That is a lie

It would certainly seem so, coming from an international finance expert as it did.

But as 70 jobs were axed at ACC yesterday, the cost of the handpicked razor gang appointed to help the Government find savings was under fire. It was revealed that former Treasury secretary Graham Scott is…

Key just said to Havoc on 95bfm that nobody thought we would have such a recession 6 months ago.

So, Mr Key, nobody said to you during the election campaign. "Dont you think it's unwise or unaffordable to be promising tax cuts with the recession we are now in, that…

Key and his merry band of rammers-under-urgency are a disgrace. and a reflection of all that cerebral action on the part of the people who voted for…

What exactly did people think they were getting

Ben,

you're not seriously implying that the people who voted for National actually did so based on "thinking", are you?

being pre-programmed by the corporate/state-owned media doesn't count as "thinking".

(sorry, couldn't resist that)

I don't see why anyone is surprised that the government is paying such attention to S&P.

What exactly did people think they were getting when they voted in a foreign exchange trader?

Exactly.

What exactly did people think they were getting when they voted in a foreign exchange trader?

Seriously, at the next possible opportunity, if anyone of us can appear on TV and put a copy of the S&P report through a paper shredder – live on TV – I can't think of a starker gesture of disapproval.

Fran O'Sullivan?

This week's repeated admonitions by S&P that it would expect the New Zealand Government to start posting Budget operating surpluses over the next three to five years translates to: "Get your affairs in order, Government – or we'll whack you with a ratings downgrade."

"batshit crazy"

LOL

It…

Are we cutting government services to donate the money to the private sector now?

Actually, you're right. I hadn't thought of it like that.

I don't mind MS what I mind is not being able to use anything else.

Oh well, take that up with your middle management by all means. We're basically free to put whatever we want on our computers, despite there being some costs when things get fubared.

As one academic…

Cutting government investment in services to reduce private sector debt seems like nothing more than magical thinking.

Are we cutting government services to donate the money to the private sector now?

OTOH, my experience around various…

anyone who thinks that S&P is a credible source of creditworthiness information is "batshit crazy".

Fran O'Sullivan?

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's is exactly the right sort of bogeyman to scare Kiwis into accepting a tough – but realistic – Budget.

As an antidote can I highly recommend that Rod Oram story…

because it would be my biggest nightmare from hell.

Sorry for the generalisation. I know there are some very good folks out there trying. But the above comment is one problem I hit, the aim surely is to make the professor more efficient even if it costs you time.…

like giving your ballerinas standard issue steelcap boots.

Oh that's great Stephen I will steal that and pretend it's mine.

Sorry about the reaction, it is just an area of frustration about the way we view workplaces in general, – standardisation is good, all staff…

Because the people making the decisions, usually suit wearing middle managers, are too lazy to use their brains. Or simply don't actually have functioning brains. Or are keen to stamp their mark on an organisation by changing previous decisions.

That's a terrible generalisation. My workplace is one of the largest…

Personally I think research is the last area where you would want…

On the third point, much government work is not "knowledge work" per se but more data entry or process orientated. A more restricted computing environment is safer, cheaper, easier to administer and eminently feasible to build (and clone and rebuild and update) on a free software stack.

?!?!

As…

Quite why we persist in sending so much bloody money into the coffers of a foreign company when there are cheaper, viable alternatives is rather beyond me.

Because the people making the decisions, usually suit wearing middle managers, are too lazy to use their brains. Or simply don't actually have…

For that matter, even Microsoft isn't indistinguishable from Microsoft, in the sense that changes between OS versions and Office versions can be quite marked.

Office 2007, for example. That bloody ribbon drives me up the wall, on the few occasions when I'm forced to use it. Doesn't help that I'm…

I'm not suggesting for a moment that…

What do you chuck overboard?

anyone whose initials are P.H. and whose first name is Paul gets a free one-way ticket to Bagram Air Base.

You've just bought TVNZ for an excellent price. Now to business. What do you chuck overboard?

I, for one, welcome our new corporate overlords.

I have OpenOffice at home. It's by no means equivalent to MS Office – maybe 75%, with no features that MS don't provide that I've been able to find. As soon as I can find some sort of semi-hookey MS license, I'm going back to MS.

I reckon if you…

Hi Rich.

