Comments on: What lurks behind the tax cuts Mr Key?…… http://www.winstonpeters.com/archives/456 Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:34:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Chris Burton http://www.winstonpeters.com/archives/456#comment-922 Chris Burton Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:08:47 +0000 http://www.winstonpeters.com/?p=456#comment-922 Hi Winston, I would appreciate your take on the 15Billion currency swapping arrangement with the US. How does this help us - as considering that the US Fed Reserve has lowered its rate to 1% this morning ...it strikes me right now that it cannot even give its money away! Where is the Gold standard in all this ... well and truly evaporated - and it seems to me that we are IN a new era when the cards are getting put on the table ... and its going to be more about who your friends are than how much money you have - I can almost here the printing presses bashing out US bank notes as I type! <em>Winston says: Chris, it would appear to be a prudent move by the Reserve Bank, but the truth is that the horse has bolted. We needed a stronger focus in the past on the effects our high interest rates were having on our exchange rate and current account deficit - now we are very exposed to the ill winds blowing. This is why NZ First is saying we must change the Reserve Bank Act so that the focus is not just on inflation, but a whole-of-economy approach.</em> Hi Winston,
I would appreciate your take on the 15Billion currency swapping arrangement with the US. How does this help us - as considering that the US Fed Reserve has lowered its rate to 1% this morning …it strikes me right now that it cannot even give its money away!

Where is the Gold standard in all this … well and truly evaporated - and it seems to me that we are IN a new era when the cards are getting put on the table … and its going to be more about who your friends are than how much money you have - I can almost here the printing presses bashing out US bank notes as I type!

Winston says: Chris, it would appear to be a prudent move by the Reserve Bank, but the truth is that the horse has bolted. We needed a stronger focus in the past on the effects our high interest rates were having on our exchange rate and current account deficit - now we are very exposed to the ill winds blowing. This is why NZ First is saying we must change the Reserve Bank Act so that the focus is not just on inflation, but a whole-of-economy approach.

]]> By: Peter Johnson http://www.winstonpeters.com/archives/456#comment-662 Peter Johnson Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:02:28 +0000 http://www.winstonpeters.com/?p=456#comment-662 Thank you Winston for reponding to my earlier comment, i do appreciate your view and am committed to again give NZF my party vote, while at the last election i would have been the third that wanted a National led Government i am confident it is possible again regardless of what Keys said. The most important thing for NZF is to surpass the 5% threshhold and keep the greens and act out of government at all costs. Thank you Winston for reponding to my earlier comment, i do appreciate your view and am committed to again give NZF my party vote, while at the last election i would have been the third that wanted a National led Government i am confident it is possible again regardless of what Keys said. The most important thing for NZF is to surpass the 5% threshhold and keep the greens and act out of government at all costs.

]]> By: hori penny http://www.winstonpeters.com/archives/456#comment-647 hori penny Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:23:12 +0000 http://www.winstonpeters.com/?p=456#comment-647 kiwi saver is good thing for N.Z.er it gives us the opportunity that we can all have golden years one day. As a person in my 20's, kiwi saver works great, there should be no excuss for not been a part of it, you dont even miss the 4% or even 8% it leave your pay with out you ever thinking about it. I think it should be made compulsary like in Oz. Kiwi saver is a plan for a brighter future. kiwi saver is good thing for N.Z.er it gives us the opportunity that we can all have golden years one day. As a person in my 20’s, kiwi saver works great, there should be no excuss for not been a part of it, you dont even miss the 4% or even 8% it leave your pay with out you ever thinking about it. I think it should be made compulsary like in Oz. Kiwi saver is a plan for a brighter future.

