class war
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Austerity in the UK
Written By: - Date published: 5:16 pm, November 2nd, 2010 - 63 comments
The UK entered the financial crisis over-committed and under-prepared. They spent billions of taxpayers’ money bailing out the bankers. Now the bills need to be paid, and the new government is embarking on a vicious austerity regime. As usual, the burden falls on the poor…
Can we afford poverty?
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, November 2nd, 2010 - 215 comments
We know that poverty is the root of a good deal of society’s problems from crime, to poor educational outcomes, to poor health. Just the direct economic costs of these problems are in the billions per year, and we can’t forget the loss of human potential and happiness. The good news: we can easily afford to eliminate poverty.
Mark Ames on the rally to restore sanity
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 pm, October 31st, 2010 - 28 comments
Liberals too cool to be caught standing for anything sit on the fence and make clever whithering comment while oligarchs who realise just how serious it really is wage war on the poor and the middle class.
No, it’s not the Hobbit fiasco, it’s Mark Ames’ take on the rally for vanity and what it really means for the US.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Written By: - Date published: 1:10 pm, October 29th, 2010 - 22 comments
28% of the population raised out of poverty.
50% growth over a five and a half year period
8.2% growth per annum
Unemployment down from 21.5% to 8.5%
Inflation adjusted wages up by more than 40%
20 hours free to go?
Written By: - Date published: 1:57 pm, October 28th, 2010 - 33 comments
The last Labour government introduced 20 hours free early childhood education. It’s a resource that many parents have since come to rely on, taking some pressure off household budgets as every other cost seems to keep on going up and up. But now we have the latest in a series of indications that the Nats are going to cut the programme…
The price of our hysteria
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 pm, October 27th, 2010 - 180 comments
The Government will give the Hobbit producers an extra $33 million to stay in New Zealand and it’s going to use this ‘crisis’ as an excuse to slam through more anti-worker laws. New Zealand has been played like naive hicks. The Hobbit was never leaving. We let Jackson and his Hollywood mates whip us into a frenzy of fear – now we’re paying the cost.
A time of trouble, a time for action
Written By: - Date published: 2:15 pm, October 25th, 2010 - 5 comments
The release of 400,000 classified documents on the Iraq war today highlights a much broader issue for New Zealand. As the world moves into uncertainty, some commentators call it a ‘new new world order’, New Zealand must establish itself definitively, cementing the values we wish to hold true for the coming century.
October 20th, day of action for work rights
Written By: - Date published: 6:45 am, October 19th, 2010 - 12 comments
Unemployment is up, wages are down. But the Nats want to put the boot into workers to keep costs down for their rich mates. They’re trying to take away workers’ rights, remove protections, cut pay, reduce holidays and diminish access to sick leave. Tomorrow is the national day of action when we fight back.
An understanding of class
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, October 17th, 2010 - 52 comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mYY1QGK0jQ Here’s John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett in the classic “An Understanding of Class”, a lovely commentary on one of the pillars of capitalism. Since the abandonment of class rhetoric by Labour a few decades ago, we no longer have a lot of class consciousness in New Zealand. Which is a bit ironic […]
Rules are for you, not for big money
Written By: - Date published: 6:51 pm, October 14th, 2010 - 17 comments
In the US banks that turned mortgages into “complex financial instruments” that were so complex nobody knows who owns what are foreclosing on homeowners.
That’s despite the banks having failed to prove they have a right to. And the justice system is backing the big money. It’s gangster capitalism at its finest.
Congressman Alan Grayson explains…
TVNZ golden handshake for bigot?
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, October 13th, 2010 - 35 comments
If you resign from your job today will your boss give you half a year’s pay as a parting gift? No? Funny because that, apparently, is standard practice for high-paid stars. It is being reported Paul Henry received up to $150,000 from TVNZ when he resigned due to the storm over his racist remarks. And that was regarded as a good deal for TVNZ!
Capitalist Ten Commandments
Written By: - Date published: 7:45 pm, September 30th, 2010 - 22 comments
A Capitalist Ten Commandments.
Do unto others…
Pattern recognition
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, September 30th, 2010 - 23 comments
John Key tells a businesswoman he “would love to see wages drop“. National makes sub-inflation minimum wage increase. National makes no effort to bring unemployment back down. Unemployment chokes wage rises. National attacks unions, the biggest driver of wage rises. Wage gap with Australia widens National opposes pay increases for teachers, medical techs, doctors,… National […]
Hickey sees the light
Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, September 29th, 2010 - 73 comments
Bernard Hickey, one of the country’s leading economic commentators, was a hardline neo-liberal – ie. the market is god. Now, he’s changed his mind. He’s come to the realisation that there’s no invisible god’s hand directing capitalist markets. Instead they are directed by short-termist elites. We need to take back control.
Solo parent bashing
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, September 28th, 2010 - 101 comments
Life isn’t hard enough already for solo parents, according to the Nats. So they’re going to make it harder.
Super City Picks
Written By: - Date published: 1:46 pm, September 26th, 2010 - 18 comments
Matt McCarten’s website for who to pick for a progressive Super City is finally up. If you’re in Auckland and haven’t voted yet – make sure to have a look.
