capitalism

Next step on mining

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 6:45 am, May 11th, 2010 - 27 comments

It looks like National is about to cave in to public opinion and abandon its ridiculous plans to mine on New Zealand’s most precious land. Good. The economics never made any sense, let alone the environmental case. The Nats’ economic ‘plan’ looks even thinner now. Here’s something they can do – sort out the minerals royalty and leases on mining concessions.

Pay rises for CEOs, pay cuts for workers

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:53 pm, May 7th, 2010 - 13 comments

The other day I wrote about pay rises for workers. 75% of non-union workers took a pay cut last year. Seems their bosses made off a lot better. Despite all the business collapses and the 21,000 lost jobs, half of all CEOs got a pay rise last year and the typical pay rise was a massive 5% (only 10% of workers got a 5%+ way rise). It’s the essence of class war.

Why the miners are so keen on public land

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 10:19 am, May 3rd, 2010 - 36 comments

Most of this country’s mineral wealth lies under private land, according to the government’s own figures. So, why are the Nats so determined to override public opinion and let their mining allies dig up our precious protected lands? Simple: mining on private land means paying a lease to the owner. Mining on public land is cheaper: we’re played like chumps for bigger profits.

Nats plan to subsidise greenhouse polluters

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:07 am, April 29th, 2010 - 21 comments

National is predictably planning to put the cost of polluters’ actions on to the rest of us by canning the major parts of the ETS. This stupid game of pass the buck is played out all over the world – polluters refuse to accept their responsibilities, governments refuse to act – as more greenhouse gases are pumped into the atmosphere, locking us in to economic and ecological devastation.

Conscience and alcodollars

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 8:02 am, April 28th, 2010 - 37 comments

How does the government decide which are good drugs and which are bad?

And how much does it have to do with big money?

Goff: I’ll reverse unfair tax cuts for the rich

Written By: Michael Foxglove - Date published: 8:37 pm, April 24th, 2010 - 125 comments

Labour leader Phil Goff has come out swinging against National’s proposal to cut the top tax rate. It’s great to see Phil living up to his promise to stand up for the many, not the few. National’s plan to cut the top rate will only benefit the very wealthy, like John Key. Now we can stand assured, the 6th Labour Government will fix that injustice.

More on Crosby-Textor, mining, and the Nats

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 6:53 am, April 22nd, 2010 - 18 comments

We all know that long before John Key got into the gold and uranium mining industry, Crosby Textor Chairman, Robert J Champion de Crespigny was pushing the mining industry’s cause in New Zealand. So, who is this CT man who has been called Australia’s ‘Mr Gold’, a “mining magnate”, a “resource-sector heavyweight” and “a legend”?

Give that bludger a tax cut

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:24 pm, April 19th, 2010 - 102 comments

Patent lawyer John David Hardie is a bludger. You and me, we pay our taxes. We know we get public services and a decent society out of it. This rich prick is trying to get out of a $10.3 million tax bill. What to do with this rich bludger? How about give him a $1.25 million tax cut. That’s what that other rich layabout John Key is planning.

Tax hikes fail to cause ‘brain’ drain in UK

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 10:19 am, April 8th, 2010 - 39 comments

George Monbiot writes: It’s a bitter blow. When the government proposed a windfall tax on bonuses and a 50p top rate of income tax, thousands of bankers and corporate executives promised to leave the country and move to Switzerland(1,2). Now we discover that the policy has failed: the number of financiers applying for a Swiss work permit fell by 7% last year.

A farmers’ coup in Canterbury

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 8:31 am, March 31st, 2010 - 38 comments

National’s mates in the dairy industry were annoyed that the elected councillors in Enviornment Canterbury wouldn’t let them have all the water they want. So National has sacked the councillors and suspended local democracy for four years. The diary farmers will pay along with everyone else for their short-termist ‘science be damned’ attitude. But not before they’ve caused long-term damage.

Cynical denialism will cost us all

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 1:21 am, March 18th, 2010 - 36 comments

David Farrar is not stupid. Like everyone with a brain, he knows that climate change is a real and dangerous threat caused by human greenhouse gases emissions. Yet he persists in making denialist dog-whistles to his readers, always being careful never to outright deny climate change himself. He and all the leaders of denialism are telling what they know to be lies to people they know to be idiots.

Make that man a minister

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 11:50 am, March 12th, 2010 - 42 comments

British American Tabacco’s Graeme Amey has the brazen lie down pat. The guy quit smoking himself but wants Kiwis to keep smoking and dying to make his company profits. When asked why he quit he said “it was just a personal choice”. But why? “It was just a personal choice”. Yeah. Was that personal choice […]

O’Sullivan and Garrett, strange bedfellows?

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 10:37 am, March 6th, 2010 - 6 comments

Fran O’Sullivan is a pro-business liberal or libertarian, David Garrett is a knuckle brain conservative. But actually, they’re not so far apart. It seems both believe in freedom for the rich and control over the poor. Incredibly O’Sullivan goes into bat for Garrett over his sterilisation comments.

‘Atlases’ don’t deserve a tax cut

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:47 am, February 24th, 2010 - 67 comments

This man is Paul Reynolds, CEO of Telecom. He has overseen the largest corporate disaster in recent New Zealand history. The Nats are planning to give him over $6,600 a week in tax cuts. Apparently this screw up on a $7 million salary is the kind of guy New Zealand needs.