New poll from 1News/Kantar

[kevlights]

And a PM denying there is any cost of living crisis and looking totally out of touch with middle NZ who are struggling.

Have to agree, but did it not sound eerily reminiscent of John Key claiming there was no housing crisis...

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Eye on the golf ball or the one revolving round the Sun? As I said - perspective.

We don't know how lucky we are, boys, we don't know how lucky...

[Magoo]

we dont know how propitious are the circumstances, Fredrick

---

i think i have perspective, insofar as none of this really effects me,
its other people i see struggling that bother me.
my luck is my own, for others it has not been so
you shouldnt have two working parents and still not make ends meet.
this reminds me of something. indentured servitude.

whether you are sat in a burned out bus shelter in Kiev
or a state house in otara, hungry is hungry.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

I agree completely. I also understand from my own experience how big an influence sheer luck or coincidence or accident has in our lives. Which is why celebrating our good fortune is always a good idea, because life is an interesting process and changes are always just hours away.

There but for the grace...

[Wainuiguy]

Have to agree, but did it not sound eerily reminiscent of John Key claiming there was no housing crisis...

Potentially but if it was crisis then it is an apocalypse now.

Ardern was caught badly by Luxons comments in a Cost of Living Crisis.  She couldn't admit it was or it makes the government look bad but then she went the other direction with denial which made her look out of step.  Luxon backed her nicely into the corner.

[king1]

Potentially but if it was crisis then it is an apocalypse now.

Ardern was caught badly by Luxons comments in a Cost of Living Crisis.  She couldn't admit it was or it makes the government look bad but then she went the other direction with denial which made her look out of step.  Luxon backed her nicely into the corner.

Well I can't disagree, it is never a good look when politicians deny the reality that people are living...  Let's hope she learns from this in the remaining time until the next election...

[ObeWan]

Potentially but if it was crisis then it is an apocalypse now.

Ardern was caught badly by Luxons comments in a Cost of Living Crisis.  She couldn't admit it was or it makes the government look bad but then she went the other direction with denial which made her look out of step.  Luxon backed her nicely into the corner.

Well I can't disagree, it is never a good look when politicians deny the reality that people are living...  Let's hope she learns from this in the remaining time until the next election...

There is a video of a recent interview of her by Ryan Bridge circulating on social media where he questions her about the cost of living but specifically the amount of tax the government takes from the price of a litre of petrol.
One question was: do you know how much the government takes in tax from a litre of fuel?
She didn’t.
It was not a great interview for her, full of stutters, stammers umms and aahhs and lots of denial and deflection and the usual blame Covid.
A Prime Minister who realises she is in trouble big time.

[Magoo]

77 cents a litre if anyones wondering.
i dont think the tax should be geared as a percentage of the cost.
the price of gas is too volatile, and the need too great
i think it should be a flat rate adjustable as needed.
40 cents a litre would be a start.

[king1]

The bigger picture though is if they don't get the revenue from the fuel tax, where does it come from? or more importantly, what services would have to be foregone... Running a country is a zero sum game...

[Magoo]

The bigger picture though is if they don't get the revenue from the fuel tax, where does it come from? or more importantly, what services would have to be foregone... Running a country is a zero sum game...

were budgets not based on the projected income at the time of budgeting?
the extra take is 'found' money, ex budget.

[ObeWan]

It is an excise tax.
The proceeds of taxes collected from fuel must only go to roading and transport infrastructure by law.

[king1]

The bigger picture though is if they don't get the revenue from the fuel tax, where does it come from? or more importantly, what services would have to be foregone... Running a country is a zero sum game...

were budgets not based on the projected income at the time of budgeting?
the extra take is 'found' money, ex budget.

same happens to the expense side as well though, unexpected or inflationary cost increases over and above the budget...

[Magoo]

were budgets not based on the projected income at the time of budgeting?
the extra take is 'found' money, ex budget.

same happens to the expense side as well though, unexpected or inflationary cost increases over and above the budget...

is that not budgeted for as well?
so that we dont have to rely on a 'potential' increase in the tax take to cover shortfalls?
the money still remains found?

