Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
05 May 2015 Leave a comment
in discrimination, election campaigns, gender Tags: British general election, Left-wing hypocrisy, sex discrimination, UK politics
Labour stays silent over gender segregation at party rally specc.ie/1QcJHJf via @spectator http://t.co/Qs2FZV9Z7e—
Steerpike (@MrSteerpike) May 03, 2015
Up to a thousand expected at the great Labour Rally tomorrow at 4.00 being organised by @ansar_ali_khan http://t.co/Paec01bT8c—
Jack Dromey (@JackDromeyMP) May 01, 2015
01 May 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, labour economics, poverty and inequality Tags: capitalism and freedom, Left-wing hypocrisy, mass kidnappings, Occupy Wall Street, The Great Enrichment, top 1%
Mass kidnappings is the only reason why the Occupy activists are not dancing seen in the streets to celebrate the steady fall of poverty in New Zealand over the last 20 years but for the hick-up of the GFC.
27 Apr 2015 1 Comment
in discrimination, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand Tags: activists, do gooders, gender wage gap, Left-wing hypocrisy, Leftover Left
With the rapid closure in the raw female male wage gap in New Zealand over the last 15 or so years, the lack of celebration of this achievement among equal pay activists is puzzling.
Source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand Social indicators, Median hourly earnings.
26 Apr 2015 Leave a comment
in labour economics, politics - USA, welfare reform Tags: food stamps, Gwyneth Paltrow, Left-wing hypocrisy, welfare state
26 Apr 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, environmental economics, health economics, law and economics Tags: Allergies, Anti-Science left, anti-vaccination movement, cranks, Left-wing hypocrisy, meddlesome preferences, quackery, Quacks
16 Apr 2015 Leave a comment
in environmental economics, health economics Tags: activists, GMOs, Left-wing hypocrisy, rational ignorance, rational irrationality
14 Apr 2015 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: animal liberation, Animal welfare, Left-wing hypocrisy, PETA
12 Apr 2015 Leave a comment
in income redistribution, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice Tags: expressive voting, food stamps, Left-wing hypocrisy, rational ignorance, rational irrationality, school breakfast programs, soup kitchens, welfare reform, welfare state
The welfare state has a long history of providing some of its support to the needy in kind rather than in cash. This can range from soup kitchens to public housing as well as food stamps.
In the USA, food stamps provide provide food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people living. Food stamps can only be exchanged for food.
Instead of requiring the poor and needy to attend a soup kitchen, they can be given vouchers to buy food at supermarkets and take it home and cook at themselves. These days some sort of debit card system can be used where purchases are restricted to food at supermarkets and other participating retailers.
A close parallel with food stamps, properly understood, is free school breakfast programs. The welfare state is providing in-kind support to hungry children. This is done at school, to ensure that the children eat the meals.
Rather than rely on their parents to spend their welfare benefits and income support on food for their children, the food is given directly to the children when they arrive at school in the morning. In New Zealand, these free school breakfast programs are restricted to schools in low income areas.
There is a Feed the Kids Bill in Parliament sponsored by the Green Party. I have frequently criticised this proposal as it doesn’t provide breakfast to needy children at the weekends and school holidays. They are left to go hungry. Abandoned by their so called social justice champions through lack of imagination and self-awareness.
If children are showing up at school without their breakfast on a regular basis, their parents should reported that the child protection authorities for intervention. This can start with budget advice and assistance with applying for any additional and emergency financial support they are eligible for from Work and Income New Zealand.
Soup kitchens not only provides people with food, it provides various other assistance to help people to get back on their feet.
If you were proposing a food stamps program in New Zealand because children are going hungry, you’ll be laughed at if you suggested it should only apply the part of the year such as during the school term.
That is precisely what the Greens are doing. The only difference is how they are organised the provision of in-kind support to children, this case, food. Instead of their parents collecting a debit card that can only be used to buy food, the food is eaten by their children at school.
