Posts by Sacha
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Hard News: Welfare: Back to the Future?, in reply to Greg Dawson,
I don't understand the need to cancel rather than postpone.
I suspect it's pretty much the same thing in effect, just done for legal/admin reasons to clear all the contractual obligations. Can't imagine them revisiting all the prep work again, just the data gathering and analysis in 2012.
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It was not clear what the cost of cancelling the census would be nor how much would be needed to hold it later. A decision was not likely before the May Budget. Bascand said they would meet any contractual obligations _ including paying temporary staff as required. The 7000 census collectors around the country earn an average $1200-$1500 for their work.
''We regret having to take this decision but I'm sure it is the right one. Census is a crucial part of New Zealand's information set, it's an iconic exercise... this decision has not been taken lightly, we're conscious of the consequences, the cost and the loss of information.''
The existing information would continue to use and would become dated and inaccurate, he said. Census data is used when deciding electoral boundaries and their five-yearly review would now have to be postponed. No decision has been made on when a replacement census would be held but it would not be this year.
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Hard News: Welfare: Back to the Future?, in reply to Che Tibby,
Transfer of money from bottom to top, yes - exactly as planned. Makes sense if you believe the best way to increase the country's overall wealth is to give more money to those who already have it; to reward 'success'. Ideologically consistent. Mighty convenient for the well off, too.
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Hard News: Again: Is everyone okay?, in reply to Jackie Clark,
Mr Vaughn Davis of the parish of Auckland for some kind of humanitarian award, for his beautiful upbeat tweets.
...
I love the man, and I've never even met him.
He's a top bloke - here's Vaughn's new venture.
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Hard News: Again: Is everyone okay?, in reply to Greg Dawson,
raging like a Ranapia
Teeworthy
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Every bridge over the Avon broken.
Didn't realise that. So good to hear from you again, Emma.
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Hard News: Welfare: Back to the Future?, in reply to Che Tibby,
rising employment during the noughties brought national productivity down, due to all the low-skilled people entering workplaces.
And the reverse dynamic has increased the "average" wage over the last year (as the media breathlessly echoed Key recently) - but by removing a heap of the lower paid from employment altogether, not because things are rosy in everyone else's pay packets. Statistics, lies, etc.
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Hard News: Welfare: Back to the Future?, in reply to Mikaere Curtis,
I foresee any attempt to follow the WWG recommendations as a mechanism to immediately revictimise the working-age residents of Christchurch. Hopefully, this means it is doomed.
It will be sold as an efficiency measure to cut state sector costs - to fix our private sector debt/productivity problems, you understand. Oh and to subsidise the insurance industry, naturally.
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Hard News: Welfare: Back to the Future?, in reply to Hilary Stace,
I hope the Welfare Working Group report is now quietly tossed aside as it becomes obvious that people are no more to blame for finding themselves requiring welfare support than they are for living in an earthquake zone.
Good analogy but you'd need to argue it more forcefully and widely before anything resembling common sense is applied by the current lot. Could argue that EQC shouldn't be incentivising heaps of folk to move to quake zones because their payouts are so generous; that sort of line.
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Up Front: Ups and Downs. And Side-to-Sides., in reply to BenWilson,
Turn on flight mode, draft all your responses. Turn off flight mode and send them all. Turn off.
Great advice - never thought of that.