property rights — things like drug patents and movie copyrights — and changing the way companies and countries settle disputes. And it’s by no means clear that either of those changes is good for America.

    It most certainly isn't about actual free trade. It's really an excuse to reanimate the East India Company.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

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