04 September 2005

Electorates ARE interesting - well a few are

All of the parties are campaigning almost everywhere for the party vote - after the disastrous National campaign of 2002 that saw it get just over 30% of the electorate vote but only around 21% of the party vote. Only the Alliance and Christian Heritage managed such a bizarre result, but then how many people hold their heads high now having voted for Graham Capill!?

However there are electorate races worth being interested in.

Epsom is clearly one, with ACT calling on National supporters to tick Hide for local MP (which makes sense), and Labour starting to call on both of its voters in Epsom to tick Worth. Enough has been said about that race!

Tauranga is the next one worth watching, as everyone who doesn't love Winston, loathes him and both National and Labour would love Bob Clarkson to defeat him. The fact that NZ First looked increasingly like National's most likely coalition/support partner further mobilises Labour supporters, who would love to see National cast adrift with insufficient friends in the house to form a government. Now if NZ First manages 5% party vote (which I suspect is likely) then him losing Tauranga will be a boon for the Nats - as he will feel psychologically damaged in his heartland - will not be able to demand as much from the Nats as he did in 1996 (where it was 34% Nats vs. 13% NZ First, rather than 40 odd for the Nats and 5%!). Brash may fear Winston not winning Tauranga and not getting 5%, but even under that scenario as long as the Nats get well over 40% AND beat Labour, the NZ First vote will be redistributed proportionately, meaning National would probably get about 3 more seats. Of course I'm expecting Russell Watkins to stir Winnie up a bit too!

However, there are a few other electorate races worth watching.:

Tamaki-Makaurauwhere John Tamihere, besides being a prick with his cats will give Pita Sharples a good run for his money. The only reason I want Tamihere to win is because he pisses off the politically correct anally retentives in the Labour caucus, and he can go "told you so" when Labour loses.

Wellington Central, where Bernard Darnton - Libertarianz Leader, will give the Anti-Capitalist Alliance candidate, Stephen Hay a run for his money. Gman reckons this is the REAL contest, and given I know Bernard very very well, I'm encouraging him with this.

http://gmaninc.blogspot.com/2005/09/real-wellington-central-contest.html

Who frankly cares if Boo Boo Hobbs, and "let them rates rise" Blumsky win the seat - they are both in on the list, and if any constituency least needs representation in Parliament it is Wellington Central. The electorate is loaded with policy wonks, public sector managers and co. who have more influence on government than half of Parliament does. I know plenty of people in core departments who have more influence than most MPs, I was one of them!

I'd like to think Wigram and Ohariu-Belmont would be races, it would be very satisfying for Anderton and Dunne to be removed by their electorates - but it wont happen.

Auckland Central, where the ACT candidate - Helen Simpson is the only intelligent attractive woman standing, vs Tizard, Wong and Nandor. Parliament needs more attractive women, they are grossly under-represented.

Napier I just want to see that defender of the vile -Russell Fairbrother - lose to local businessman Chris Tremain. I know criminal lawyers are needed, but it is one thing to do your job, another to think that the scum of the earth are victims.

any more?

02 September 2005

More Compulsory Pay TV

Nearly $9 million on NZ comedy and drama funded by NZ on Air - oft referred to as NaZis on Air by Deborah Coddington when she once presented a radio show on the now defunct Radio Liberty.

Compulsory pay tv from your taxes, whether you want to watch the TV shows or not. It doesn't matter that no TV channel would buy the programmes themselves because not enough people want to watch them, it doesn't matter that not enough people will use pay per view to watch them - it is just about TV producers and all the others in that industry sucking off the state tit to support their chosen career and lifestyle.

Around a third of New Zealanders choose to pay every month to Sky TV and Telstra Clear for a wide range of channels that they want! People WILL pay for TV they want, but they don't want what the bureaucrats are using other people's money for.

One of the beneficiary produced projects is an "edgy, urban drama series called Ducks and Geese. It features an unlikely group of twenty-somethings sharing an old villa. And they’re all involved with the law in one way or another. You’ll have to wait and see how, though. " oh PLEASE! Why don't you give me my money back, and I'll take a digital camera and find a flat somewhere and Dunedin and film what they get up to. I'll do it for nothing if they are interesting!

What nauseates me the most is how the bleeting bludgers in this industry paint a picture of cultural doom and gloom if we strangle their supply of other people's money. There are two answers to that:

1. Go out and ask people if they will pay for your wonderful "cool" productions, like Melody Rules. A lot of people like Eating Media Lunch, so maybe they will pay for it. If they don't want to pay for it, then tough - it's called life, don't make them pay; and

2. Cut the price. If you are the bastion of Kiwi Kulture and identity then do it out of love, do it for New Zealand, do it for free or at least minimum cost. Don't pretend you work for Warner Bros. or Grundy. Rent cheaper rental car, buy prepacked meals from New World, so like every other business person and economise. People may be prepared to pay for your product then.

Unfortunately the Nats are unlikely to cut this piece of corporate welfare, but if they cut Te Mangai Paho, they should cut NZ On Air. We'll get over it, there isn't a NZ in Print, or NZ Online.

01 September 2005

The Money Men

Michael Cullen, Jim Anderton, Gordon (ta Insolent Prick!) Copeland, Rod Donald, Rodney Hide, Winston Peters and John Key.

All men wanting to use more or less of your money for their own purposes.

The surprises?

- Rod Donald willing to be in Cabinet with Labour promoting free trade. Seems the LTD and the power are enough to sell out to the anti-globalisation slobberers.

