IT PAINS ME to ignore the Prime Minister’s advice, but it’s time to kick some Labour Party butt. As the saying goes: “Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.” And, no, I’m not talking about putting another boot into the tragic posterior of the Minister of Health. My beef is with the junior officers of Labour’s army. These are the folk who should be the most aggressive in the fight for social justice. The ones willing to take the risks necessary for victory. The ones with their eyes firmly fixed on the democratic-socialist prize. Unfortunately – and frustratingly – this is not what we’ve got.
On display is the sort of military prowess that saw a gaggle of chinless, baggy-panted British toffs hand over Singapore to a near-exhausted, numerically inferior and utterly astonished Japanese army in February 1942. Rather than delighting Labour’s allies and supporters with bold and imaginative contributions to the debate on how best to wrestle down the looming Covid-19 recession, Labour’s junior officers are offering nothing but orthodoxy and caution. Even worse, they are expending what little energy they can summon-up on upending buckets of cold water on every radical idea that comes forward.
Why do they always do this? How did dreary pragmatism become Labour’s default-setting? A full explanation would require a book-length answer. Suffice to say that once a party embraces the fundamental tenets of neoliberalism, anything other than orthodox and cautious policy responses will be treated as the political equivalent of upending a can of petrol over your head and striking a match. To be considered a credible contender for bigger things (an electorate seat or a high position on the Party List) requires constant proof that one’s hands are nothing if not “safe”.
Hence the following snippy little comment from lawyer, Greg Presland (The Standard’s “Mickey Savage”) responding to my criticism of his casual dismissal of the suggestion that Kris Faafoi should’ve rescued the best of New Zealand’s magazines by accepting Bauer Media’s offer to sell its entire stable to the Crown for $1.00:
“Gee Chris. In the middle of a pandemic when the country’s collective health and economy are under major threat and possibly a third of businesses are going to the wall do you really think the Government should be sweating about saving the Listener?”
Yeah, Greg, I do. I really do. Because even Blind Freddie (and The Spinoff’s Duncan Grieve) can see that Bauer’s ruthless cutting of its losses is about to be replicated across the entire media industry, and that only the Crown has the resources (not to mention the responsibility) to keep our news media alive and kicking against the pricks. Unless, of course, Greg’s desired outcome is actually the more-or-less complete collapse of this country’s independent media – with an absolute state media monopoly the last man standing. That there is absolutely nothing “social” or “democratic” about such a “solution” should surprise no one.
And lest any reader feel tempted to nod in agreement with Greg’s heartfelt concern for “possibly a third of businesses” poised to go “to the wall”: please, just stop and think it through. Is he suggesting that while the Government cannot afford to “sweat” about saving this country’s magazine publishing industry, it can afford to – and fully intends to – save all the others? Can the nation’s small and medium-sized enterprises now breathe a huge sigh of relief, secure in the knowledge that the same ministers who refused to lift a finger to shore-up the foundations of our democracy will nevertheless work like Trojans to rescue their little businesses?
Isn’t it more likely that the only New Zealand businesses with any reasonable hope of being bailed-out by the Crown will be the ones which are, in that memorable phrase from the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09, “too big to fail”. Remember that Newsweek cover proclaiming “We are all socialists now”? Published the same week Barack Obama nationalised the auto industry.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Obama was right to take over General Motors. Nationalisation is what you do in a crisis – especially when the industry your saving is vital to the future of your country. And that’s the amazing thing, Greg. That you simply don’t get that. Still, don’t feel too bad, because no one in a position to make a difference in the Labour Party has had an intelligent thought about the New Zealand media since the government of Norman Kirk.
So, if the Government is not going to be in a position to rescue every small business in New Zealand, and if up to a third of those small businesses could “go to the wall”, in Greg’s none-too-felicitous phrase, then wouldn’t this be the very best time to introduce a Universal Basic Income? Especially when the ability of the MSD to process and monitor tens-of-thousands of additional beneficiaries promptly, efficiently and sympathetically is just a teeny bit questionable?
