capitalism

National Ltd™ Battling Truth On Two Fronts

Written By: BLiP - Date published: 10:16 am, March 6th, 2015 - 13 comments

The lies and media pap being distributed for public consumption by the boys down at “The Club” are old and worn out now. Politicians, public commentators, and media heads who really think they can get away with this flimsy “rinse and repeat” justification of the indefensible are treated us with contempt. 

Nats getting squeamish on zero hour contracts

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:14 am, March 4th, 2015 - 61 comments

Zero hour contracts are the logical end point of National’s agenda for employment legislation. But last night Workplace Relations & Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse promised legislation to “prohibit the worst excesses”. “Excesses” in the free market – who would have thought?

Politician salary rises and the minimum wage increase

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:30 am, February 27th, 2015 - 106 comments

John Key has yet again asked the Remuneration Authority to limit the increase in MPs pay.  And yet again they have said that the law required them to make the decision they did.  So MPs get a hefty raise at the same time that the minimum wage is raised slightly.  And the media report Key’s comments sympathetically.  He is the Prime Minister.  If anyone can change the law he is the person best placed.

Another week another banking scandal

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:33 am, February 12th, 2015 - 91 comments

Another big tax evasion scandal with links to NZ. Don’t expect the government to spend any time looking in to this.

A calculated feeding of the beasts within

Written By: mhager - Date published: 2:13 pm, February 5th, 2015 - 76 comments

The social democracy of my youth has radically collapsed into our current culture of individualism, privatisation and personal greed.

AFFCO Talley’s and Jobs That Count

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:21 am, February 5th, 2015 - 9 comments

Darien Fenton at Jobs That Count brings us the details of the fight for decent pay and conditions at Talley’s meat processing plants

Monbiot on state media and the corporate elite

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:29 am, January 26th, 2015 - 43 comments

George Monbiot wrote recently on how Canadian and United Kingdom public media reporting on corporate news are hopelessly pro business and lacking in any sort of balance. And how the volume of articles concerning environmental issues is declining. Is it the same in New Zealand?

An interesting milestone

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 4:22 pm, January 19th, 2015 - 37 comments

An interesting milestone in inequality is about to be passed.

Dirty Politics in 2015

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:53 am, January 13th, 2015 - 81 comments

Political Scientists Bronwyn Hayward and Mark Boyd were interviewed on Radio New Zealand yesterday on New Zealand politics in 2014 and what happened during the election.  They talked extensively on dirty politics, on the role of the media and how things can be improved in 2015.

Bill Gates on Piketty and inequality

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:00 am, December 26th, 2014 - 64 comments

Thomas Piketty in his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century came to the strong conclusion that capitalism left by itself will increase inequality and cause increased risk of social, economic and democratic upheaval.  He has an unlikely supporter, albeit critical, in Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world.

Inequality – two excellent pieces

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:55 am, December 14th, 2014 - 65 comments

Inequality has been very much in the news recently. Friday saw the publication of two really excellent pieces that between them provide a comprehensive, if depressing overview.

‘Ditch the [misleading] rhetoric’

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:39 am, December 12th, 2014 - 16 comments

On RNZ this morning PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff criticised Bill English for his misleading rhetoric about rises in “average wages”.  NZ’s income and wealth gaps have increased in recent decades.  The lowest income remain low; the top earners get big salary increases.

Local Bodies: “Government Given the Bums Up”

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:55 am, December 10th, 2014 - 5 comments

From the Local Bodies blog, 2 posts on the government’s “head in the sand” approach to climate change and the environment.  A critique of the government’s approach to business, mining and the environment & a report on the protest against the government’s head in the sand approach.

it’s not censorship, it’s market forces

Written By: stargazer - Date published: 1:49 pm, December 8th, 2014 - 77 comments

the addition of judith collins as a columnist has some people calling for people to cancel their subscriptions.

the response has been the usual.  there are claims that this is censorship.  even though the choice to not purchase a product that no longer appeals to you is hardly censorship.