New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[intern]

I sell two MYOB products and have monthly catch ups with the entire partner network.

 

Doubt this is public knowledge at this point.

 

Actually, If i am honest, I am still in the webinar but the next bits are pretty boring.

Sounds almost like a Webinar. Or Zoom conf call...

[intern]

I don't want this message to come out wrong....

 

But if from 1994 the Government built on what we had then, and only went upwards, didn't promise free everything but created opportunities for all. Apprenticeships, More Jobs, Easier access to finance, Free Schooling, Free Trade School not Varsity. Upgraded medical teachings to allow as many students that wanted to study it, providing they qualified (Marks Wise or Financially as to not be a burden on the state).

 

Would we be in a totally different position now?

 

In a way I want to think yes, but then reality tells me it doesn't matter what was provided, people would still want to live in remote areas where financially it makes no sense to offer services as the cost out-ways the Pro's. That and the fact that every country has Slum areas.

 

Ideal solutions just don't work in reality, never mind the virtual world, Sim City is proof that no matter how much planning or "Money" you have its impossible to have an always thriving economy. So we can learn from that.

 

On a side note, I was reading an article about now is the time to provide a "Universal Income" whilst the idea sounds great, it could lead to a society of non-providers. But then it got me thinking. Isn't the real solution to have one global currency. As lets be honest, why does production costs have to be different from country to country if the value of human labour is now the same everywhere? Surely that will bring every country into the same play ground and cause all nations to automatically upgrade the lifestyle of their citizens? I mean why the hell should I have to work 20x more to be able to visit the UK? I understand their salaries are lower, but how nice would it be if we were all on the same playing field.

 

If we could get there, there would be a lot less people making tons of money and it would distribute wealth everywhere... Well that's my theory....

 

Let the abuse begin ;-) oh and Happy Friday everyone!!!

 

 

Missed this one Rad. UBI a shockingly bad idea. One global currency, also shockingly bad idea. While these things are complicated, the essence of it is that money is not the same thing as wealth; it is a token and nothing more. Money is only worth something when it is backed by productivity (when people are given 'free money', productivity is the first traitor up against the wall).

Different nations have different economies and different productivity (and also, different money supply - see for eg Zim and Venezuela). Different currency is a good thing, as it reflects this to a degree. Massive oversimplifications, but there you are.

As always, I absolutely highly recommend reading Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. Explains a lot of how the world really works.

[intern]

To this bit:

 

As lets be honest, why does production costs have to be different from country to country if the value of human labour is now the same everywhere? Surely that will bring every country into the same play ground and cause all nations to automatically upgrade the lifestyle of their citizens? I mean why the hell should I have to work 20x more to be able to visit the UK? I understand their salaries are lower, but how nice would it be if we were all on the same playing field.

 

Supply and demand and differing labour laws are your culprits here. And laws tend to be extensions, albeit crude ones, of culture and society. To the bold bit, fairness is an interpretation, not an objective reality.

[patches]

I heard and interesting take (by an economist) on the stimulus package.

 

I'm no financial expert (purchasing 2 Husqvarna's will tell you that  ) and I may butcher my recount of his wise words, but in essence he said the current strategy, which involves the selling of government bonds, ultimately puts money in the hands of those who have money and are more conservative with their spending. They are likely to save, invent on property, or if they do splurge, it'll be on something like art or classic cars. This does very little to stimulate the economy as a whole.

 

He went on to say that once off payments to everyone would circulate much more far and wide than the current strategy.

Anyway, that is just what I heard on a morning news show

[intern]

I heard and interesting take (by an economist) on the stimulus package.

 

I'm no financial expert (purchasing 2 Husqvarna's will tell you that  ) and I may butcher my recount of his wise words, but in essence he said the current strategy, which involves the selling of government bonds, ultimately puts money in the hands of those who have money and are more conservative with their spending. They are likely to save, invent on property, or if they do splurge, it'll be on something like art or classic cars. This does very little to stimulate the economy as a whole.

 

He went on to say that once off payments to everyone would circulate much more far and wide than the current strategy.

 

Anyway, that is just what I heard on a morning news show

 

Sounds like it may have been Shamubeel Eaqub. The payments to date have been quite well targeted, I think, in that they have gone to employers with the express purpose of paying directly on to employees who are out of work. The increases for those on the benefit, are a bit harder to understand.

But targeting is one thing. When the government is finished giving, it has to start taking...and hard, at that, given the massive debt blowout we're staring down now.

[davetapson]

Sounds like it may have been Shamubeel Eaqub. The payments to date have been quite well targeted, I think, in that they have gone to employers with the express purpose of paying directly on to employees who are out of work. The increases for those on the benefit, are a bit harder to understand.