Nope. Wrong again. According to Andrew Little’s former Chief-of-Staff, Neale Jones:
“I cannot think of a worse time to implement a UBI than in the middle of this economic crisis. Some of us are doing fine. Others need unprecedented government support just to stay afloat. UBI would spread that support thinner, or quickly spend 10s of billions we may need later.”
Meaning Neale has no grasp at all of Keynesian economics. No understanding of the crucial importance of keeping up the level of aggregate demand. No historical grasp of the crucial role spending plays in lifting a nation out of an economic slump. Nor does he understand the practical and moral efficiency of universal, as opposed to means-tested, state support. The massively positive effect of telling every Kiwi: ‘You are important in your own right, not because you’re in need of charity but because you are a citizen of New Zealand.’ Everyone keeps telling us that “we’re all in this together” – a UBI would prove it.
But, no. Neale says that being in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis is actually the worst time to consider a payment to every citizen to keep them and the economy afloat. The worst time.
The problem is, Neale, there is never a best time for you guys. Never. You and Greg remind me of Saint Augustine who prayed to the Almighty: “Lord, give me chastity and self-control – but not yet.” In the case of you two junior Labour officers, however, the prayer is a little different:
“Lord, let the Labour Party give New Zealand democratic socialism – but not yet.”
Not yet.
Agree 100% Chris Trotter.
The money should have been distributed in a UBI to NZ citizens only. I have no idea why Labour and COL seem to think that money that NZer’s pay in taxes should be distributed at the rate of $12million plus to OZ Harvey Norman’s workforce and supermarkets and dubious Ponzi takeaway shops….https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/120861003/coronavirus-retail-giants-use-government-welfare-to-get-through-crisis if they are OZ workers (and lets face it they are not, as too expensive, big business in NZ want workers targeted from the third world for cheap labour that is NZ’s immigration base, as the Pacific Islanders and Maori that used to be NZ’s cheaper workforce, do not have the political donations and perceived passivity to poor conditions and wages, that the new recruits have).
NZ government and neolbierals are now propping up the third world with NZ welfare and spreading it too thin. All while preening how morally superior they are. Not really when you look at the statistic that show their efforts are making NZ 2nd class citizens in their own country.
On the topic of foreign welfare. You have to wonder why our officials give away NZ taxes to hundreds of thousands of migrant pensioners who can come into NZ get a free pension, gold card, winter payments without having contributed any taxes or even lived here for the majority of their lives?
According to COL, and wokies like Susan ST John in any articles I’ve seen from her, they seemingly lack any disagreement with migrants claiming NZ welfare like pensions without contribution the 1 million of taxes needed to fund it, and now Asian pensioners are tripling in NZ. I wonder why! All that generosity prised and regifted from the hands of NZ’s working poor by our government, also now being rerouted to foreign multinationals like Harvey Norman.
The pensioners coming into NZ getting a UBI pension on dubious criteria, don’t have Chief-of-Staff, Neale Jones or Greg Presland being concerned at all, unlike their defence against a UBI for all NZ citizens.
Meanwhile NZ citizen’s by birth and actually living in NZ for much of their lives, seem to get bare minimum of support, Northland residents don’t even have water now, due to poor management by councils and too much immigration and development there that does not match the natural resources and money available, hence water shortages).
Furthermore with so much money going out in odd places (aka migrant pensioners, Tarrant types) NZ beneficiaries live on a fraction of what the OZ government pays out to their beneficiaries.
OZ is able to pay more because they are careful who they allow to claim benefits there. No such luck in NZ.
Then we get to how the industries in NZ who are ‘networking’ with government always seem to get the big hand outs. Aka Air NZ.
