Cough-cough – dear Left wing think tanks, shouldn’t we be organising a pandemic virtual summit with the CTU??? 

ByMartyn Bradbury

Look, I appreciate everyone on the Left are busy, there’s a pandemic on.

However.

There’s a pandemic on.

There can be no normal until a vaccine is ready with 12-18months. We will be surviving, not thriving until then, and as such it’s a tad beholden on the Left to present a range of policy ideas that actually cope with the reality we are about to collectively face.

I get the Left hasn’t had an actual public academic economist since Bruce Jesson, but we’ve had 34 years of the neoliberal experiment, surely someone has had a think and decided it’s all madness?

Labour are too frightened to wake the free market sleeping dogs, the destruction of the party after Rogernomics means Labour are too scared to debate actual reform, so the Left wing Think Tanks need to do it.

To date the response has been the CTU setting up a phone line to dob in bad bosses…

…

…

…I mean great, b-u-t crisis of capitalism occurring, maybe we could push for something a tad more worthy of this historic moment.

I mean, the IMF are predicting the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Shouldn’t we be organising a pandemic virtual summit with the CTU???

The Death Cult Capitalists are in full voice – where is the Left?

Shouldn’t all the bright lights remaining in the Left Wing Think Tanks be brought together to thrash out a platform of ideas for the next survival phase?

Look, I’ll even draw up an agenda so you can’t fuck it up.

Agenda: NZ economy until a vaccine is ready
Mass State Housing Rebuild – The only way to force slumlord landlords to upgrade their slums is remove the desperation of the market. 30 000 new state houses would do that and create mass jobs while upgrading the entire housing stock.

Mass mixed forest replanting – we need this for climate change and mixed tree planting would create huge new jobs.

Ministry of Works – It’s time to stop managing and actually doing, recreate the Ministry of Works and put them to work building state houses and planting trees.

Nationalise Fletchers – This will be the bones of the new Ministry of Works.

Universal Union Membership – There has NEVER been a stronger case for Universal Union Membership, it has been the unions protecting essential workers, the unions arguing for their safety, the unions who have stepped in when bosses have ignored their obligations. Until a vaccine is available ALL workers should be members of Unions to ensure their rights are protected.

UBI – For the self employed a UBI will be the difference between surviving and not. We should have one until a vaccine is available. Labour looked at this during their ‘Future of Work’ conference before they got elected.

Extension of Benefits – Stop the toxic culture in WINZ, immediate reform so that those needing welfare can gain it immediately and lift the benefits minus the draconian punitive stuff until a vaccine is found.

Community Resilience & Whanau Ora – Vast increase of budget to community groups to directly build sustainability into their communities.

Taxation –

  • Financial transaction tax
  • Wealth tax
  • Multinational tax
  • Inheritance tax
  • Capital Gains Tax

Bruce Jesson would be rolling in his grave at the lack of imagination and ideas being espoused by the Left right now. There has never been a better time to challenge the fraudulent foundations of neoliberalism, we’ve had 34 years to prepare ideologically for this moment, where is everyone?

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21 Comments

  1. Well said Martyn and I hope they take heed with your wise words of wake-up.

    It seems like the CTU are tone deaf on the wrongs that the Rogrernomics experiment has made of destuction of our country.

    Best they wake up now before they push the “normal” button again and put us back into the deep dark place we have been since 1980’s again.

  4. Present !

    Yes,… all of the above and there will be more to come. I am reminded of Kinleith state forest which was sold off during the economic and social dismantling era of Douglas/ Richardson. That massive man made forest which supplied so much timber and was built on the backs of workers was flicked off to foreigners , like so many utility’s. So yes tree planting programs with a view to domestic and overseas use, locked into legislation that it can never be sold off by any govt.

    And yes, a new Ministry of Works to coordinate large /small scale national projects, – housing being a prime example.

    Look, the truth is we are going to have to go back a time when these things were the common political census, – way before Douglas and his destructive neo liberal free market ideology. Milton Freidman is the last 35 years flavour. That’s out and the new flavour is more aligned with the Keynesian approach of Michael Joseph Savage, – and all other govts including National up until 1984.

    And if we DONT do something similar, it wont be long before the effects of economic breakdown starts influencing the starving poor. And that’s going to get ugly.

    Free market neo liberalism has had its day and is now fast becoming a liability risk. I can only see a regulated, mixed market approach as being viable along with a BIG government to enable it.

