Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: The sole party of government

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  • BenWilson, in reply to David Hood,

    Ta. Does turnout only count registered electors. Is any account taken in the figure of people who don't even bother to register?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Katharine Moody, in reply to mark taslov,

    I have friends who are dedicated to finding out what’s going on and in no way does the future look bright.

    My strategy is to hope to disappear in to the crowd :-). Luckily I haven't used my social security number since I was 21 and I won't be renewing my US passport.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2014 • 798 posts Report Reply

  • Katharine Moody, in reply to Jack Harrison,

    Incredible chart. Non-voters numbers are incredible, not all are passive voters, many are just so dis-engaged from the process, that it means nothing to them.

    And the main thrust of the whole of the IMP campaign was to try and capture that "missing million". We should all thank them for that and collaborate with them on whether they think they found some of them, and if so, whether they know if they did/didn't translate into votes.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2014 • 798 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov, in reply to Katharine Moody,

    Yeah it’s not bad for disappearing in, outside the centres, off the strip, life hasn’t changed much in my lifetime. Sure people have got poorer, but in many ways it’s relative and more importantly in terms of the head space you get, well that remains quite a desirable attribute of New Zealand for me. Beyond the prospect of accumulating millions of dollars I never really got the whole urban migration thing, move to paradise and become an accountant or whatever in a city run by caucasian stiffs with a predilection for everything our ancestors left behind. Just give me a menial job, a vege garden, some fruit trees, a community to volunteer in and I’ll potter away to my hearts content. And believe it or not I feel much better about the place knowing that their spying than just suspecting it.

    When I lived there, I felt a lot of negativity, people looking down on me for my haircut or my accent, the way I walk, my typos or my confounded +crocs+. That’s a race no one wins, but having been out of that conditioning for years I no longer give a fuck, and I feel I can see quite clearly the benefits from the bullshit. New Zealand; great place if you know how to get there.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • Katharine Moody, in reply to mark taslov,

    New Zealand, great place if you know how to find it.

    Haha, indeed. But of course for most when raising a family, the rat race is almost a necessity if you want to take the kids overseas and such like. Once we got rid of the kids and the mortgage, we did the move to the provinces and bought 36ha. I soon learned I was not a country girl - not that we weren't close to a city (we were), but we got the requisite animals and every time they 'sneezed' (well, okay most times they were sicker than that) but I had to call the vet. I was no good at holding anything with horns still whilst hubby administered the medicine/procedure etc. And I was worried he'd hurt them anyway :-). And then there was the constant upkeep on the property/infrastructure when it wasn't the animals. And then there was burying the animals that did die. And so on and so forth.

    We made a very nice, untaxed capital gain after 'doing it' for three years. Better than the gains in the city, for sure.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2014 • 798 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Telfar Barnard, in reply to BenWilson,

    Attachment

    Oh, and pretty please! This is good stuff…but pie charts are really quite poor at conveying the desired information. Their usefulness probably ends in primary school when teaching simple fractions.

    Generally, I agree. Pie charts can have their place though – the main thing it’s good for in this case is the comparative size of the non-voters. But for other differences between the two years, I agree entirely: see above.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 585 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Just thinking back to 2002 for a minute, I can't honestly remember any phase of soul-searching by the right after being faced with the colossal loss under English. Not in the sense of looking for their values anyway. I was on Kiwiblog a lot because PAS didn't even exist. The whole thing was just to go harder, stay on message more, sell more sausages at party sizzles, raise more funds etc. All very businesslike, if you count ranting at socialists a form of business. If we're going to draw lessons, that's one I can pretty clearly remember.

    They didn't search for their souls because that would be futile. Not because they've got no souls (undecided on that), but because even if they do, the search is futile. It's not their souls they want to find, it's the levers of power.

    I'm not sure I think this is something to learn from. But take it how you will.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson, in reply to Lucy Telfar Barnard,

    Beautiful. Can visually see that we really should be counting not-enrolled when doing our non-participation stats, since that's the fourth biggest party after Labour and ahead of the Greens.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Farmer Green,

    Reform the RMA . . . some vague noises in that direction.
    Can't think of anything else.

    Reform of the RMA starts in Epsom.