Rob Fyfe, former Air NZ CEO who now is tasked with organising ventilators by industry is also begging for money inspite of seemingly zero experience in health care, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12317978
Meanwhile the new CEO of Air NZ, is a former Walmart president including Asia and China and has a son who is a league player, Yippee, NZ royalty!!!!! He even was born here before leaving and making real money overseas to avoid NZ’s low wages. Airline experience not necessary! Governments handouts arriving pronto!
Rio Tinto, who if they actually left NZ, it is estimated would make electricity prices drop for the majority of people and businesses in this country are also allowed to leave their hazardous waste around to boot. https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/southland/mataura-asks-govt-act
Don’t bother picking up your waste seems a familiar theme in NZ.
Iwi furious at company’s plan to leave oil production equipment on Taranaki sea floor
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/411463/iwi-furious-at-company-s-plan-to-leave-oil-production-equipment-on-taranaki-sea-floor?fbclid=IwAR157VNhFYRa80NJqQk6Pa720Zl8wobuI4__NbhgsKT4JliARo3iKT3TU94
Why have non means tested UBI when a person might get a few xtra $$$$ when NZ corporate shareholders are bleeding money with sunset and high risk industries that deserve NZ taxes more!!!!
Get more polluters into NZ and make sure the taxpayers pay for the clean ups of their waste!
aka Mobil did not have to pay for a $10 million cleanup of its heavily contaminated former oil storage site at Auckland’s tank farm in Wynyard Quarter. The global oil giant has succeeded in a Supreme Court challenge to the clean-up bill from Auckland Council-controlled Waterfront Auckland (now Panuku Development Auckland).
Funny why people don’t want to pay more tax, when this is what it is spent on!
Privatise the profits, socialise the losses!
I’m less inclined to be as media savvy as you Chris, but I can appreciate your views,… for as we all know ,.. the media shapes public opinion, and , as such wields a tremendous weight of political influence. Keep on at it, Chris,… you have to. As long as you can , you must.
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… ” The Crown has the resources (not to mention the responsibility) to keep our news media alive and kicking against the pricks ”…
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I am reminded of the ‘Man in Black’ himself, the wonderful Johnny Cash, and his song… ‘When the Man comes around’…
Johnny Cash-The_Man_Comes Around
https://youtu.be/k9IfHDi-2EA?t=4
I often liken you to Cash. Socially aware, a truth teller, and a speaker to power.
Wild Katipo, that’s the nicest compliment anybody commenting here at The Daily Blog has ever paid me. Thank you.
I am a huge fan of The Man in Black.
Calling the UBI a national dividend as Social Credit did (does) might carry the sense of sharing entitlement desired.
I think the system has to collapse before it can be reorganised as profoundly as is necessary. I think Winston is waiting for that to happen , and has been since choosing to go with labour after the last election.
I had misunderstood QE. Lots of commentators spoke of it saddling the public with debt to the measure of the QE money created, but at the same time it was described as being used for the purchase of existing bonds and securities already in the marketplace, and hence was injecting new money that was not anyone’s debt into the economy. But subtly the difference is that it has been mostly spent on newly issued bonds from the treasury issued purely for the purpose of QE. In this case it is coming into existence as a debt the government has incurred on our behalf with the sole purpose of bailing out the financial sector. Most UBI discussions outside of social creditors are talking about the same process for funding that. This will not fix the overall problem though it will help with the immediate difficulties of citizens and small business.
If QE had been issued without the device of issuing bonds to facilitate the extent of it. By simply writing up a credit in everyone’s bank account, then it would have been replacing money issued as debt into the economy with real positive money. But by tying it to a government bond issued solely for that purpose it adds to the overall indebtedness instead of alleviating it.
The world is saturated with debt that can’t be paid. the cure has been to dream up devices that can on one hand allow the debt to be serviceable by reducing interest rates to zero (for banks and finance houses) and by spreading it ever wider so it is shared by all. QE has been the means of moving a huge slice of it onto the public , now being done here. But all that does is to kick the can down the road, And a UBI funded the same way will do the same.
