Posts by Bart Janssen
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Hard News: The Fine Line, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
careful public policy discussion conducted by adults who think very carefully before they speak
jeez Craig you don't half expect much do you.
But yeah. I'd also like to see some sensible discussion of the rather simplistic argument for needing the population to continue to grow. It's all very well to rely on increasing population to increase demand and hence drive growth. But at some point you run out of places to put people.
It would be nice to see some effort put into developing an economy that can grow with a static population. With such an underlying economy then you should get a extra bonus from immigration both in terms of diversity and in economic growth. However, as far as I can tell such real economic growth is too hard for our leaders.
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Southerly: Who was George Hildebrand…, in reply to Dianne Mitchell,
Just know where to look for certain things
That's a pretty good description of genius
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I don't eat alone often but when I know I won't be breathing on anyone else I take the opportunity to indulge ... things like raw onion on cheese with tomato sauce ... it's awful I know but I can't help liking it. Or intense blue cheese burgers and Alton Brown's grilled grilled cheese sandwich definitely seems like self indulgent food for one.
Last time I was on my own for two weeks I ended up having a lot of steak and salad (complete with lots of raw onion).
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OnPoint: Why does the top 10% paying…, in reply to Chavez 4 Ever,
This kind of trolling does not usually deserve a response except that it is more than an isolated view.
Nobody here has suggested any of the measures you describe - what Kieth has shown is that John Key is lying when he claims the rich are paying all the taxes. I certainly don't want the extreme case you present. I do however believe that the wealthy should contribute more to paying for the things we agree the government should provide. A progressive tax system - with as few loopholes as possible.
I don't want such a tax system for any ideological reasons - but simply because amongst all the tax systems around the world the progressive tax system results in a better* society. It works - lets do it.
*less crime, better health outcomes for everyone, educated productive workforce etc etc. -
OnPoint: Why does the top 10% paying…, in reply to Paul Campbell,
The rich have it good here, don’t believe them when they whine
They do have problems we* don't have - I mean really, you pay up front for a politician they should stay bought!
*As long as I can afford to buy whatever food I want at the supermarket I consider myself to be relatively rich - just not rich enough to buy my own politician.
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Hard News: Circumstance and coincidence, in reply to Matthew Poole,
ETA: Good of Key to tidy up after himself.
Otherwise known as pulling up the ladder behind you.
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Hard News: Circumstance and coincidence, in reply to Hilary Stace,
And then there was Corngate.
Not his best moment either as a journalist or as an interviewer. But since then he's become much better at both.
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Hard News: Circumstance and coincidence, in reply to Michael Meyers,
forgive a misremembering or two from John Key since his memory appears to be pretty poor
Seriously, if he has a bad memory then we don't want him running the country, surely it is one of the basic requirements for such a job.
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Hard News: Circumstance and coincidence, in reply to Michael Meyers,
rehashing an old topic in a election year
That alone is a very important function. All too often we have political stuffups and scandal in years one and two that are conveniently forgotten by the time it comes to choose the next government.
Only tells lies in the first two years of his term is not really good enough.
But personally I think this is a current story as Dotcom is still in the courts.
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Speaker: Let's talk about class, in reply to LanceWiggs,
which will make company directors and officers accountable
No it doesn't. All it does is force senior executives to ensure that they can prove they have told staff what should be done - if they can show that (sign in sheet for the seminar) they are absolved of liability.