But targeting is one thing. When the government is finished giving, it has to start taking...and hard, at that, given the massive debt blowout we're staring down now.

 

Yeah, I'm just waiting for the "Well, we have to pay back the debt accrued during Covid, so..."

 

And it's the "so..." that's got me worried.

[intern]

...and governments have never given anything that wasn't first taken from someone else who earned it...

[rad006]

@Intern I hear what you are saying, but lets look at a situation closer to home. Zim, uses the US Dollar. When I went to Zim everything was so flippen expensive. Surely being our neighbors, the cost of labor and to do business is not that much different to SA? Were currencies also not better regulated when you had to back them up with Gold? Although without gold, there was not enough currency to go around... I hate economics hahaha

[mazambaan]

Oh, get a shed already you two.

 

Speaking of sheds, anyone seen Allen Millyard on YouTube? Dude creates amazing motorcycles and engines out of old parts. For EG built a Kawasaki Super Six by sawing up a few 900 barrels, crankcases and heads, then rebuilding the crank and camshafts, welding up the barrels, cases and heads, and...ja, old dudes in sheds, amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhrLg6mZQIo&t=4s

 

(Patches...enjoy the lost productivity on this one mate!)

 

Now that is a rabbit hole. That guy is so smart, well set up and organised - him and his son dabble in bicycles too - see the DH bike he built and they have a back shock out now which sounds amazing - not on his channel but an MTB one.

[davetapson]

Now that is a rabbit hole. That guy is so smart, well set up and organised - him and his son dabble in bicycles too - see the DH bike he built and they have a back shock out now which sounds amazing - not on his channel but an MTB one.

Dang, nothing you can't make as long as you have a gas barbeque and ZX1 oil...

 

The knowledge and skills this guy has wrapped up in his noggin.

 

I'll just mill this, weld this, cut this block in half with a band saw... Humbling.

 

A more normal guy I watched build a boat over the last few months - overcame annoyances and obstacles with grace and good humour...

 

 

https://youtu.be/uVvvqjfOQRc

[mazambaan]

Dang, nothing you can't make as long as you have a gas barbeque and ZX1 oil...

 

The knowledge and skills this guy has wrapped up in his noggin.

 

I'll just mill this, weld this, cut this block in half with a band saw... Humbling.

 

A more normal guy I watched build a boat over the last few months - overcame annoyances and obstacles with grace and good humour...

 

 

 

Another one to eat my time - impressive as my Dad built a little Optimist sailing boat with hand tools only in a home with no electricity and while farming. Even at my age then, 13 or so, I was mightily impressed.

 

Mike Patey with his Draco etc aircraft (etc) are at the opposite end of the scale but still impressive and I cannot resist watching. So much self belief and drive!! eg.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYQTl4TPlwU

[intern]

This makes me so mad, it is so negligent of the officials.

The government is overriding INZ and issuing them instructions, just look at the Avatar debacle.

 

The problem is that they are talking about ways of managed opening of borders but they are doing it by creating an elitist class. If you earn double the median wage ($106k pa), essential to government projects, etc. Meanwhile they are looking at expanding on quarantine, with a user pay model which all are happy to do. Problem is they say it will cost $6k per person for the 2 week quarantine. Do the math for a family of 4 or 5.........

In the meantime they expidite entry for film crew, yacht crews, etc.

INZ has gone mute, they just either don't answer enquiries from agents or individuals or when they do answer there is just no plan. 100's of visa entry dates have expired. People, like myself, with legimtimate jobs that are still viable, with employers begging them to let us in, and still nothing. My job is in the essential services as we do air cleanliness testing and equipment in hospitals, labs, etc, yet it is not "essential" enough. Exception requests sometimes being declined within 10 mins of submission with a nice letter saying its declined with no recourse for why or escalation.

 

Cases I have seen for example of families split up for over 12 months and they still won't let the spouse enter under humanitarian reasons.

 

A person who has been onshore with a working visa for 5yrs goes abroad for a 2week holiday and gets stuck. Now stuck in Brazil/India/South Africa, still having to pay rent, car payments, etc. in New Zealand and yet gets exception to travel declined. It's like they are trying to force this individual to be made redundant. It really boggles the mind.......

 

I personally have a 2yr old and 3yr old, everytime we put a jacket on them to go walk around they block, they jump up and down because we are going to New Zealand. Our 8yr old just mopes around, all exacerbated by the fact that they can't really do anything as we are on lockdown. No school, no friends, cooped up in a 1st floor apartment because our house is already sold. Living out of hand luggage because all our possessions, toys and bicycles included, are sitting in a warehouse to be sent across for us. Even this is on hold as we have no forwarding address as yet.......

 

Yes, this is a very personal post but it is very frustrating, and I do understand having to tighten the border, but New Zealand has always toted themselves as a compassionate state, where is the compassion.

