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Category Archives: Economics
And to the victors, the spoils – ‘business as usual’ in Christchurch
[Warning: Very Long Post] The strangely mis-named Christchurch and Canterbury ‘recovery’ continues to unfold in highly predictable ways. Even Christchurch’s arsonists appear to have aligned their activity with the interests of the ‘recovery’ – or at least with the plans … Continue reading
Posted in Earthquakes, Economics, Free Market
Tagged Christchurch, cities, community, disaster, Local Government, private sector, wealth
12 Comments
‘Human capital depreciation’ and the Pike River Mining Disaster
There are moments when a few words can open up a vista on an entire worldview. The words shoot through the air for a few days like a rapidly fading spark on Guy Fawkes night but, every so often, and … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Education, Free Market, Human Wellbeing, Labour, New Zealand Politics, Welfare
Tagged capitalism, community, self-interest, welfare, wellbeing
2 Comments
ECan, the government and the ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’
It is hard to understand why it appears to have received so little attention or commentary nationwide (with some honourable exceptions). The extension of the rule of the ECAN Commissioners announced by David Carter (Local Government Minister) and Amy Adams … Continue reading
Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, Economics, Fascism, New Zealand Politics
Tagged Christchurch, disaster, Elections, fascism, John Key, Local Government, National
11 Comments
Coming up for air in the New Jerusalem
The grand plan for New Zealand’s own ‘New Jerusalem’ has been revealed. The excited assurances that, indeed, the Promised Land has been glimpsed have been echoing around the media ( e.g., here, here, here, here, here and here) – fired in perfect sequence, like a 21 gun salute. … Continue reading
Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, Economics, Freedom, New Zealand Politics
Tagged Brownlee, Christchurch, cities, disaster, Freedom, Local Government, private sector, urbanisation
17 Comments
A rainy Christmas Day in Christchurch
Monday night last week was like Christmas Eve in Christchurch. As the evening darkened, the presents – carefully wrapped and prettily presented by the best PR Christmas wrappers CERA could buy – were lain beneath the brightly lit Christmas Tree … Continue reading
Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, Economics, Fascism, Freedom, New Zealand Politics
Tagged Brownlee, Christchurch, cities, community, disaster, Freedom, John Key, Local Government, National, private sector, wealth
25 Comments
Underneath the ‘underclass’
Joe Bageant died on the 26th of March last year. Apparently, he was sometimes referred to as an American ‘leftneck’ – which is not a bad label for him. Bageant’s book (and, more generally, his literary life) has been devoted to laying … Continue reading
Posted in Democracy, Economics, Education, Free Market, Human Wellbeing, New Zealand Politics, Welfare
Tagged capitalism, community, economic history, John Key, markets, self-interest, unity, urbanisation, welfare, wellbeing
13 Comments
A bit rich
The National Business Review has released its 2012 ‘Rich List’ of the wealthiest New Zealanders. Well, the wealthiest people who occasionally drop in to New Zealand … or, maybe, own some land in New Zealand … or, maybe, have an … Continue reading
Water, Waitangi, ownership and power
There’s a reason why we talk about property rights. Owning property without having any rights to it makes as much sense as having rights to something without owning it in some way. ‘Water rights’ and ‘water ownership’ are, in all … Continue reading
Posted in Democracy, Economics, Free Market, Freedom, Maori, National Identity, New Zealand Politics
Tagged capitalism, Freedom, John Key, Maori, markets, New Zealand Identity, Treaty of Waitangi
Comments Off on Water, Waitangi, ownership and power
Getting ‘stuck in’ to employment
Recently, Rodney Hide related his experiences as a manual labourer, doing casual jobs for a builder, digger driver and retaining wall builder. Hide drew a lesson from his experience about the motivation of the unemployed. Basically, it amounted to the conclusion … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Freedom, Human Nature, Human Wellbeing, Labour, New Zealand Politics
Tagged Freedom, human nature, mental health, wellbeing
5 Comments
A better term than ‘breeding for a business’
Back in 2002, some years before scaling the heights to the Prime Ministerial summit, John Key said that Labour’s Domestic Purposes Benefit policy had led to a situation “where people have been, for want of a better term, breeding … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Human Wellbeing, New Zealand Politics, Welfare
Tagged human nature, mental health, National, teenage pregnancy, welfare, wellbeing
26 Comments