The Working Group 7.3% inflation special with Bernard Hickey, Thomas Coughlan & Damien Grant

1. Respect to both you and Seymour for doing a podcast together. Did it get heated? I swear I’ll listen to it one day…

2. Pssst! Someone tell Seymour capitalism (Chicago Ec.)died at the GFC and pseudo neoliberalism has eaten itself in the interim.

   There is no ‘Great Reset’ or NWO on the horizon. WWIII is it.
   History dictates this because the millennial world of governance, the national leaders do not and have not studied what happens when they pull the levers that they have. Theyre starting with a theory they’ve learned and are taking it for a spin to see what happens next.

   Issue 1: The economic ramifications

   Issue 2: The political ramifications

   Issue 3: The geopolitical ramifications

   and Issue 4: The Meta Capitalism ramifications

   We’re fuck’d on all counts.

3. Interest rates should be at least at 7% right now to curb this unfolding disaster. These central planners have absolutely no idea what they’re doing. This is “deer in the headlights” stuff. Sri Lanka should be taken as a dire warning as to what will happen here (yes here, in sleepy NZ) if this current absolutely useless government doesn’t start doing it’s fucking job of governing.

   • Why would we increase the rate of usury to try and ‘fix’ the problems it created?

     The problem is usury and usurers. The solution is simple.

     • Increasing interest rates will incentivise lenders to lend their money. This is important, because right now anyone that lends money out at 3% (or whatever) and gets paid back in a year’s time with money worth 7% less has rocks in their head. This shortfall in “capital” has, for the last 30 years or so, been stop-gapped by fractional reserve lending by the banks and rampant money printing via various government programs (e.g. QE and issuing treasuries with no intent to ever pay them back). i.e. the money supply has been increasing at a much faster rate than productivity hence the current inflation. If we do not get the money supply (both from the banks and government) under control, this inflation will continue unabated. Raising interest rates is the simplest way of doing that since it makes forces balancing of borrowing from all sectors of the economy back to a sustainable level (i.e. one that reflects productivity growth).

       • Fiddling with interest rates is just neoliberal cant. Government needs to take control for the people back from the money power. It’s just fine to choose losers and winners, and Australian banks and American insurance companies will be the first ‘loser’ targets for any true government of the people.

       • ‘ the money supply has been increasing at a much faster rate than productivity hence the current inflation’
         Nailed it!
         Seems to have escaped most economists as it unfolded.Simple really.

   • Nitrium seriously what do you want the government to do, tax cuts, free immigration, ban covid, singularly stop the war in ukraine, moan,moan moan but absolutely no fucking solutions.

     • Willis wants to reduce spending and hence inflation by cutting taxes. I thought they had dumped her as in the words of Nitrium as being completely useless.

       • If all of National are following the tax cut lead, then they’re all completely useless.

         • And it could be worse, 9% inflation in the U.K.

           I wonder whether Jacinda and Labour is to blame for that Bob, given they have a right wing government?.

   • Having visited Sri Lanka I can assure we are not even close. Ignoring that the RBNZ by law set the the interest rates not the elected government shows your complete ignorance.
     Prize for the worst government has a lot of contenders. Maybe Muldoon or Shipley who is the biggest criminal or maybe Key who let us up to this situation.

4. No quick fix for inflation? How about dropping GST back to its original 10% & replacing the tax shortfall with a PAYE/Company rate increase for the top 10% of earners. In this economic climate any in the top 10% are likely doing so by gouging the rest of NZ.

   • Might want to reduce that top ten to top 0.1

     Someone earning over $100K in NZ is in that bracket and they’re hurting like everyone else, maybe not as acutely but they are.

     The top 0.1 don’t give a shit as they’ve got accountants and don’t pay tax

5. Re Damien talking about the abolition of the min of Women’s Affairs……They are now the Ministry of anyone who identifies as a women, which makes it meaningless now. So no loss if it goes

6. 100% of economist don’t know how to calculate inflation but most importantly they don’t even understand that math of calculating growth.

   Reciting forecasted numbers like 7% or 10% or whatever is the same as stating that the temperature of planet earth is 10⁰.

   New Zealand does not have a constitution, it doesn’t have a national security frame work with our Pacific neighbours, doesn’t even have water security, no need to mention roads and housing and income and y’all are wondering why inflation is galloping around the world.

   This things, particularly for New Zealand is public housing, roads, sewage and other health infrastructure is not what’s called borrowing for consumption.

   Butressing a new National security frame work with national stocks of energy, minerals and chemicals essential to modern life is anti inflationary. Morons.

7. Howze ’bout behaving like the sovereign nation we think we are.
   You know, mature adults, able to determine and act in our peoples best interests, with whom ever we choose.
   No more dysfunctional lackey / thug marriage of convenience, just us, standing on our own, winging it as best we can.
   Bugger the crooks and their elitist con games, they’ve busted a gut to get this screwed up, let them take the fall for their shenanigans, for once.
   They deserve it.
   Just saying.

8. Impose a ‘Price’ freeze. Squeeze the margins and the price gouging out of the supply chain.

   Let that ole market forces ethos dictate who stays in and whose smart enough to get out.

   Then ‘reform’ those businesses who’ve remained and watch them grow, employ and then slowly remove the price freeze.

   Switch the internet off for shopping and get more people out into the real world, again!

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