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

[patham]

An upgrade motivation if ever I saw one.

 

My son keeps asking me if its new bike time. In reality he is just building up precedent so he can ask for a new bike sooner.  

[DJR]

My son keeps asking me if its new bike time. In reality he is just building up precedent so he can ask for a new bike sooner.  

The greatest time for new bikes was when my sons grew tall enough to take my hand-me-downs! For road bikes I've now used up all those easy tickets, but still have one mtb one to use!   

[intern]

On the subject of Labour. I like the empathetic and kind way of governance. I think what the world needs is a little more kindness and seeing it spread from the top down is a good thing. BUT - and there is always a big but - there is also a time for hard action and being of substance. I think Labour will win this election and struggle with managing a post Covid economy.

 

I am a huge supporter of the Euthanasia Bill - this is what actually put Seymour on my map. 

 

I differ on that somewhat WP. Kindness is all well and good, but when kindness is powered by other people's money, it is a political tool rather than a genuine sentiment. Look at the paycut debacle for sincerity. How much would it take to simply pay back 20% of your salary to IRD, or to a charity? No effort at all. It's like the millionaires and their headlines of 'tax us more'. Mate, you want to pay more tax, lead by example. No revenue department in the world will turn down voluntarily contributed funds. But somehow, law is required to compel these do-gooders to do good. Long after the headline has faded from memory.

Kindness, yes, but where's kindness when your policies have unexpected and deleterious outcomes? Child poverty (itself a debatable issue in NZ - children need love, not money, and there is a poverty of good parenting in some societal circles) is up, homelessness is up, people on benefits, up, waitlists for surgery etc, up. All the kindness in the world solves not these issues. And, in fact, as Thomas Sowell makes abundantly clear in 'Wealth, Poverty and Politics', kindness can and does, in a very real sense, kill. Too much kindness results in excruciatingly poor outcomes for, well, poor folk. Sometimes the best way to help people is to give them less help, not more.

And 'feel good' policies sold on intentions are often dangerous, because their long run consequences are not considered nor evaluated. You'll see a lot of talk of expectations and intentions, but if and when you see measurements and evaluation of outcomes being dropped, or when you see policy effects measured in dollars spent rather than outcomes achieved, it's time to question the value of kindness (itself an abstract concept without any firm measure).

[intern]

My son keeps asking me if its new bike time. In reality he is just building up precedent so he can ask for a new bike sooner.  

 

SRAM gripshit don't break. That's all I have to say about that! When my Mrs pranged years ago while training for the Epic she got an XTR lever in her thumb. That sealed the switch for her...

[intern]

I differ on that somewhat WP. Kindness is all well and good, but when kindness is powered by other people's money, it is a political tool rather than a genuine sentiment. Look at the paycut debacle for sincerity. How much would it take to simply pay back 20% of your salary to IRD, or to a charity? No effort at all. It's like the millionaires and their headlines of 'tax us more'. Mate, you want to pay more tax, lead by example. No revenue department in the world will turn down voluntarily contributed funds. But somehow, law is required to compel these do-gooders to do good. Long after the headline has faded from memory.

Kindness, yes, but where's kindness when your policies have unexpected and deleterious outcomes? Child poverty (itself a debatable issue in NZ - children need love, not money, and there is a poverty of good parenting in some societal circles) is up, homelessness is up, people on benefits, up, waitlists for surgery etc, up. All the kindness in the world solves not these issues. And, in fact, as Thomas Sowell makes abundantly clear in 'Wealth, Poverty and Politics', kindness can and does, in a very real sense, kill. Too much kindness results in excruciatingly poor outcomes for, well, poor folk. Sometimes the best way to help people is to give them less help, not more.

And 'feel good' policies sold on intentions are often dangerous, because their long run consequences are not considered nor evaluated. You'll see a lot of talk of expectations and intentions, but if and when you see measurements and evaluation of outcomes being dropped, or when you see policy effects measured in dollars spent rather than outcomes achieved, it's time to question the value of kindness (itself an abstract concept without any firm measure).

 

Or, as David Seymour summed up in his speech at the ACT conference, 'the Labour Party has excelled as a PR operation'!

[davetapson]

Or, as David Seymour summed up in his speech at the ACT conference, 'the Labour Party has excelled as a PR operation'!