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

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Marianne Elliott,

    a massive, unified movement of progressive citizens taking smart, effective action to hold the government to account.

    Britain also has the Black Triangle Project for the rights of those who are downtrodden through no fault of their own. Sarah Wilson (aka Writehandedgirl on Twitter) and Natasha Fuller could make perfect founder members given what they've been through.

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

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Matthew Poole,

    We hope. What, exactly, can the Privileges Committee do to MPs who misbehaved in a previous term? Particularly when the PC is going to be heavy with caucus colleagues of the MPs who are before it, and the Speaker is likely to also be from that Party.

    If David Parker successfully gets Collins, Slater, Graham & Odgers all nabbed for perversion of justice, it'd be a catalyst. But if a Royal Commission won't happen, what other avenues are there? The Supreme Court? If it's anything to go by, Sir Joh, the self-appointed Emperor of Queensland, seemed unstoppable - until he was brought down by good old-fashioned investigative journalism, which led to the Fitzgerald Inquiry on QLD police corruption.

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

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Farmer Green,

    That's true. Labour's policies were in no way attractive to me, but I obviously wasn't alone in that. And national's policies leave plenty to be desired.

    So that makes you a Winstonite, then?

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

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Lucy Telfar Barnard,

    And the 2014 voter distribution:
    http://imgur.com/BKvIGZU

    It only reinforces this article by The Political Scientist that it's less a case of the Nats winning than Labour losing. On the surface of it, the Nats' actual number of votes hasn't changed much since 2008, which means their voters are simply much less fickle than Labour's voters.

    If Labour hasn't lost votes to the Nats, then they've lost them to the common nouns of cynicism, disillusionment, and apathy. Now who was it who said that common nouns are harder to fight than proper nouns?

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

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Jack Harrison,

    Yes, lower vote turnout is not good for a democratic society, a society which gives us a strength to change. A million missing people who don't engage.

    Sadly too true. Why bother sending out tanks and soldiers to suppress voters, when fomenting voter cynicism does the same thing at a fraction of the cost? In any case it's a slippery slope towards illiberal democracy/inverted totalitarianism.

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

  • Steve Parks, in reply to mark taslov,

    I am now comfortably dead. That was my family home you’re talking about, I moved into a rest home, there is no CGT on family homes, so I sold my family home before I died so the family member could inherit pure untaxed cash,

    but if I had died before selling the home, then the CGT would have had to have been paid when my family sold my (their 2nd) home? So it’s a tax on me inopportunely dying before having liquidated the asset?

    They hadn’t determined the exact time frame, but there was always going to be a window to sell such an inherited asset CGT free, to avoid this very problem.

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Jack Harrison,

    What are the demographics of the non-voters?

    Students and other young people, migrants, the unemployed, and those with no fixed address make up a sizeable chunk.

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

  • mark taslov, in reply to Katharine Moody,

    36 hectares with livestock would be hard work, I don't know how I'd live with the whole animals as units thing, but I respect the work, it's the work of our ancestors, the work of humanity. One thing I didn't really take into account the other day, is that yes, if you have kids, then this whole surveillance revelation is obviously going to be far more cause for worry. But on that note, very little has or will change ever, at least change is so incremental that you'd never notice it anyway with the occasional skip, or in alternative histories the whole bar was shaken up as happened with the Maori. But in terms of these changes, for generations we've adapted, we lived in houses we built with our hands until as some point we were forced to sign the deed with the local authority, that's a form of surveillance. Or in the case of the heavy-handed enforcement of copyright legislation (KDC), in the past there was next to nothing to copy, music was what we played and sang amongst ourselves, we still have the freedom, but most people would rather flip on their isong or whatever it is the kids are buying.

    And then there's communications technology like telephones and the radio, and of course people have been tapping phones for decades and who knows what's been happening to our phone calls since digital audio technology came of age in the 70s. We've been shunted through schools and universities, writing essays expressly for the NZQA, people have been transcribing and illustrating their whole lives onto websites owned by huge corporations. And in all this time, over the last however many thousands of years our standards of living have improved, we have access to great healthcare, education, technology, entertainment and really, for quite a long time now, it's hard to argue that all these luxuries we enjoy have been anything but sanctioned by the powers that be on the one proviso that we don't pull a Mao Zedong.