This from the Herald 28 July:

Yep, that's the sort of thing. Although in my far from perfect recall, there were a few more bits around the same time – editorials, columnists fulminating, etc. Although it was possibly only Garth George grumping on about how round here in…

I dont like all their changes, and I'm hardly a Nat supporter, but the drop from 4% minimum to 2% means I could actually join.

I'd be interested to see if…

A Weekend Herald survey..

In the real world, over a 1 million people (out of that 2 million) are now signed up to Kiwisaver. 66% of those opted in when changing jobs choose to stay in, so one could see this figure climbing to 1.4mln, were it not for NACTs…

drop Microsoft products

I have OpenOffice at home. It's by no means equivalent to MS Office – maybe 75%, with no features that MS don't provide that I've been able to find. As soon as I can find some sort of semi-hookey MS license, I'm going back to MS.

I…

they use S&P to let them know if a country has gone batshit crazy

anyone who thinks that S&P is a credible source of creditworthiness information is "batshit crazy".

S&P, et al, are the banksters' bagmen. they facilitated the CDF and MBS meltdown (pyramid scam), which has subsequently seen a massive consolidation in…

If the world recession gets deeper and longer, expect English to start thinking about selling government commercial enterprises to pay back debt.

You've just bought TVNZ for an excellent price. Now to business. What do you chuck overboard?

This from the Herald 28 July:

Lots of interest but low uptake for KiwiSaver

Providers blame slow start on apathy and uncertainty about future of scheme if National Party wins general election

Uncertainty, confusion and just plain apathy are being blamed for an apparently slower than expected uptake of…

The sign-up numbers have been huge to date

On a slight side-note, but does anyone remember the chortling from certain quarters (coughtheheraldcough) when take-up numbers were percieved to be slow just after introduction.

My memory is of a few stories along the lines of: 'oh look its been available for…

I reckon, cut all the Govt contributions, make it compulsory at 4% (which…

because my budget prediction is bye-bye to the $1000 sign-up incentive.

I would hope not. The sign-up numbers have been huge to date, so the number of people still out there to signup to recieve that $1000 is relatively small – it would make relatively little annual impact I should…

Unprecedented security surrounds the release of Thursday's Budget amid fears that the details of a massive market-sensitive borrowing programme will be leaked.

As the Government racks up a mountain of debt, with big implications for interest rates and the dollar, the Treasury has…

Well Rod Oram seems to disagree that there's a problem

But he did just say on RNZ that it was outrageous that S&P get to look at the budget 2 days ahead of everyone else –
I'm guessing Moodys et al were not afforded the same "courtesy"...

yrs
Humphrey Dumpty
__Pullet…

Discrediting the credit rating threats

No not quite – they own the agency that tells the people who do own the country whether it's time to sell the country off to the lowest er highest bidder.

Essentially the guys who have lent NZ billions of dollars own most of the…

Do they own the country now?

follow the bouncing ball kids...

Capital IQ says:

"Our offering has become an essential part of the workflow for many financial professionals at the leading investment banks, investment managers, and private equity firms in North America. We see tremendous…

because my budget prediction is bye-bye to the $1000 sign-up incentive.

I would hope not. The sign-up numbers have been huge to date, so the number of people still out there to signup to recieve that $1000 is relatively small – it would make relatively little annual impact I should…

I just finally got around to joining KiwiSaver last week, because my budget prediction is bye-bye to the $1000 sign-up incentive.

Plus, you know, I really should have some long-term savings- it's only prudent, if you can afford to...

The name has an apostrophe. They're just journalists, basically. I'm not sure what the legality is of giving them enhanced access to unpublished information over say, the NZ Herald, or Public Address.

Perhaps now we can start talking about growth engines that actually work.

And don't cost anything.

From what I've heard on Good Morning this morning it seems like Standard and Poors have had played a large part in the makeup of this weeks budget. They even get a look at the final draft before anyone else. Do they own the country now?

[[http://www.independent.ie/national-news/cowen-attacks-[call-for-new-faces-in-cabinet-1693290.html|Apparently they're now trying…

'Hmmm – I'm a little worried that one day we may be complicit in enabling a world-wide financial crisis, and this name may somehow be used as the basis of an embarrassing play on words. Perhaps we should run it…