 

 

This goes to the very heart of why a managed 'command and control' economy is always - always, always and always, without exception - an unmitigated disaster. You cannot have bureaucrats deciding what is and what is not an 'essential service'. All jobs are essential, or they would not exist.

When you create these command and control situations, you also prepare fertile ground for corruption, because sometimes all it takes for a bureaucrat to determine than your case is a special one, is the right sort of encouragement to see things the 'right' way.

 

Best wishes Steven, your situation is highly unfortunate and regrettable, I do hope it works out for you sooner rather than later.

[intern]

Dang, nothing you can't make as long as you have a gas barbeque and ZX1 oil...

 

The knowledge and skills this guy has wrapped up in his noggin.

 

I'll just mill this, weld this, cut this block in half with a band saw... Humbling.

 

A more normal guy I watched build a boat over the last few months - overcame annoyances and obstacles with grace and good humour...

 

 

 

I love Allen's approach: 'I'll just give it a go...' and then he whips out some genius level mechanical engineering with a bloody hacksaw and a 1926 file!

[intern]

@Intern I hear what you are saying, but lets look at a situation closer to home. Zim, uses the US Dollar. When I went to Zim everything was so flippen expensive. Surely being our neighbors, the cost of labor and to do business is not that much different to SA? Were currencies also not better regulated when you had to back them up with Gold? Although without gold, there was not enough currency to go around... I hate economics hahaha

 

Everything is expensive in Zim because of an even more fundamental economic principle, that of supply and demand. The cost of doing business there is radically different to, say, South Africa or New Zealand or anywhere else. While I am not entirely familiar with the Zim situation, I doubt there is much credit, I doubt there is much confidence that a customer (if you can find one in the first place) can pay, and I know getting goods in and out is far from fast or easy, unless, apparently, those goods are cigarettes. There is also massive corruption which drives up the cost and risk of any exchange of goods or services.

 

Currencies today are backed by governments which in turn are backed by national productivity (and stability), which is more valuable than gold. Also, any currency is only valuable so long as (enough) people trust its value, and so long as the government appropriately controls the supply. Zim has some form here, as we all know.

 

BTW politics and economics are intricately interwoven and have an intimate impact on every aspect of our lives/society. You don't have one without the other (see 'Political economy' - the study of production and trade and their relations with law, custom and government; and with the distribution of national income and wealth.

 

More worthless views from a self proclaimed knowledgeable gimp more often described as opinionated.

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

This goes to the very heart of why a managed 'command and control' economy is always - always, always and always, without exception - an unmitigated disaster. You cannot have bureaucrats deciding what is and what is not an 'essential service'. All jobs are essential, or they would not exist.

When you create these command and control situations, you also prepare fertile ground for corruption, because sometimes all it takes for a bureaucrat to determine than your case is a special one, is the right sort of encouragement to see things the 'right' way.

 

Best wishes Steven, your situation is highly unfortunate and regrettable, I do hope it works out for you sooner rather than later.

 

Thanks man, I do agree with everything you have said.

They are citing quarantine facilities not having capacity.

I understand the need to have things properly in place, it is just a bit frustrating when you hear things like this but then also read about how badly they bodge some of these things too. Like not monitoring, releasing people haphazardly, etc.

Also it smacks of sitting on your hands when you have a tourism industry that could assist in accommodating people needing quarantine, with government assistance and monitoring. These BnB's, hotels, etc could be earning a living as almost all people waiting to be allowed entry, are also willing to pay for these services.

 

We are also hoping for a sooner rather than later, solution.

[intern]

Thanks man, I do agree with everything you have said.

They are citing quarantine facilities not having capacity.

I understand the need to have things properly in place, it is just a bit frustrating when you hear things like this but then also read about how badly they bodge some of these things too. Like not monitoring, releasing people haphazardly, etc.

Also it smacks of sitting on your hands when you have a tourism industry that could assist in accommodating people needing quarantine, with government assistance and monitoring. These BnB's, hotels, etc could be earning a living as almost all people waiting to be allowed entry, are also willing to pay for these services.

 

We are also hoping for a sooner rather than later, solution.

 

All the best. Things are not looking good right now, though, as the incompetent government is taking drastic actions to cover their litany of failures at even the simplest of tasks which were supposed to restore us to some sort of normalcy.

 

At the current rate - with around 2400 returning New Zealanders released without testing, and with the winter solstice just been, it's highly likely we'll have another covid outbreak; with the precedent of 'lockdown being necessary' (remember, around 22 grannies succumbed, most already in 'Heaven's Waiting Room' - which is what we used to call Amberfield in Howick when I was at school there) to prevent widespread death and destruction, the government has snookered itself into taking the same action again should that eventuate.

 

It's a *** situation. A very *** situation.