Sacha

Two graphs that everyone should understand. 1. Our govt has more financial savings (assets) than debts. Govt Debt in NZ is irrelevant. In fact it's too low given state of our infra. 2. Private debt is however out of control - draining our economy and enriching wealthy folks.

There goes the Ak economy :)

Also I would once again like to call in "too rainy" for work.

regional bed taxes

market logic

The evidence base was interesting to engage with some time ago.

But people do not always like being asked every time. Getting the best overall result is tricky.

Discounted rate for sleeping in your car

I’m giving a workshop for printmakers next week in which I’ll explain why they shouldn’t be using Instagram as their portfolio site (a surprising number are). And have just now learned another reason to share with them!

Economists say employers are hesitant to hire new workers due to economic uncertainty.

Some companies are also replacing entry-level roles in areas like customer support and basic software development with AI.

The bosses all understood this is what voting for Trump was voting for. If youre a worker and you thought it was for cheaper groceries or lower rent or access to burrito taxis or whatever you got conned

The Spinoff article headline saying: "Ōtaki to Levin cost blowout shines a spotlight on NZ’s infrastructure woes" With an image of Kāpiti Expressway supplied by Waka Kotahi

An excerpt from The Spinoff article that platforms the *very rational* views of Richard Harman who equates evidence-based reporting policy making as "ideological considerations". --- The Green roadblock The problem with the bipartisan-infrastructure dream isn’t just opposing priorities, but also a deeper ideological divergence. As Richard Harman argues in the Herald (paywalled), any future Labour-led government is almost certain to include the Greens, a party that remains staunchly opposed to National’s Roads of National Significance, including O2NL. The Greens believe that funding should be redirected toward rail and existing road upgrades, not carbon-intensive new highways. A recent Labour-Greens minority report on another expressway project argued that “there is an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and New Zealand has a limited financial budget and a limited carbon budget”. According to Harman, this kind of objection “transcends the purely practical and economic and veers off into ideological considerations”, making lasting political consensus difficult to achieve. As long as infrastructure remains a proxy for deeper debates over climate, growth and spending priorities, bipartisan agreement may remain more aspiration than reality.

"Bipartisanship" is a lost cause when evidence-based policy making is viewed as "ideological considerations".

Is it really "ideological" to learn, and accept, that these stupid highways are bankrupting Aotearoa both economically and environmentally?

#nzpol #transport

Lack of judgement by managers and governors has underpinned NZ's low productivity, so this sure won't help.

Our government's hands-off AI 'strategy' does not help my confidence.

Kennedy Curse Sure Taking Its Sweet Time With RFK Jr.

Kennedy Curse Sure Taking Its Sweet Time With RFK Jr.

a photo of a a dark green 1999 bmw 3 series in the driveway of a suburban home in front of the garage. in the background, the neighbor's house is clearly on fire as there is smoke billowing from the door and windows.

so here i am getting high and typing "V12" in to the search bar of facebook marketplace, when what should I find but the most incredible car photo I have ever seen in a car for sale posting in my entire life:

Flat white at a window side table, looking out over a rainy wintery street

Last coffee from the local cafe manager. She's off to Australia, to join family who moved earlier and are successfully building lives there. Happy for her, sad for us.

The *Nats* were saying the same too.

I can clearly remember business people on LinkedIn demanding more and saying it wasn’t enough. This revisionist history is ridiculous

Treasury is chock full of neo-lib economists. Reporters like Giles Beckford did Econ101 taught by the same neo-lib profs that indoctrinated the economists, so just lap this stuff up & regurgitate it uncritically. They always run to Brad Olsen for comment, rather than Bernard Hickey or Craig Renney

RNZ reporter on Morning Report just now described the $66b spent during the pandemic as “eye watering, some 20% of GDP” - no it fucking wasn’t given NZ had quite simply one of the lowest debt to GDP ratios in the world at the time.

Stop this amateur BS.

Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.

Is it too much to ask that people in political adverts are real, what they represent is real and they are there willingly?

No stock photos , no AI?

If you cant find one Woman, one Nurse, one Teacher to support your views enough for a billboard perhaps your views are fucked?

#nzpol

It's just another app, so should be simple to turn off. The culture shift is another thing. Strong governance would be handy.

Is most of the grey bar growth from Rons?

My practice had us all reenrol recently. I had to print the forms out and hand in hard copy in order to put a bloody great cross through the AI consent section and say no AI use. They were not expecting that.

Genuinely informed consent remains a challenge for our health system. I'd love to see some AI development with that focus.

60% sought patient consent! I know what I’ll be asking my doctor next visit.

Just look at the cartoon. For the strong of stomach, hear the spittle (8m)

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