    What Labour does until the next election ,… will make or break them, and because National have no answers either,…there is a very real risk that this country will enter a very serious situation ,- and it wont be from a virus either,… it will come from the very electorate themselves.

  5. Wise words of advice
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7MFJ4EFezQ&feature=youtu.be

    We are fragmented as a community and how we pull together depends on you and your acknowledgement of what is fundamentally wrong.

    Then you can begin the conversation without further dividing by getting lost in detail.
    We are controlled and breaking that leash is your first task before you can be effective.

  6. Worth trying Martyn, but the CTU still holds “Tripartism” most dear–which since the 1991 Employment Contracts Act, and 35 years of neo liberalism, has really shown its worth! i.e. None. Tripartism as an ideology as expressed in say the PSA’s “Partnership” is really class collaborationist in essence.

    The CTU is fine monitoring the dispersal of millions of taxpayer bucks to largely National voters in self employment, contracting and SMES. Really, they need to be playing an active role in organising working class people to demand a set of immediate demands such as Martyn’s, backed up by civil disobedience and strike action (still possible under distancing with some creative thought).

    –Emergency Basic Income (BI) to everyone with an IRD no. to circumvent WINZ
    –Power Generation and Supply restored to full public ownership
    etc. etc.

    1. Emergency Basic Income (BI) to everyone with an IRD no.

      Disagree. It should still have an income cap.

      (A UBI can be tailor made to any particular situation, state, region or nation – THo that have been trialled have all had their differences/ variations, and some at least have had the income cut-off points.)

      1. > Disagree. It should still have an income cap.

        Universalism is an essential part of the basic income pitch, for reasons of both fairness and simplicity of administration. As Susan St John has pointed out, receiving the basic income could be conditional on opting into a progressive tax system, so that only those who really need a public subsidy actually receive more than they pay. After seeing other small business people lose everything they’ve worked for in this pandemic, many of them might opt to pay more tax while they’re doing well, so they are covered if another unpredictable event comes along.

        1. Don’t make me embarrass you again. No one opts to pay more tax. We move to protect the most vulnerable. The closer to full employment, the less the government spends, the more sustained the tax cuts can be.

          UBI is protection money. People get angry when they’re left behind and smash stuff.

          After 2 years of this coalition government the most savage amounts of unemployment has griped the economy.

          With less than a year on the clock this government must embark of the most comprehensive jobs programs this nation has every seen with the growth to match.

          The results of those 2 years in government makes moving the economy towards full employment achievable. They’re an achievement many commentators said was not achievable and a UBI is just another example of commentators proclaiming what is or isn’t achievable.

  7. The future is a UI for those under 25 (C$180) – not in full-time work or full-time study (SA nad living costs to the JSB rate $250). This they can use to intern and do apprenticeships and also “self-employment” (casual/gig/part-time while they sort out what they want to do – develop their self reliant entrepreneurialship).

    We should move to that now, so they can avoid WINZ.

    And yes we could pay the UI to those who have been self-employed in recent years, for the duration of this downturn as well.

    With benefits.

    1. End repayment of grants out of benefits – save that for when they get a job (as per TD repayment income levels).
    2. Pay those with disability the super rate if alone and allow them individual adult rate JSB if they reside with a working partner.
    3. Move to individual entitlement and pay a UI to non working partners caring for children (under ***) or those with disability or doing important voluntary work. A work test (part-time and full-time as per the DPB) for those caring for older children. This is a two income economy now and those who are down to one job will need this to pay the rent or mortgage.
    4. Move to allow earning one days income before abatement ($160 at $20 an hour) the single and 1 1/2 days for the person with dependents ($240).

  8. From reading the postings of the union wonks here about, it’s evident they are globalists allowing membership from, and profiting from mass immigration themselves and lobbying for it.
    Hence it would not be in their own interest to act in the interests of kiwi workers.
    Such is the madness of NZ 2020

    1. Too true.
      They’re all self serving bastards.
      Why anyone would push for more of the same is beyond me.

  9. Some form of UBI is in our future whether we approve of it or not.
    What is up for discussion is the form it will take, its reason for being, and who it will serve.

    If the present government, in conjunction with the wider Left, pass up the opportunity to design it, if they fail to take this up and at least prepare the way, clarify the aims etc, then the Nats/ right wing will bring in a far more miserable, mean-spirited version when they are next in power.

  10. Such conference can be a good idea if it also assures participation and contribution from non-government associated groups.

    Very much worth a try.

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