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| Last Updated: Aug 15th, 2008 - 11:26:43 |
Newsletters
:
2006 Newsletters
:
10 March 2006
Thought for the Day
If we take a very long distance view of the New Zealand economy then we see that in 1900 we were the second wealthiest people in the world. After 50 years of hard work and despite two world wars we were still the third wealthiest nation in the world in 1950.
BEACAUSE of this wealth we were able to build the Welfare State and we lived in a society where the government ran everything. When I, as a student, needed to buy a book from Britain I was obliged to write to the Reserve Bank for the correct amount of English currency. There was a law on the books which restricted the length of telephone cords (from phone to the wall) to 3 feet (about one metre).
The government ruled over everything and we had lots of petty laws and regulations.
AND by 1973 we were the 17th wealthiest people in the world.
The welfare state trundled on and we continued to sink down the World Wide Wealth stakes. Despite the efforts of Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson which gave us greater growth in the nineties we still sank down to number 37 by 2000.
Then all the hard work started to pay off and the economic growth pushed us up to number 35 by 2004.
It is a pity that the Labour governments since 1999 have seen it as their major policy to pass legislation and regulations which are starting to strangle the economy again. A bit like the National governments of the late nineties it seems as if every regulation and new law has had the effect of slowing down the economy.
I have written to Michael Cullen and Helen Clark asking them to tell me of any law or regulation which would have a positive effect on economic growth and so far they have not been able to find one for me.
NOW we are down to number 38 and as far as I can see we are likely to continue this trend down.
The competition for this week is to guess what number we have to sink to, to be part of the third world. At what number does the first world stop? Will we continue sinking past number 50? When will we reach number 100? Argentina went from the top 10 in 1900 to around number 100 by 2000. What is to say we won't be the same?
These statistics are all available from www.nationmaster.com.
Mar 10, 2006, 15:27
Newsletters
:
2006 Newsletters
:
10 March 2006
Trade Me
As you will know by now, Trade Me has been sold for $700,000,000 and a few Kiwi entreprenuers are now very wealthy. Dr. Michael Cullen hails this as a great victory for his brand of government in this news release:
**********************************************
Trade Me deal - a vote of confidence in NZ
Fairfax's purchase of on-line auction house Trade Me represents 700 million votes of confidence in the New Zealand economy Finance Minister Dr Michael Cullen said today.
"The $700 million dollar deal is a timely reminder of the fundamental strength of the New Zealand economy.
"Here's proof that the outside world has a different view our economic health than some within this country.
"Forget the surveys, this is business confidence.
"Fairfax would not have made this investment if the medium to long-term growth prospects of the New Zealand economy were not excellent," the Finance Minister said.
"The blinkered doomsayers in the Opposition keep nagging us that Australia is so much better than our country. Well, here's crystal clear evidence that Australians still think New Zealand is a great place to do business with.
"I congratulate Sam Morgan on his success. He typifies the smart, tech-savvy Kiwi we need to help transform this economy. May he continue to inspire entrepreneurs across New Zealand," concluded Dr Cullen.
****************************************************
Is this the same Dr. Cullen who sent his Reserve Bank and Treasury officials to Japan to tell them what a lousy place New Zealand is to invest in?
It is a brilliant story of how this group of young Kiwis converted an idea (not even original - see "ebay") into wealth for themselves.
It is not so easy to see why Dr. Cullen makes so many bold statements about how good it is for our economy.
It is very likely that the newly rich will take their wealth and move to a tax haven. With this sort of money invested through Swiss bank accounts it would be very easy to become a citizen of Monaco and join various rock and sport stars in a tax free beautiful climate. Why would any of them want to live in New Zealand and pay 39% tax plus GST on their income?
Trade Me will now be just another successful Kiwi company owned and operated by foreigners taking profits off-shore.
Where is the incentive for Kiwi companies to grow into successful multi-national companies which operate around the world and bring their profits back to New Zealand?
Doesn't the current business climate provide major incentives for people to build a business and then sell out rather than keep it and build a national treasure like Nokia is to Finland or Nestle is to Switzerland?
Douglas Myers has some thoughts on this topic which are worth reading in the next article.
Mar 7, 2006, 06:42
Newsletters
:
2006 Newsletters
:
10 March 2006
Ten Years Adrift
From the NZCPD Guest Forum comes this opinion piece by Douglas Myers.
So here we are, as Douglas Myers tells us, ten years adrift and where are the life rafts?
Mar 5, 2006, 17:11
Newsletters
:
2006 Newsletters
:
10 March 2006
Into the Stagflationary Mire
And in case you didn't see it last Saturday here is what Gareth thinks is likely for New Zealand in the next few years. Not exciting and definitely no growth.
Mar 4, 2006, 14:00
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