]]> By: Chris Burton http://www.winstonpeters.com/archives/456#comment-642 Chris Burton Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:38:02 +0000 http://www.winstonpeters.com/?p=456#comment-642 Hi Jens, thankyou for your reasonable and uplifting reply. The Ownership Society theories I think you refer to (John Keys tends to talk about 'ownership democracy' surprisingly) - please forgive me if i am wrong are straight out of the bowels of conservative think tanks, and rabidly sloganised by George Bush and similar politicians. I must admit the general underlying principles of 'empowerment' and "participation" are excellent ideals to strive for. I guess we can all reset our debt clocks and just declare everyone 'owners' and pray that 'we dont get fooled again'. Perhaps thats the great plan ... wars tend to cancel debts... Thats rather sarcastic I know ... but who owns this "ownership democracy" we here buzzing about these days? Lord Ashcroft? Maybe whoever wants to get a hold of freeview and needs TVNZ put on the block to secure all subscriber potential entertainment and sporting events... Unfortunately for us - the single biggest factor that will facilitate people getting their own first homes in this country will not be kiwisaver. It will be this financial collapse. The single biggest influence for blue collar workers will be a write-off of 25-30% of house values and a credit market desperate for a new subprime round that they will eagerly wiggle on hooks in front of us. If they get hooked and work hard and things stay steady for say 10 years ...then maybe a new lot of kiwis might climb out of the hole and have something to call their own. Well the top 6 feet of it anyway ... as long as they pay their feudal rent to their wig wearing local coucellor barons. My dad was one of about a dozen poor catholic children in a poor catholic household in Nelson. He scraped and desperately strove to get enough together for a house for years ... and boy could he budget! He would never of made it had it not been possible to cash in your entire family benefit at that time and use it as a deposit for a house. Thats important. He could get a cash injection which paid for the deposit - or a long way towards it at least. With a litle help from the family this is how people get from renting from private owners to renting from the bank. I am pretty certain after slogging for years on next to nothing, working overtime rates at 60% till all hours of the morning - he had no problems understanding who owned his house. The bank did. He knew that because he wore that pain every week in hard yards. Indeed he would have died in a mortgage if it wasnt for the kindness of an employer who paid out redundancy when he was dying of 'everything' cancer. There you go ...thats 'ownership democracy'. The bank owns it, you get shafted your entire life working - for the hope that your kids might get a better shot than you do. Call this democracy what you will - for people struggling to improve their lot its 'wage slavery' in another sequin sprinkled comfy blanket of bullpucky. Winston ... i know I am being very anti and cynical - but to me ... its a hero who ups the minimum wage (thanks). Its a heroic thing to propose dropping the price of bread and petrol a few cents (gst down to 10%) and its a real heroic thing to raise the bottom tax line. These are strong worker oriented socially responsible policies and NZ First should be applauded for them. Why do I feel cynical ...because some prick put them up in the first place - and they will hang around - getting help from the true owners of this democracy until they can twist that screw just a little bit more, then more then more. So Jens ... if you are serious about an ownership democracy ...then you must be serious about casting certain principles in stone, and to do this one must have an iron clad constitution - so I say ...yes ... ownership democracy but underlined with a solid and unchangable constitution - which will at least make the true owners have to carry a slightly more violent tint of green greed while they suck the marrow out of our bones. Regarding 'sucking the marrow out of your bones' ... Winston - can you also consider doing something to curtail the attrocious tax and spend at the local government level. What i see happening is the local councils in this country have some kind of deal with quotable value and these guys go around racheting up (artificially) house prices as quickly as they can. Man ... you should see the crap they give value to to get the books better. I suspect it is because these local councils are borrowing on the value of their baronies. Good luck with the election Hi Jens,
thankyou for your reasonable and uplifting reply. The Ownership Society theories I think you refer to (John Keys tends to talk about ‘ownership democracy’ surprisingly) - please forgive me if i am wrong are straight out of the bowels of conservative think tanks, and rabidly sloganised by George Bush and similar politicians. I must admit the general underlying principles of ‘empowerment’ and “participation” are excellent ideals to strive for. I guess we can all reset our debt clocks and just declare everyone ‘owners’ and pray that ‘we dont get fooled again’. Perhaps thats the great plan … wars tend to cancel debts…

Thats rather sarcastic I know … but who owns this “ownership democracy” we here buzzing about these days? Lord Ashcroft? Maybe whoever wants to get a hold of freeview and needs TVNZ put on the block to secure all subscriber potential entertainment and sporting events…

Unfortunately for us - the single biggest factor that will facilitate people getting their own first homes in this country will not be kiwisaver. It will be this financial collapse. The single biggest influence for blue collar workers will be a write-off of 25-30% of house values and a credit market desperate for a new subprime round that they will eagerly wiggle on hooks in front of us. If they get hooked and work hard and things stay steady for say 10 years …then maybe a new lot of kiwis might climb out of the hole and have something to call their own.