    But things are less equal now than in the past century it seems, these new fortunes have arisen to keep the dynasties in Amani for centuries. And yet still, our problem is not that we are starving or thirsty, our problem is that we are bloated, and cynical and still ever fearful of change. Veges still grow in the soil, water falls from the sky and the sun still shines, but we'd rather sit online cruising cat pics and sipping milkshakes. I don't think we're heading into tyranny as much as we are heading towards idiocracy (check the movie if you haven't). That is if we haven't already arrived. -)

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov, in reply to Steve Parks,

    Thanks Steve, I can feel how “they hadn’t determined” would be a bridge too far for most. During the campaign Cunliffe said ‘a month’ as I recall, but with that it’s still always going to favour those who can sell within the window: slow market-tax!

    Another problem I have is as is the case with most tax that the rich find a way to avoid it while the poor aren’t capable and the more taxes the Government introduces, the more ways rich people can find to evade them. So I’d far rather see a more aggressive top income tax bracket that can’t be exploited by trusts than any new taxes that could be applied to the lowest rungs of society, because it’s always the lowest rungs who get dealt the shit hand, with any new tax introduced. Increase duty on European cars and you can guarantee that money is coming from the 1%.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • tussock,

    Hmm. Noticed another trend in my data digging.

    I suspect there's a good 250k people vote for anyone who will keep the Greens out of office. The dedicated anti-Green vote is still bigger than the actual Green vote. It's National this time because that was the only way to guarantee it. That dooms anyone trying to set up government with them.

    Like, the combined Labour-Green vote has been very high in the past, but only when Labour had higher stated preferences for forming a government, and then those anti-Green voters fled to Labour's other options just to keep the Greens out. I think it's real.

    Since Nov 2006 • 611 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Parks, in reply to Pete,

    I haven’t seen a mention of it but some people I spoke to mentioned the Capital Gains Tax proposal as a reason to not vote Labour

    Turkeys and Thanksgiving..

    There will always be someone against any given policy. CGT is a ‘no brainer’ for Labour, though. It’s centrist (right-wing parties in other countries have a CGT policy), and one way to increase revenue so they can increase spending in certain areas that need it.

    I know people who are in favour of it because they don’t make money from capital gains but see other people doing so, and meanwhile pay tax on every dollar earned in their 9 to 5 job.

    I’m sure Labour did not lose this election because of their tax policy, per se.

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov, in reply to Steve Parks,

    What’s your take on why they lost it Steve, or why they didn’t win?

    Currently 5,566 people have signed this petition declaring they think the election was rigged.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Parks, in reply to mark taslov,

    I can feel how “they hadn’t determined” would be a bridge too far for most. During the campaign Cunliffe said ‘a month’ as I recall, but with that it’s still always going to favour those who can sell within the window: slow market-tax!

    The one month comment was poorly thought out, that's true. It was something that Labour wanted to leave to their expert advisory panel, which is fine if they had at least a reasonable minimum time they could have put up. Basically they just had to reassure people that there was no intent to get a tax off someone for, as you say, "... inopportunely dying before having liquidated the asset".

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report Reply

  • Katharine Moody, in reply to BenWilson,

    They didn’t search for their souls because that would be futile. Not because they’ve got no souls (undecided on that), but because even if they do, the search is futile. It’s not their souls they want to find, it’s the levers of power.

    How true!!!!!

    Wellington • Since Sep 2014 • 798 posts Report Reply

  • Katharine Moody, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    Reform of the RMA starts in Epsom.

    Yes!!!!!

    Try out ACTs proposal - no RMA - no RULES - an Epsom planning free, free market.

    I'd LOVE it.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2014 • 798 posts Report Reply

  • Katharine Moody, in reply to mark taslov,

    I don’t think we’re heading into tyranny

    And of course the intent of a constitution under a liberal democracy was to protect individual rights by placing constraints on the exercise of the 'will of the majority' by our representatives. The tyranny of the majority, in other words, is what Western democracies have been seeking to moderate since their inception.

    The problem for democracy these days is that collectives (citizenry) need protection from the will of the minority. So, I'd say many Western democracies are heading toward tyranny (by a minority) - a feudal sort of state.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2014 • 798 posts Report Reply

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