Beyond that, Cullen couldn't really answer the challenge that one day there isn't enough money for tax cuts, then there are buckets for special government middle class family welfare schemes. He can't answer it because the REAL answer is that Labour believes in socialism, the state taking money from the successful and giving it to the less successful, and making more and more people dependent on the state for their incomes. That is it, nothing to be ashamed of is it???

Nothing else new at all really. The old left-right divide was clear, with the Maori party (oh yes there was some guy from that) Donald, Anderton and Cullen wanting to run your life more, Winston predicting doom and gloom, Cullen claiming that the era of tax cuts in the 80 and 90s (he was a Cabinet Minister who supported the Douglas flat tax in 1988!) saw Australia outgrowing New Zealand - that is about as relevant as claiming that bread causes people to commit crime because most criminals have had bread at least 24 hours before they commit their crime! John Key seemed comfortable, and would no doubt have loved to rip into Cullen more, as did Hide. Two of the brightest cookies in Parliament, frankly I'd be happy if the new government had a Cabinet of those two plus Brash, most of the rest are less than star performers.

Anderton is a funny little Clown

He thinks stealing money from the productive to give to the less productive generates growth.

How quaint... his Ministry of Economic Development, full of bureaucrats half of whom exist to hand out money to people who ask for it... produces nothing.

How delusional is the left that it thinks government produces anything? Just because the government happens to own some trading activities, doesn't mean these wouldn't exist if the government didn't do them.

His tiny party was beaten in 2 out of 5 electorates Libertarianz contested in 2002, outside Wigram, that is where his party is - Progressive? Irrelevant thank you, and please will the people of Wigram give him and New Zealand a boost by forcing him into retirement?

Labour is SOO evil

People that produce wealth, who apply their minds through their bodies to the world around them, are the heroes of the world and humanity. Labour is now pandering to the lowest instincts of the losers of society. It is doing this by pretending that "workers" -in other words anyone who belongs to the Marxist trade union movement that tithes union fees to Labour - NOT people who necessarily work (the self-employed are not workers, nor are businesspeople to Labour, they just create jobs)- lose out under National. The old nonsense that the bosses sit doing nothing, while the "workers" make the wealth. Forgetting that almost all of the "workers" would render the business bankrupt in months if they ran it.

National is evil if it talks to the Business Roundtable - an organisation that the outgoing CEO of Air New Zealand used to lead - after it became majority state owned again. Labour was happy with what Ralph Norris did with their investment of YOUR money. The Business Roundtable represents successful people and companies, people who create wealth, people who are on the right side of history, who didn't fight for an authoritarian bland grey society of lies, unlike the Council of Trade Unions which has spent much of its history being led or driven by Marxists who warmed to the Soviet Union - the greatest evil empire in modern history.

The Business Roundtable represents much that New Zealand should aspire to -wealth creation, creativity, productiveness, innovation and NOT stealing other people's money. Selling goods and services to people who choose to buy them. It has put out many serious, credible policy proposals for government in recent years. It has never asked for privilege, subsidies, regulatory protection or YOUR money - so it doesn't fit with the Nanny State that Labour is selling to voters.

Even more evil is Labour pandering to the brainless proletarian slopeheads who think that private enterprise is somehow a great international conspiracy of moustached cigar smoking bankers out to oil the wheels of their business with the blood of workers. So National might privatise ACC (I thought it would only open it to competition - more outrage!), whoop de fucking do.

ACC is a state monopoly. It can be as inefficient as it wishes, provide shockingly poor service and you must pay it. You can't buy other insurance instead, you can't sue whatever retard's negligence caused you to be injured. ACC is fundamentally flawed and no other country has adopted this insane socialised insurance system as we have. It's main problems are:

1. It is a monopoly, so efficiency and service incentives are low. There is no way anyone else can compete with it, so if you are a low risk employer, motorist or individual, you don't pay less than a high risk one. Oh ACC classifies you into employment categories, but if you drive the recidivist drunk driving daily accident pays the same as the accident-free motorist. That is socialism, ironing out differences so everyone faces the same incentive - don't change your behaviour.

2. It only pays out well if you are employed in the best job in your life. The dentist injured who cannot be a dentist anymore gets 80% of a dentist's salary, the dental student gets 80% of the job at Burger King they have to pay their way through university - thanks Labour!

3. It pays out to everyone, including people who cause accidents. So that stupid fucker who crossed the middle of the road and paralysed you, also gets money for breaking his arm - thanks Labour!

4. It doesn't cost the people who cause accidents any extra, because ACC doesn't penalise bad risk takers. The bar which neglects to maintain a balcony and it falls down, faces none of the cost of compensating those hurt. The driving idiot doesn't pay the lifelong cost of paralysing the innocent victim. This is an excuse to have OSH, draconian regulations on safety for just about everything, as Nanny State bans people from being stupid or choosing to take risks. The insane laws on fencing swimming pools being a classic example.

5. You can't sue wrongdoers. Not only do ACC levies not increase for the negligent and reckless, but you can't get compensation from the fools who hurt you. The threat of being sued is a great incentive to behave well, but it doesn't exist in socialist NZ.

National will probably open ACC up to compensation, which might fix problems 1,2 and 4. If it was privatised then ACC might have to operate efficiently, and can't be bailed out by everyone else. It is a first step, but the right to sue should be reinstated. No fault compensation is socialist nonsense, and should be ended.

Wait for the next Labour evil... it is racist to treat everyone the same way under the law.

They are trotting out that tax cuts will require borrowing - no, they require you to spend less of the money of the people you have taken it from!

It is time to tell Nanny State to fuck off - and Labour, Anderton, Greens, United and NZ First are all flagrantly pushing for more of Nanny!

Libertyscott