Problem is voters like that. Looks good, feels good, put the cross.

[intern]

Problem is voters like that. Looks good, feels good, put the cross.

 

This is exactly the problem. As Winston Churchill actually never really said, the best argument against Democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. Most voters do not look past the slogans and the headlines, which means they are easily won over by a slick PR campaign (WP please don't imagine me saying this about you because I am not...you clearly take a lot more interest than the average voter does, or you would not have raised the topic).

[intern]

And even more so, most voters will vote for the nicest looking candidate, too, rather than the most competent! Fortunately, though, it is us old boring quiet people who are most often encountered at the ballot box, with the noisy social media types too deep in Twitter and the couch to translate their loud mouths into votes!

[intern]

Oh, hey, being as it is that I have pretty much chucked in the bicycles for moto bikes, is anyone here interested in a lightly used Specialized S-Works Epic, 2018 model, done around 2000km? It's carbon black with yellow decals. PM me if interested.

[intern]

Also applicable to the discussion on kindness vs results, Churchill also famously never said "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results."

[GrahamS2]

The greatest time for new bikes was when my sons grew tall enough to take my hand-me-downs! For road bikes I've now used up all those easy tickets, but still have one mtb one to use!   

My son, who is 7, took my size large Intense for a spin up and down the driveway  I was shocked that he could even pedal the thing, and obviously he can't get on or off without assistance.

I've now taken to locking my bike up He's also eyeing my girlfriend's bike now...

[Wayne Potgieter]

This is exactly why I brought this up - I am caught up in the PR movement but want to balance that with policy and effectiveness. I admit I don't know enough and that is quite scary because I believe a vote is a powerful thing.

 

If I had to summarise my position right now, its Leaning towards ACT with a fondness for Labour.

 

Personally, I think Judith Collins is a dangerous person mired in controversy, but not having a personal history in the country to go on, I am basing this opinion on other peoples reporting and that too is dangerous. 

 

Anyone know what David Seymours stance is on the Marijuana vote? Given his time spent in Canada, I would assume he is pro (I found an article from 2018 where he seemed to come across as for the bill) but not much newer material. I guess I am being lazy by asking Intern, but who cares amiright?

[Wayne Potgieter]

Oh, hey, being as it is that I have pretty much chucked in the bicycles for moto bikes, is anyone here interested in a lightly used Specialized S-Works Epic, 2018 model, done around 2000km? It's carbon black with yellow decals. PM me if interested.

Size?

[intern]

This is exactly why I brought this up - I am caught up in the PR movement but want to balance that with policy and effectiveness. I admit I don't know enough and that is quite scary because I believe a vote is a powerful thing.

 

If I had to summarise my position right now, its Leaning towards ACT with a fondness for Labour.

 

Personally, I think Judith Collins is a dangerous person mired in controversy, but not having a personal history in the country to go on, I am basing this opinion on other peoples reporting and that too is dangerous. 

 

Anyone know what David Seymours stance is on the Marijuana vote? Given his time spent in Canada, I would assume he is pro (I found an article from 2018 where he seemed to come across as for the bill) but not much newer material. I guess I am being lazy by asking Intern, but who cares amiright?

 

Haha, Wayne, that is such an odd position, but it beautifully represents an open mind. ACT and Labour are diametrically opposed, policy-wise.

 

Seymour/ACT is in favour of cannabis reform, but it isn't a major focus for the party which I somehow find endearing. Because it is neither here nor there, in the greater scheme of things - in other words, schmoke it up if you're into that sort of thing, because you probably are anyway, whether legal or not. There are bigger fish to fry and they relate to the economy, health and education.

 

BTW JC is a hugely accomplished individual. Like anyone who has ever achieved anything, she has made missteps along the way - none of them fatal. The biggest card played against her is the 'Oravida scandal' (look that up), when she visited a factory or offices of Oravida, of which her husband David Wong-Tung is a director/owner, in an 'official-looking' capacity as a National party government minister. A subsequent inquiry found there was no wrong-doing. It was, by all accounts, a very bad look though.

[intern]

Size?

 

Medium.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Medium.

Too big China. Looking for an XS for the boy - probably also too much bike for him anyway.