What the powers that be are doing is to balance the mountain of debt spread out evenly throughout all of society’s structures so that everything is perfectly saturated. The result will be that when the trigger occurs there will be no one and nothing left out. The collapse will be complete . Then we will have some politicians thinking laterally.
D J S
The usual areas will whinge the most about taxes and government in general espesially repurposing WINZ. Because there is no work and WINZ staff don’t want to move. Sometimes redundancies is a kind of kindness.
Simplified.
Robertson used QE which entails the NZRB creating money and supplying private banks. With this system the money gets tied up in the financial system and becomes a profit stream for bankers pushing up asset prices..
A better and simpler way of increasing money supply is for the RBNZ to create money and put it directly into a Govt account to be spent on whatever the govt needs. That money then circulates increasing money supply.
Effectively no debt is created
Yes a fine alternative.
If true, pretty disgusting but not surprising, Capitalism at work.
Coronavirus: China forces Italy to buy back PPE it had donated – top US official
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2020/04/coronavirus-china-forces-italy-to-buy-back-ppe-it-had-donated-top-us-official.html?fbclid=IwAR1UBP0i3F-VHL_zeYdEP3CQwDpOyWQ8aOjkVjyqoa75e3-_tdbBAZMPvT4
The day Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders pulled out of the US Presidential race is, ironically, within the same 24 hours CT writes this article.
The day for the revolution CT pines for will come – sooner for us than the US -but not just now, sadly.
A not entirely unrelated matter occurred to me today and recently. I see, in today’s news, AMI, the insurance company, has ‘generously’ offered its airtime and social media advertising space to families and groups to promote kindness in the community.
This, within a week or so of sending me my household insurance bill for the coming year which has increased by 30 percent over the previous year (I haven’t, for decades, made a claim against the policy). My contents policy also went up 10 percent. Similar large increases in premiums have occurred in recent years. They do NOT anywhere like equate to my meager income increases by any stretch of the imagination.
What a bloody rip-off. What hypocrisy!
If you have money to give away, AMI, reduce your premiums to your loyal, long-suffering customers!!
Come, the revolution!
@ Verity, Yes corporate elites seem to be advertising a storm encouraging kindness to corporates not actually practising kindness themselves! Supermarkets don’t seem to have any kindness in their prices either inspite of their advertising to make others kind, no sign of that themselves!!!
Kiwis needs a state owned insurance company like we had.
No shareholder profit built into premiums and provide competition for the cabal of offshore pirates.
You are not alone VV. Many can no longer afford insurance……………
Ada – You cannot know what the ‘voters’ want any more than Amy Brooke may think that she knows what ‘the silent majority’ wants, or how they feel – sic –
“…the silent majority, has long been used to refer to New Zealanders who are not highly vocal, nor stridently demanding – like our customary special interest groups, but who nevertheless, quiet New Zealanders, keep their eye on what is happening to the country. And their patience is running out, noting the continual handouts of hard-earned and undeserved millions of dollars to a noisy minority of part-Maori descent whom it pays financially to keep demanding more and more of taxpayers’ funding. Their appetites are apparently insatiable.”
You(pl) may both err.
You can really only know what you want – and even then, feelings tending to be subjective, you (pl) may possibly err about your own wants – but that’s okay, so long as you don’t project your wants onto others. And polls err too, did you know ? Their outcome can be tempered by how they are structured – and some people tell lies.
An adequate welfare system has not been a concern of neoliberalism. If this were so, then our welfare system in New Zealand would not have deteriorated into the bleak Dickensianism which it has under years of neoliberalism, nor our health system be barely adequate, and sometimes, exceedingly cruel.
If you think that you can justify neoliberalism by linking it with compassion and an adequate welfare system, then I think that the evidence suggests that you are wrong – which may – subconsciously – explain your little apology at the end.
Which brings me to my friend, St Augustine. His exhortation cited by Trotter is probably quoted out of its very tragic context even more than Sartre’s, “Hell is other people, ” and it does not do justice do a great philosopher.
