Posts by A S
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Here is a question - anyone know what is happening in the Rimutaka electorate? How rich would it be for Winston to get back in on Ron Mark's back!
According to ipredict, his chances are somewhere between slim and none. As close to a poll as I've seen anywhere:
https://www.ipredict.co.nz/Main.php?do=stock_detail&stock=RIMUTAKA.MARK
Will be interesting to watch nonetheless.
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Accident and emergency doctors today call for the banning of long, sharp kitchen knives, arguing they account for at least half of all stabbings...
Knives "of less than 5cm [2ins] in length" or with blunt, round ends would meet culinary needs and be far less likely to result in fatalities.
Get the feeling that the A&E doctors don't actually do a whole lot of, you know, cooking?
Maybe if they can manage slicing a pumpkin with a rounded 2 inch blade without amputating a digit I'll give it some thought.
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We should have a Minister for Pokies, as well, just to even up things.
We do. That Minister is also known as the Minister of Internal Affairs.
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Didn't someone post recently about how overly simplistic economic theories tell you what type of people are attracted to become economists?
The common flaw with most theories like the free-market (cue sideways look at marxism and communism also) is that they completely fail to account for the selfishness of human nature and peoples ability to behave in utterly irrational ways...
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I'm all for nailing McCain on this, although it's a bit rich coming from the party that nominated the husband of Teresa Heinz last time around.
Nailing him for something someone else said? Why?
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Danielle: I feel a bit cheated too. Minor delinquency would have been a lot more fun than looking after siblings and studying.... Maybe I can make up for that in future :-)
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I/S. That looks about right on the abatement of benefit.
There has always been a concern that full time work should pay better than a benefit/part-time work mix, and that flows through to the abatements you mention on earnings over $10k. No govt has done anything meaningful about discussing whether this is appropriate.
Joe:
You're right, in the dark with the light behind them the present government can appear comparatively mean and punitive.
So the National govt of the 90's is the light that makes labour look mean and punitive?
Then again, the kinder 'n gentler initiatives from Bolger's time could be seen as token palliatives for the Ruth Richardson - Bill Birch-driven benefit slashing of the time.
These were at pretty much the same time.
In general:
if she wasn't usually at home for her now early teen, seriously wonders whether she'd be sometimes searching the streets or mall. Or whether that is still to come.
As someone who was raised by a sole parent who worked full time, I just want to point out that those of us raised by a working parent don't actually all turn out to be mal-adjusted criminal delinquents.
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Because they're the "deserving" poor, as opposed to "undeserving" divorcees, malingerers, and slackers.
Or maybe that those caring for the sick and infirm often face higher costs in doing that which are taken into account when setting rates? Maybe when the numbers on widows benefit is quite low, making poor elderly widows worse to suit a particular ideology off isn't a good look for any government?
Deserving and undeserving has bugger all to do with it.
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P.S. Someone earlier was sceptical that the ageing population had anything to do with the increase in sickness beneficiaries. I don't have the figures to hand but I have seen some recently which showed that the growth in numbers is overwhelmingly in the 50-64 bracket. Bloody work-shy baby boomers :-)
Normally, not due to being "work-shy" but more due to age discrimination.
Sure, but that's not what this policy is about. instead, its about expanding the labour supply, by forcing people doing a valuable job (parenting) into the workforce.
How do you figure that? The numbers involved are insufficient to do anything significant to labour supply. Perhaps the policy isn't about providing slave labour to the hospo industry, as a lot of posters are keen to imply, perhaps it is just what it says it is....
The fact that when they do do, they'll face effective marginal tax rates of 91% just makes it sadistic.
What are you basing your EMTR figures on here? As far as I can recall, the abatement of benefits varies considerably depending on the supplementary benefits you are entitled to receive. If someone is in receipt of accommodation supplement, it abates from the first dollar earned. Other supplementary benefits abate differently. Unless things have changed radically, any assessment of EMTRs depends on a range of factors and don't work at a flat rate.
Unfortunately National appear to have next to no interest in investigating "how vocational education and training can help overcome skill shortages, improve labour market outcomes and raise economic growth." With Katherine Rich out of the picture the "dob in a solo mum" mentality seems unchanged since the Muldoon era.
Nor do the current govt, who presided over the dismantling of the majority of second chance education, the dis-establishment of the majority of WINZ employment programmes, the overhaul of the training incentive allowance, and the abolition of the majority of motivational programmes such as hikoi ki paerangi and wahine ahuru,and who effectively emasculated the compass programme. Collectively, these were programmes that proved to be quite successful in building up the self esteem of sole parents to a point where they were more likely to exit benefit into something sustainable and worthwhile.
When I look at what this govt has done to beneficiaries, I think the nats might actually more to offer beneficiaries than the incumbents.
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We peasants don't deserve to know when we will next be allowed to chose our rulers.
That does certainly seem to be the attitude towards the populace.
Given that its our election, and the whole motley lot of them actually work for us, it would be nice if they would remember that we aren't here to provide them with lifetime employment.
The inevitably truncated election period just ends up depriving us of time to actually get to grips with policies, not just buy into the various hyperbole that surrounds them.