Well the top 6 feet of it anyway … as long as they pay their feudal rent to their wig wearing local coucellor barons.

My dad was one of about a dozen poor catholic children in a poor catholic household in Nelson. He scraped and desperately strove to get enough together for a house for years … and boy could he budget! He would never of made it had it not been possible to cash in your entire family benefit at that time and use it as a deposit for a house.

Thats important. He could get a cash injection which paid for the deposit - or a long way towards it at least. With a litle help from the family this is how people get from renting from private owners to renting from the bank.

I am pretty certain after slogging for years on next to nothing, working overtime rates at 60% till all hours of the morning - he had no problems understanding who owned his house. The bank did. He knew that because he wore that pain every week in hard yards. Indeed he would have died in a mortgage if it wasnt for the kindness of an employer who paid out redundancy when he was dying of ‘everything’ cancer.

There you go …thats ‘ownership democracy’. The bank owns it, you get shafted your entire life working - for the hope that your kids might get a better shot than you do. Call this democracy what you will - for people struggling to improve their lot its ‘wage slavery’ in another sequin sprinkled comfy blanket of bullpucky.

Winston … i know I am being very anti and cynical - but to me … its a hero who ups the minimum wage (thanks). Its a heroic thing to propose dropping the price of bread and petrol a few cents (gst down to 10%) and its a real heroic thing to raise the bottom tax line. These are strong worker oriented socially responsible policies and NZ First should be applauded for them.

Why do I feel cynical …because some prick put them up in the first place - and they will hang around - getting help from the true owners of this democracy until they can twist that screw just a little bit more, then more then more.

So Jens … if you are serious about an ownership democracy …then you must be serious about casting certain principles in stone, and to do this one must have an iron clad constitution - so I say …yes … ownership democracy but underlined with a solid and unchangable constitution - which will at least make the true owners have to carry a slightly more violent tint of green greed while they suck the marrow out of our bones.

Regarding ’sucking the marrow out of your bones’ … Winston - can you also consider doing something to curtail the attrocious tax and spend at the local government level. What i see happening is the local councils in this country have some kind of deal with quotable value and these guys go around racheting up (artificially) house prices as quickly as they can. Man … you should see the crap they give value to to get the books better. I suspect it is because these local councils are borrowing on the value of their baronies.

Good luck with the election

]]> By: Jens Meder http://www.winstonpeters.com/archives/456#comment-635 Jens Meder Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:02:56 +0000 http://www.winstonpeters.com/?p=456#comment-635 Chris - you don't have too much faith in democracy, when so suspicious about KiwiSaving. You should be really quite enthusiastic about it, as it is designed to help you into 1st home ownership - and it is good for the country, because togeher with the NZ Super fund, it will keep us wealth creating even after the home has been paid off - and elevate all of us personally and collectively to a higher level of prosperity and rate of economic growth to catch up where we lost ground over the past 40 years. And remember, it was our majority which voted for Muldoon's unsustainable super promises, and before that the proportion of welfarism on credit rather than paid up taxation, which "evaporated" the original Savage Fund into public debt. (It would not have "evaporated", if it had owned the state houses and the public works bonds it helped to finance initially). Cheer up, we are on the threshold of a new "Ownership Democracy " era. Chris - you don’t have too much faith in democracy, when so suspicious about KiwiSaving. You should be really quite enthusiastic about it, as it is designed to help you into 1st home ownership - and it is good for the country, because togeher with the NZ Super fund, it will keep us wealth creating even after the home has been paid off - and elevate all of us personally and collectively to a higher level of prosperity and rate of economic growth to catch up where we lost ground over the past 40 years.
And remember, it was our majority which voted for Muldoon’s unsustainable super promises, and before that the proportion of welfarism on credit rather than paid up taxation, which “evaporated” the original Savage Fund into public debt. (It would not have “evaporated”, if it had owned the state houses and the public works bonds it helped to finance initially). Cheer up, we are on the threshold of a new “Ownership Democracy ” era.

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