---

makes me think of the california lottery
all its proceeds go to education. substantial proceeds.
this was supposed to be 'extra', something for schools to have for costs not covered by the fed's or state.
it was increasingly used for everything from wages to school buses, and in times of economic hardship (GFC)
the first thing to go is the disposable income that lottery tickets are.
the lottery take shrivelled and nearly bankrupted the school system.

happened during arnies watch i think.

---

It is an excise tax.
The proceeds of taxes collected from fuel must only go to roading and transport infrastructure by law.

must be a mountain of cash there
labour havent started any new roading projects, dragged their feet those already underway (transmission gully)
and shelved everything national had shovel ready.
where tis?

[Lilith7]

At last, something to make the right-whingers a bit less grumpy. They've been so utterly miserable for so long. 

People didn't want Covid. Labour protected them from getting it. Labour did well. Now there's Covid. Labour did bad. A story as old as time.

National 39 (+7)
Labour 37 (-3)
Green 9
Act 8 (-3)
Maori 2

Maori Party hold the balance of power. I'm sure that would turn out great for them for at least one term, and then turn toxic if history is any guide.

Lets not forget though, that polls can be dodgy things.

Its slightly disturbing to see the Nat leader being so 'caring' about those on low incomes all of a sudden, given their past history of completely ignoring those people for years & I have to wonder if some newer voters unaware of that may have taken him at his word. 

But then that's politics, & politicians aren't known for their honesty.

[Magoo]

At last, something to make the right-whingers a bit less grumpy. They've been so utterly miserable for so long. 

People didn't want Covid. Labour protected them from getting it. Labour did well. Now there's Covid. Labour did bad. A story as old as time.

National 39 (+7)
Labour 37 (-3)
Green 9
Act 8 (-3)
Maori 2

Maori Party hold the balance of power. I'm sure that would turn out great for them for at least one term, and then turn toxic if history is any guide.

Lets not forget though, that polls can be dodgy things.

Its slightly disturbing to see the Nat leader being so 'caring' about those on low incomes all of a sudden, given their past history of completely ignoring those people for years & I have to wonder if some newer voters unaware of that may have taken him at his word. 

But then that's politics, & politicians aren't known for their honesty.

and the public not known for their tolerance.
tis a tangled web we weave...

[Lilith7]

Lets not forget though, that polls can be dodgy things.

Its slightly disturbing to see the Nat leader being so 'caring' about those on low incomes all of a sudden, given their past history of completely ignoring those people for years & I have to wonder if some newer voters unaware of that may have taken him at his word. 

But then that's politics, & politicians aren't known for their honesty.

and the public not known for their tolerance.
tis a tangled web we weave...

Yep, although the public often puts up with something long past time.

[an amniote]

good governance involves forethought beyond the next election.
i see no evidence of this, all we do is react and respond, i see no proactive solutions at all.

When, in the last 30-40 years at least, was it never thus?

[Magoo]

yes good point
our forebears undertook civil construction, built some awesome public facilities.
as well as hospitals, transportation infrastructure, and cultural honorific artwork/statuary etc.
as a genx/boomer generation we havent done squat.
weve closed more hospitals than weve built, same with schools.

no pyramids us
no great cathedrals, no sir parthenon? nope
no trevi fountains or sistine chapels here
instead we embraced brutalist landscapes of boxes and straight lines
measured everything we did by how cheap we could make it
a throwaway society without the forethought nor self awareness to make any positive or paradigm shift in the human condition.

the culmination of 10 thousand years of collective knowledge and higher learning us.
5he most advanced civilisation in history us
turned out to be a bunch of self absorbed slackers who just argued and broke shit

a constant source of embarrassment to any creator id wager
not to mention the look of abject disappointment on buddahs face
weve outshone our ancestors in both hubris and indifferent neglect.

im glad i stayed out of it.
so much easier than trying to do it straight.