Posts by Jim Cathcart
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Hard News: Some reprehensible bullshit, in reply to Russell Brown,
Okay, let’s say they should have anticipated that this non-issue would be a front-page lead in the Sunday paper.
OK, lets assume it’s a non-issue to Brown or his comms team. And let’s also assume it’s a non-issue to middle NZers. Why would the Herald publish a beat up without wanting readers to make negative associations? Don’t assume that people don’t. So yes, if I were an adviser to the mayoral office, I would have recommended something more utilitarian, like a door.
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They're not secret rooms. They're behind a door, like most ensuites are. The designers merged the door with the bookcase, which is a pretty common interior design thing, especially for small spaces.
I cannot remember the last time I saw or encountered a bookcase-merged-door interior design of a bathroom. Is it as common as you think? I'm sure that the average suburban citizen doesn't think so. But anyway, given LB's track record, I would have thought that his minders would have considered the potential as to how bad this could look (or at least save Brown from further ridicule). You're a media guy and I'm surprised that you don't get this.
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Yeah, well, is it any surprise that the media can get away with this when you have a second-rate, creepy mayor like Brown? Whether you like it or not, everyone is not as freewheelin' with their moral opinion Len Brown as the PA readership. If I were Len Brown or one of his spin team, I would have made it anticipated this and made it clear that the secret rooms were for Len and the future cleanliness of other mayors.
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Hard News: Team Little: pretty good, in reply to Steve Curtis,
It gets better…. or umm something, Don Brash was for a while opposition spokesman on Finance. he had a PhD ( Economics) AND was governor of the Reserve Bank previously.
Goes to show, he knew everything and knew nothing.Don Brash was one public figure who was outspoken on the monetary paradigm which enables households to take on the highest debt in the developed world. As Governor of the Reserve Bank, he has no influence on government policy.
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Little winning certainly does not give me much hope that we will have a CGT and other sensible taxation changes within the span of the next decade.
Well of course. You cannot alienate a whole generation of voters and expect to get a foothold in the corridors of power. Furthermore, 60%+ of household wealth is tied up in existing housing stock.
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Hard News: Team Little: pretty good, in reply to Grant McDougall,
I'm quite surprised that Finance has gone to Robertson. He's a clever bloke and should handle it competently, but I think his heart is more in the social issues / policy area, not bean-counting.
Still, he's a safe pair of hands and it's a good way of keeping him close to the leader. It's a pity David Parker didn't want to retain it, as he's been very good. It's also pleasing that Little has signaled for the likes of Goff, etc, to hand in their retirement notice before the next election.
I was surprised too. Is it possible to oversee a Finance portfolio for NZ without any sturdy finance experience or academic credentials? If that is the case, I guess he could also run Ernst & Young without too many issues (as long as he has an eager bunch of number crunchers who can readily explain relevance and implication).
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Hard News: The Boom Crash, in reply to Marc C,
Where does the money come from? It's important to remember that on basic accounting theory, debt is an asset on the other side of the ledger. To really understand where the money comes from, start looking at the capital ratios of banks relative to mortgage debt (approx 10% in the case of Australia). Money is essentially printed into existence by a borrower's future income and repayments, not by an equivalent deposit within the financial system.
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Hard News: The Boom Crash, in reply to BenWilson,
Nice train of thought Ben. However, your narrative is based on an assumption of property price inflation every 10 years. Why has that not happened in the case of Japan considering the country's productivity and "developed nation" status? Is this asset price inflation assumption only assigned to liberal democracies who prescribe to monetary systems dominated by the Anglo-Saxonsphere?
Interestingly, our central bank governor has stated today that we do not have a property bubble as house price inflation was less than 20% over a recent 12-month time frame. What is he trying to tell us? Surely he has a quantitative framework to make this claim. Why not express it in layman terms and highlight all the necessary assumptions? It's more like a Kabuki play every day.
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The NZ housing issue is discussed at Macrobusiness today. The whole issue of political will is summarized in the Youtube video. Yes, it's a little amateurish but some of the most important themes related to land supply are covered.
http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2014/11/the-new-zealand-housing-nightmare/
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Hard News: Housing, hope and ideology, in reply to AndrewH,
All the talent exists in spades and it's best to follow where the materials are cheaper and superior, but surely the time for action has already passed with little sense of crisis. NZ cannot expect Asia to swallow our exports, yet ignore their expertise to better the future for young people. But of course, the prevailing mindset is all about public debt, yet we cannot keep shoveling private debt onto those who have not been able to benefit from the politico-FIRE complex. It's time for a shake up at local and national government, but it's unlikely to happen. Nothing has happened since the GFC; it's actually got worse.