The bludger paradox
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, September 24th, 2010 - 89 comments
So. If you’re too poor to afford house insurance and you’re left homeless by an act of god, the government won’t help you.
But if you’re rich enough to own a farm, then one year you get hit by an act of god, the government will come running to your aid.
Pause For Thought # 1
Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, September 24th, 2010 - 30 comments
The suspension of normal democratic processes in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake should be an occasion to pause for thought in the light of likely future events.
Neoliberalism bringing US to its knees
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, September 22nd, 2010 - 145 comments
A recent article in Canada’ MacLean’s magazine on the decline of public services in the US bears sobering links to what is happening in New Zealand. For three decades the neo-liberals have worked to starve public services to death with tax cuts for the rich. Now, the US is facing the consequences. New Zealand is on the same path just a little behind.
National’s dodgy tax campaign
Written By: - Date published: 8:31 pm, September 20th, 2010 - 56 comments
According to the ODT government MP’s are going to be travelling around the country trying to convince New Zealanders that their plan to cut taxes for the rich isn’t actually a plan to cut taxes for the rich at all.
Key’s crocodile tears for teachers & doctors
Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, September 20th, 2010 - 31 comments
John Key says he supports the teachers and junior doctors’ claims for a pay rise ‘but we simply don’t have the money’. Yet Key who is borrowing half a billion dollars this year for tax cuts for the wealthiest 9%. It isn’t a question of what the government can afford. It’s who matters to National – the rich do, teachers and doctors don’t.
Amongst the rubble: a look at the Christchurch earthquake from the bottom up
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, September 18th, 2010 - 16 comments
First posted on the excellent Beyond Resistance blog: While the dust settles and Christchurch recovers from the 7.1 earthquake, people have begun to pick up the pieces and get on with their lives. But for many working class people this is not so easy. Those most affected by ‘natural disasters’ are those already on the margins of despair.
Equality of opportunity
Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, September 13th, 2010 - 194 comments
“The Spirit Level” is a book with a simple message: An unequal society is a sick society. It’s a message that has the right wing running scared, and trying to dodge the issue by pretending that they believe in “equality of opportunity”. But across society there’s no such thing…
Nats fail to save jobs in quake zone
Written By: - Date published: 10:16 pm, September 9th, 2010 - 70 comments
86 workers have been fired from Kaiapoi New World, which will be closed for a year due to quake damage. This is exactly why the government should implement the kind of scheme I outlined where the government steps in to supply the full wages of workers who can’t work due to the quake, funded by delaying the tax cuts for the rich.
Broken principles and broken windows
Written By: - Date published: 7:33 pm, September 5th, 2010 - 48 comments
Rich investor and you put your money in a dodgy finance company? Did the company collapse? You get your money back. No questions. Lost your job thanks to this endless recession? Couldn’t afford insurance? Property damaged in the quake? Key says you can get stuffed. It’s called class war. Also, Key thinks the clean-up will be an economic stimulus. Someone tell this money-man about the broken windows fallacy.
SCF bail-out gets much, much murkier
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 pm, September 2nd, 2010 - 14 comments
A few people have made a hell of a lot of money off the South Canterbury Finance collapse and bail-out. Are these the same people behind the mystery company that was created just three weeks ago and wants to buy SCF for $1.57 billion? Whether it’s been an organised plan or just lone sharks attracted by blood in the water, the result is the same: the rich win, we lose.
NZ’s biggest welfare beneficiary revealed in shock horror Herald exclusive expose’
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, September 2nd, 2010 - 22 comments
To find out who it is, click here.
Will this individual’s personal file be read out in Parliament by Paula Bennett?
Will this beneficiary’s sex life be investigated by WINZ as grounds for disqualification?
Our $20 million bill for Nats’ expediency
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 pm, September 1st, 2010 - 28 comments
Many argue English should never have extended the deposit guarantee to South Canterbury Finance in April, or question whether the terms of the guarantee called for the pay-out. Then there’s the stink around the payment of SCF bonds. One thing’s for sure, the Nats didn’t need to spend $20 million on foreign depositors – they did it to try to kill the issue faster. Plenty of meat for Labour. Will they bite?
The many bail out the few
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 pm, August 31st, 2010 - 52 comments
Funny how quickly John Key and Bill English found that spare $1.7bn for wealthy investors after all that talk about how we should be tightening our belts.
It’s shows exactly where their priorities are.
Death of a Working Class Hero
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, August 28th, 2010 - 14 comments
In a culture where the only heroes seem to be sports stars and comic book characters it’s important to remember those whose have fought for the rights of workers.
Earlier this month, one of these heroes, Jimmy Reid, died.
He is a man who passing should not go unmarked.
Lies, damn lies and desperation
Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, August 26th, 2010 - 43 comments
It is time we got away from Mr Key’s focus on individual greed and got back to a focus on better hospital, schools and care for those who are struggling. David Clark argues that Key’s tax cuts are going to actually drive away our high-achievers while Mr Key is telling us it’s going to bring them home.
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