Posts by Katharine Moody
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Hard News: Synthetics: Maybe this mess…, in reply to Neil,
A dark view of things would be that we’ve moved from a situation of relative clarity – most illegal drugs aren’t that harmful and should be at least decriminalised – to a new world of chemical expertise run by the unscrupulous churning out harm faster than we can organise against.
Yes, very scary possibility.
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in what now seem like the good old days
If I interpret that right, Russell, I think you’re suggesting the ‘good old days’ were when we had a functioning synthetic cannabis regulatory regime.
But if I read the literature right, any/all synthetic cannabinoids are more physically addictive than the natural product? If the case, then I just don’t know that regulated distribution is the answer – it seems to me to be almost like introducing highly addictive tobacco products in this day and age.
Dependency/addiction seems to me to be much, much more harmful than the other harmful effects, such as psychosis, seizures, etc.
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Not my problem,nothing I need to do, says Bill English;
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11894561&ref=NZH_fb
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Hard News: On benefit fraud, in reply to Sacha,
rapid redacting
Fascinating, the media minders sped into action. Any recollection of what was redacted?
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Hard News: On benefit fraud, in reply to Sacha,
“I never lied to them as such”.
Skating on thinner ice by the day.
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Hard News: On benefit fraud, in reply to linger,
Glad you thought so too.
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Anyone else find this statement from Paula Bennett interesting;
Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett, someone with firsthand experience of the welfare system, said she was never deliberately in a position to lie to WINZ.
I take that to mean, she never deliberately lied, but did by accident. Another master of spin.
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Hard News: On benefit fraud, in reply to andin,
policies that profited a small section of the population (the already wealthy), and corporations that could work all the angles on tax avoidance, has so distorted our previously social democratic state
Exactly. Lawful tax avoidance - it's neoliberalism all grown up and on steroids - globalisation, the ideological sham of the 21st century.
How we reverse it is anyone's guess, but I can't get past the feeling that the utter chaos and turmoil we are experiencing globally right now is its progeny.
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Hard News: On benefit fraud, in reply to weka,
At the moment we are using a very dysfunctional, monkey-wrenched welfare system. I’d like to see that put right first, structurally and culturally.
Agree with that too - do you think the Green's proposal comes close to what is needed?
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Hard News: On benefit fraud, in reply to weka,
Yes, I know what you mean about the Big Kahuna as proposed in the book delivered a UBI at something around the equivalent of the unemployment benefit to every adult. For those paying that amount (or more) in tax, they got that amount tax free.
The amount might have needed adjustment or there might have been the need for supplementary benefits based on certain circumstances, but then what it did do was free people up to make their own life decisions. And in this day and age of growing casual/part time and insecure employment, I'm not sure there are many other policy answers to a UBI.
I read somewhere that within the OECD, we rank as having one of the lowest levels of elder poverty, and to me that speaks volumes about the upside of universality.