Utopia, you are standing in it!

Two  of  New Zealand’s principal economic    issues   are  its  low  productivity and  high effective   corporate  tax  rates.

So will the  Ardern  government  tackle  these   issues   in  Budget  2022?

Finance  Minister  Grant  Robertson  could   write  himself   into   NZ’s  economic  history  if  he  did  so.

Sadly,  Point of  Order  suspects  he  might  go  for  what are  quick-fixes  (if he  does  anything at all)  that  do  little  to  raise  investment levels  and  lift  productivity  to stop NZ  falling   further  behind other  advanced  economies..

The  OECD in  its annual  review   of the  NZ  economy attributed  the low productivity rate  to muted product market competition, weak international linkages and innovation, and skills and qualifications mismatches.  

Reputedly Unamendable Yet Frequently Amended

The Constitution of Canada has gained a reputation for having become unamendable and ossified since 1992 when Canadians rejected the proposed Charlottetown Accord in a country-wide referendum and brought the era mega-constitutional amendment to a grinding halt. This question consumed Canada from the early 1970s to the early 1990s and scared the generations that went through this trauma. They have ever since resigned themselves to accepting this constitutional paralysis and dare not break this uneasy truce. They often speak of amending the constitution as “Opening the Constitution” with audible capital letters yet in hushed tones, with the obvious allusion to opening Pandora’s Box and unleashing havoc hanging over any such reluctant conversation like the Sword of Damocles. This has become of the most toxic and bizarre taboo of Canadian political culture over the last thirty years, not least because it presents a false narrative which…

The wind industry’s efforts to destroy America’s rural communities have been brought to a shuddering halt. Across the States, well-organised pro-community and pro-reliable energy groups have won victory after victory, sending crony capitalists and subsidy-seeking carpetbaggers packing.

That hard-working farmers and rural folk would reject the pitch that 600-700 foot high wind turbines and endless seas of solar panels would soon bring peace and prosperity to their daily lives, is no surprise.

The American wind and solar industries have been completely wrongfooted and apparently have no idea what their next move should be.

Robert Bryce gives an update on the battle for America’s heartland.

Wind Projects Rejected In Nebraska And Ohio, Wind Rejections Across U.S. Now Total 328 Since 2015
Forbes
Robert Bryce
29 April 2022

The rejections of large-scale wind projects continue. On Tuesday, county commissioners in Otoe County, Nebraska voted to impose a one-year moratorium on applications for…

If  Dr Shane Reti happened to insist the world is not flat, would RNZ see much merit in reporting  he had come under fire from flat earthers?

We ask because a recent RNZ report was headed Shane Reti stands firm in face of criticism of Māori health comments

Oh dear.  What did he say?

The opening paragraphs inform us:

National’s Health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti is under fire for comments he made comparing Māori life expectancy to the 1840s.

It follows his appearance on The Hui where he said the life expectancy for Māori was 30 years in the 1840s but today it is around 73.4 years.

Was Reti really obliged to defend himself, saying he was trying to argue how the life span of Māori has increased over time?