However, I can say, that the hidden force that guided Augustine on his path was his love for the truth – and I wouldn’t even start to try and apply this to Neale Jones’s comment because I know little about economics, but I am very shocked if he is unaware that right now there are NZ’ers desperate about the future, knowing that their lives are forever changed, and that these may be decent hard-working people who deserve better than callous disregard.
A while back I discussed with someone, the appointment of a young woman with zero qualifications, to an important re-insurance position. I was told that they deliberately put young people into these jobs because the young usually see things in black and white and they can be more ruthless – a business expedient – than older people who see the shades of grey. Looks like that’s happening again, and it’s not good enough.
I rather view discussing Labour as akin to kicking a dead horse. It looks so much like National now its almost indistinguishable. Our politics look a lot like the US’s these days, two parties, much the same outcome. You only need to look at the rapid passage of the TPPA to see that.
If you want change we need new parties, its that simple.
Agree Sean K, I hope Mana resurrects. They enjoyed cross ethnicity support and actually had more party votes than ACT and the Maori party last time.
The Listener and Metro both great once, faded remnants now. Print standards have dropped too in many periodicals–text strike through apparent on light GSM matt or very lightly coated stock, muddy digital colour settings…have not bought one for a decade, so I don’t have the passion for the product Chris has. And face it–few if any of the Bauer stable had made a consistent transition to online publishing. I used to spend a lot of disposable income on magazines and books–and V8s and partying–the rest I just wasted!
anyway…there possibly was a case for a media bailout for the sake of preserving talent and skills for a new PBS or suchlike?
The Labour Party Caucus no longer has enough members who know what social democracy is, let alone support it, and totally don’t want to fight for it! Yet this is the perfect opportunity to return flogged off infrastructure to public ownership and other working class friendly angles.
Agree there should be an emergency BI–Basic Income credited to any individual with an IRD no. that applies for it, IRD have the details to just do it, bypassing punitive WINZ/MSD. MSD seems unable to overcome its denial and punishment model quickly enough to distribute urgent assistance even if it wanted to. Self employed, rural, contractors etc unaccustomed to applying for help will get a shock when they start telling WINZ staff about a partner, or a partner that is still working and…Stand downs…and owning a property oh boy are they in for a wake up.
Basic Income now!
@Tiger Mountain, The Listener and Metro both great once, faded remnants now….
Yes, but that might be also linked to overseas ownership pushing a neoliberal agenda.
If they become a NZ owned company or collective again and change their perspective to a local one, people might actually start reading it again, who quit years ago based on their u turn of editorial policy and lack of investigative journalism to mainstream froth.
Gossip travels faster than the truth, brother. All this speople you want to make redundant, don’t you think they’ll respond in kind?
Absolutely bang on Chris. For as long as the Neo-Liberal ideology was sweeping all before it, with its terrible consequences kept hidden by an acquiescent and complicit media, the Labour party’s chardonnay socialists could get away with paying lip service to the idea of Democratic Socialism, safe in the knowledge that their alleged convictions would never be tested. But now, with a global pandemic having exposed Capitalism’s essential lie, the opportunity to effect real change is suddenly there for the New Zealand Labour party, but don’t hold your breath.
The Bauer story (and its implication for AO/NZ) is not simply about the (print) media. It is a crosscutting matter that potentially links to many policy fields important for shaping the present and the future.
With the right strategic orientation the government (or other inspired groups and individuals) could practically demonstrate how to lead or implement successful transformational change.
Not just as lip-service but as tangible behavioral re-orientation toward a different set of socio-economic values.
Essentially, in a nutshell, in reality, eventually, this is how a green new deal would start. Not as big political proclamation but as well guided gradual replacement of neoliberal features.
At the end of the day it would not be about a bail-out of the Bauers or about constraints caused by Covid-19, but very much about recognition of political opportunity and creativity.
