Politics 🗳️ NZ Politics

[wizard of Tauranga]

Yeah but the tiny 0.01% are accumulating ever more of the global wealth, leaving diminishing crumbs for the so called middle class. Fix that somehow and we'd have a better system.

Agree. But has there ever not been an elite 0.01% though?

Has the middle class ever had it better in regards to world peace, standard of housing, life expectancy, clean tech living, healthcare, etc?

Objectively, stats show society has never had it better.

Some on here long, with rose tinted glasses, for life 50 years ago. We didn’t even have pro sport or the Warriors back then to distract us from our boring middle class lives!

 

[marv.]

How do you compartmentalise the two when economic systems have social impacts, particularly on the most vulnerable, the stupid, the least capable of succeeding etc. Spose it all comes down to judging others and whatever you're comfortable with justifying, I'm no different if I'm honest, if you're incapable of gaining skills that are useful to the prevailing economic system you're pretty much fucked.

ha!
yeah man, that’s the internal battle isn’t it?
i guess no matter who’s in power someone at the either end gets fucked.
is there even a way to run it so that doesn’t happen?

i don’t know.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Gobless em, where would we be without Zuck and Elon. Or more locally, Sir Ron Brierley. Champions.

To be fair, there are plenty of wealthy entrepreneurial New Zealanders as well that I haven’t detected strong psychopathic vibes from - Mike Daniell & Bruce Plested to name a couple.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

OF COURSE everyone is capable of bettering themselves, but that doesn't acknowledge how far some people start behind and why that may be the case. It's a callous society that doesn't confront and address that.

newsflash; life's unfair. Cry about your circumstances or change them.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Depends what you mean by "smart people", the problem is at the extreme edges. We incentivise the kind of smarts it takes to accumulate vast weath over the intelligence required to be a surgeon or scientist, the former rewards psychopathy, which is the main flaw of neoliberalism, but the system was set up by the mega wealthy to do just that after the great depression as I understand the philosophy.

Surgeons are far more psychopathic than business owners and earn more. A large percentage of scientists are narcissistic. These are actually beneficial masculine traits that have ensured the survival of our species.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

the most vulnerable, the stupid, the least capable of succeeding etc.

Why would you want a system that promotes and incentivises these people to exist?

 

[Worried2Death]

Why would you want a system that promotes and incentivises these people to exist?

I didn't say promote them, but we have to provide for them, we have thousands of fetal alcohol syndrome victims with shit for brains who can barely function, what's the alternative, kill them?

 

[Worried2Death]

Surgeons are far more psychopathic than business owners and earn more. A large percentage of scientists are narcissistic. These are actually beneficial masculine traits that have ensured the survival of our species.

Often autistic traits too, they can be beneficial to the species.
Do female doctors have masculine traits? Not sure where you're going with that one.

 

[juju]

newsflash; life's unfair. Cry about your circumstances or change them.

Newsflash. I'm doing perfectly fine (I don't feel the need to post on here about how great my business ventures are going on this forum * cough cough)

The comments more about how our society operates.
It's like its impossible for people on this forum to this further ahead than a selfish outlook of me first.

 

[juju]

Why would you want a system that promotes and incentivises these people to exist?

This forum really devolves into ZB talk back quality quickly.

How exactly does the system promote that?

 

[Worried2Death]

This forum really devolves into ZB talk back quality quickly.

How exactly does the system promote that?

Sounds like Frank's unit might start rounding up and euthanising the useless eaters, what could go wrong?

I confess I like a bit of Marcus Lush evenings, he's quite a good troll sometimes.

 

[MaybeTop8]

Yesterday’s GDP data suggests the economy grew 0.2% in the March quarter.

But that was only thanks to the net 28,330 new immigrants who arrived over those three months to make up for the net 14,980 citizens who left.

Per capita, we’re now at least 18 months into a recession. Unless everyone has produced and earned more in the current quarter than in the previous three months, we’re 21 months into that recession.

The average New Zealander is nearly $300 a month down compared with September 2022, using March 2024 dollars. That’s $1200 a month less for a household of two parents and two kids. Collectively, we’ve all taken a 4.3% pay cut over 18 months, with more on the way.

There’s never been anything this bad as far back as Statistics NZ reports.

The recession after the Global Financial Crisis was close. In the 21 months from September 2007, we went back 4.2% on average. Our current malaise has happened faster and is worse.


Very bad times, yet it’s predicted to be at least another year before the reserve bank eases up….

It's a manufactured recession. Let's not forget.

 

[mrblonde]

ha!
yeah man, that’s the internal battle isn’t it?
i guess no matter who’s in power someone at the either end gets fucked.
is there even a way to run it so that doesn’t happen?

i don’t know.

Power corrupts. Whoever designs a system that's alternative to Capitalism/Communism/Whateverism, is certainly not going to design so it hurts them, their family and their friends. The best I think we can hope for is a system where, yes, there's winners and losers but the losers aren't whacked with the Loser Stick so early and so obviously and with no hope of becoming winners (and same with the Winner Stick in the other way).
I actually quite like the idea of voting for Policies not Politicians. So you're not going into the polling booth going "Well, I love their policy on A, the B policy is okay, C is really stupid" ie Party A's manifesto sucks less than Party B's so what crappy policy are you most prepared to accept? No compromise needed if you vote for Policies.
I also like the argument that lots of us are wanting Sinaporean Tax but Scandanavian Welfare.

 

[Rick O’Shay]

I also like the argument that lots of us are wanting Sinaporean Tax but Scandanavian Welfare.

Champagne diet, Beer income.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

It's a manufactured recession. Let's not forget.

Manufactured to stop runaway inflation and us ending up like Venezuela!

Economics 101.

 

[Bay39er]

This is a very good read if you can access this opinion piece

Ian Taylor: An open letter to the PM on behalf of 'C-listers'

OPINION: We've had just as much success on trade missions.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[MrFrankWhite]

I didn't say promote them, but we have to provide for them, we have thousands of fetal alcohol syndrome victims with shit for brains who can barely function, what's the alternative, kill them?

No one is suggesting death camps.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Do female doctors have masculine traits?

No, I said surgeons. They have masculine psychological traits.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

This is a very good read if you can access this opinion piece

Ian Taylor: An open letter to the PM on behalf of 'C-listers'

OPINION: We've had just as much success on trade missions.

www.nzherald.co.nz

Unfortunately it’s so typical of the way Luxon regards other people. He’s an A-list knob.

 

[Worried2Death]

Checkmate Nicola?

Interislander ferry runs aground, 47 passengers stranded

Emergency services are on standby.

www.nzherald.co.nz