01 Apr 2015 Leave a comment
in development economics, entrepreneurship, growth disasters, growth miracles, liberalism Tags: Africa, anticapitalist mentality, capitalism and freedom, do gooders, entrepreneurial alertness, foreign direct investment, Left-wing hypocrisy, ODA
Why aren’t overseas development activists dancing in the streets to celebrate this turnaround in the economic climate of Africa through capitalism and the freedom to invest. The only possible explanation is mass kidnappings.
27 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in laws of war, war and peace Tags: Amnesty International, Gaza Strip, Hamas, Israel, Left-wing hypocrisy, Middle Eastern politics, peace movements, war crimes
Publishing this report during the Gaza war rather than many months later might have left Amnesty International with the semblance of impartiality.
According to UN data, more than 4,800 rockets and 1,700 mortars were fired from Gaza towards Israel between 8 July and 26 August. Around 224 projectiles are believed to have struck Israeli residential areas.
It does not take months to work out that rockets and mortars fired at civilian areas with the deliberate intention of killing civilians and terrorising the Israeli population are in contravention of the international rules of war. The sound of air raid sirens and civilian casualties in Israel should have been sufficient evidence for an immediate report by Amnesty International last year.
The only explanation as to why peace activists aren’t out in the street today protesting against Hamas for these war crimes and calling for International Criminal Court indictments and citizen’s arrests is mass kidnappings. The only explanation as to why peace activists aren’t out in the street today protesting against Hamas for these war crimes and calling for International Criminal Court indictments and citizen’s arrests is mass kidnappings.
The only explanation as to why peace activists aren’t out in the street today protesting against Hamas for these war crimes and calling for International Criminal Court indictments and citizen’s arrests is mass kidnappings. The only explanation as to why peace activists aren’t out in the street today protesting against Hamas for these war crimes and calling for International Criminal Court indictments and citizen’s arrests is mass kidnappings.
There is no other charitable explanation as to why they are not on the streets today in solidarity, for example, with the above 2009 peace demonstration in London. The 2014 Gaza conflict left a total of at least 2,189 Palestinians dead, including more than 1,486 civilians, according to the UN. On the Israeli side, 67 soldiers were killed along with the six civilians.
26 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, income redistribution, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: Left-wing hypocrisy, New Zealand superannuation, old age pensions
Michael Littlewood from the Retirement Policy and Research Centre has a commentary on redesigning NZ Superannuation. He says (and I agree) that we should not just look at one issue in isolation or just the cost.
He highlights eight key design features that should be agreed on. They are:
- Universal or means-tested (I favour means-tested if the administrative costs of doing so are not prohibitive)
- Age of entitlement (I favour increasing it and tying it to life expectancy)
- Residency test – how long should someone live here to quality. The current threshold is ten years and I think it should be higher. It used to be 25 years.
- The level. Currently is 43% of the net average wage for a single person. Set at 66% of the after-tax national average wage for a couple.
- How to revalue? Is indexed to both CPI and the average wage.
- How to pay for it? Pay as you go and partially pre-funded. Should it be both? What should the mix be?
- Payments to single people? Why does a married couple get less than two singles living together?
- Overseas pensions? The rules for deducting overseas pensions are inconsistent
via Redesigning NZ Super | Kiwiblog.
I was walking back to the office with a mate who I will call the ecological socialist after a meeting with the government department responsible for income support to old age people in New Zealand.
We were both shaky our heads in utter disbelief. We couldn’t understand their idea of defending an old age pension that is free of any means test been paid to millionaires on the grounds of egalitarianism.
By coincidence, we are both Australians where the old age pension is means tested. We couldn’t understand in any way, shape or form the notion of paying old age pensions to rich people when that money could be used to increase the old age pension for those who we lived in ordinary circumstances all their lives and couldn’t save for their retirement.
26 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in labour economics, minimum wage, unions Tags: Left-wing hypocrisy, living wage
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