“Imagination!” Yes, Chris Trotter, the Labour Party could probably do better on this.
The weeklys will live on as archives Chris, you’re the news now
Nothing will change if anything neoliberalism will only get more ingrained into our society. And as for climate change action after this pandemic, good luck with that. The majority of the public and those in power wont want a bar of it. It will be all about getting people and business back up and running again.
Your comment is correct, sadly.
One might speculate
“Business NZ As Usual”
More of the same
Suicidal in a longer run.
Fair enough responding to the ‘critique’ @ Chris – but don’t keep it alive.
The Standard’s an interesting beast at the best of times (and I’m glad it’s there). In some ways though it’s just another feeding ground for people’s egos (as is this place sometimes), and you’ll probably never convince the likes of GP that there’s various alternative views other than what he (professing to represent the party line) is prepared to entertain.
I don’t know GP from a bar of lysol soap (thank Christ) but he reminds me somewhat of the legal profession’s equivalent of a Paul T. He’s probably got the cleanest ulcers in the land to go with it as well
Snow White and Wild Katipo please desist with the rudeness you make out like you know it all and no one else does that is really unhelpful.
Michal All you have to do is pick uot some of the things they say that you know are wrong and reply. That would be helpful for everyone. WK gets excited, in some ways it is a nice change to meet someone with passion for a good NZ for us all. Just hang in there and use this as a practice session because the heat will up this election year.
Steam heat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0szHqIXQ2R8
Jacinda and Labour are firmly locked into the systemic settings dominated by the neoliberal forces and by those that run the bureaucracy.
If they step out of line, they will be destroyed one way or another, they know this, same as Helen Clark knew the modus operandi by those who really hold power, hence they will do only what they can get away with, without upsetting the rich and powerful, and the lobbies that support them, down even to the petty bourgeoisie, always desperate to prove their worth, to cling to the lower rungs on the ladder.
So expect little, and it shows in how they treat beneficiaries, what they are really about.
The fingerprints of business NZ, offshore investment and bankers; are all over most govt decisions. It is seldom a matter of public debate as the discussion is behind closed doors.
A dirt file is assembled on most politicians to be used when needed.
MSM is tightly controlled including RNZ.
I think I’ve come up with a better way of not paying a (sort-of) UBI to the wealthy.
Means testing is rejected economically only if small amounts are being distributed over a large group – and these are not small amounts – because then it is practically inefficient. And the physical process of testing everyone manually is costly.
Means testing is also rejected morally because recipients can develop a sense of inferiority, pauperism, shame or stigma in the use of a publicly provided service, and attribution that one was being or becoming a ‘public burden’ because they have to apply and prove they have no or little wealth.
The latter argument is not valid in this situation because instead of asking beneficiaries to apply for a UBI, the governent can easily identify the wealthiest New Zealanders and just not pay them. And that is the major argument trotted out worldwide and I’ve never seen this response to the argument. It absolutely pisses me off that so many kiwis receiving a pension literally do not need it and think it is something they are owed, when that has never been the case. But we truck on with Muldoon’s gentleman’s agreement and the wealthiest among us get an extra $19500 each a year.
I owned part of a JV with Veda Advantage that identified the top 10% of New Zealanders by wealth using Baycorp credit data, vehicle rego data, NZX registry data and property ownership data to model investment behaviours and asset holdings. It wasn’t perfect – nothing ever would be – but it would be cheap as chips compared to analysing the whole population and an organisation like NZ Post’s data division would be able to lead it. We didn’t have access to the IRD or OIA for example. Other wealthy people would be asked to self-identify and the data could be run 6 monthly or annually in case a very wealthy person lost their savings. And people could appeal.
Speading money across people who don’t need it leaves less for those that really do and the UBI is a lazy idea that will see the poor most disadvantaged. And I’ve never seen anyone doing this instead – removing the stigma and avoiding paying a benefit to the rich. We could do the same with pensions.
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