Getting off your bums are developing a strategy to value add to our exports and training our kids in science and engineering, we need to brand ourselves so we can attract high spending tourists to spend more time here.

Kids don’t do science for the simple reason that it is a dumb career move for most.

I spent 10 years at university going from BSc to PhD (the PhD took a wee bit longer because I worked some of the time to stop debt getting out of hand). At a financial level, that was really dumb. If I’d left school, got a job in the bank or the like, settled on an ‘average salary’ and got into a real estate rather than a PhD I’d be far better off.

I’ve got a good salary now but by world standards, scientists in NZ don’t get paid a lot.

The real hurt comes from the tax & welfare system. Give up ten years of income and you will- despite a much higher salary- not be better off. The reality is that Cullen’s tax and WFF programmes mean I could take a pay-cut of about 50% and my household income would barely change. You can’t justify getting a science qualification in NZ when for most scientists, this will reduce their permanent-income. 5+ years of study at no income to be no better off- and probably worse off- than the leeches driving the property markets- has throttled the participation of young kiwis interest in science-education.

If you want to make science more attractive, then you can’t use the tax-and-welfare to punish those people who are trying to be innovative and productive, open new markets etc.

New Zealand will still fail to pay its way in the world (imports>exports, I’m including services dont quote the last 3 months physical trade stats at me); we will still become (relatively, if not absolutely) poorer. As the rest of the world, particularly Australia, recovers from recession these differences will become even more pronounced.

I get the real politik of managing a country for a re-election, but New Zealand actually needs leadership. Of course New Zealand in the main doesnt WANT leadership so I guess we get what we deserve.

He was always going to be like that. He is an abject failure, was always going to be. Conservative, Catholic, Treasury trained and a trough snuffler of old. No training in innovation, no idea of why and how people are energized.
Has shafted Keys ambitions and the rest of NZER’s as well.

Prediction;
Within 2 years the Australian economy will be running full steam ahead. Consequences for NZ. Lots more of us are going to leave for better climate, much better wages and much less tax. If you doubt me then get to reading the Aussie papers everyday instead of filing nonsense posts and do some thinking about what you read.
Same old same old.
No game breaking from the Nats as per usual.

OK, lets put this to the test. Labour said they would put us back in the top half of the OECD and we went backward. Once we generally agree that the global economic crisis is past the bottom lets see if after all OECD countries have been ranked (after hitting the ‘bottom’) we are in the top half, better or worse than we were in 2008, better or worse off then before we went backward under Cullen.

That will be the proof of the pudding for Cullen. Do you agree this is a fair test ?

When we extended them to people earning up to $120K a year.

so they should have broken the other promise?

Damn straight!! Reducing spending is always preferable. Why not just push the factory default reset button back to 1999 before Labour started fucking up the economy.

1) Cut spending. Labour shouts Key is Roger Douglas Mk II. Electorate (who are addicted to welfare) panics, kick out National. We get another 9 years of labour. Many of the changes National tried to make are reversed. Govt gets bigger.

2) Cut tax cuts. Upset people who have no choice but to vote right wing anyway. Welfare addicted centre vote retained. Key gets wins multiple elections and slowly weans electorate off welfare. We get 9+ years of National. Over that time Govt is put on a diet.

Which to choose….?

Labour’s entire 2008 election campaign was based on how you can’t trust John Key

On the election promise of tax cuts Labour has been proved right.

Today marks the first broken election promise from Labour-Lite.

my point was, we arent in the same situation that we were in 25 years ago. sure, some things are similar… but the world wasnt FUCKED 25 years ago like it is now.

as for social issues – i dont know if you honestly believe what you say. but id rather have some shit bags take advantage of our welfare system, than live in a country that lets people live in absolute poverty.

if i ever change.. put a fucking bullet in me.

The solutions that worked so well back then will work just as well today.

Oh, one more thing, do you REALLY want to get into a shit fight with me about social issues Dime?….really?