Last Updated: Feb 19th, 2012 - 13:48:57 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Thought for the Day I have always thought that science is very important in our life. Science enables technology to gain a foothold on new ideas and to develop useful and exciting things for us to use or just play with. Whole new industries with many new jobs of all descriptions just arise as a natural consequence of this process. I was most gratified to read this week that our government had canned the proposal to disband our expertise at Gracefield but had rather decided to continue and develop it. At the Science New Zealand website I found this statement: *** *** *** Welcome to Science New Zealand. It represents the eight Crown Research Institutes: the power of 4,400 people advancing ideas and delivering results for New Zealand through excellent science and technology. Last year, government, business, sectors and communities invested $690 million with the Crown Research Institutes. From environment to trade, agriculture to manufacturing, in niche technologies and with leading edge science, the Crown Research Institutes identify, respond to and solve science-based challenges affecting our lives today and tomorrow. Throughout New Zealand and across the globe, their ideas, insights and connections are shaping new thinking and practical action. *** *** *** *** So I would like to propose two things: One - That you visit the website below where I discuss the concept of truth which involves a scientific approach. Two - That you give consideration to the idea that Economics can be studied scientifically and thus allow us to arrive at TRUE Economic statements that relate to the REAL World. The reason for this is that I am continually coming across falsehoods in economics. Until we develop a little rigour in our approach to and our understanding of economic theory we will continue to be fooled by charlatans. Currently we all just seem to be learning the hard way. [ Visit Website ] Nov 4, 2011, 12:00 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Tribute to Roger Kerr I attended Roger's funeral yesterday. Old St. Pauls was full of family and friends from far and wide who came to pay tribute to a tireless worker for good in our community. Roger was the face of the New Zealand Business Roundtable and a good friend to the Foundation for Economic Growth. He helped us on many occasions with our promotions and was always a fund of sound advice and economic wisdom. He was unfailingly kind and courteous and always interested in what we were doing. He seemed to have his feet firmly planted in reality. This was interesting to me as I learned yesterday that he was a top maths scholar. A group not usually noted for their grasp of what prevails in the real world. He achieved much and has left a legacy for New Zealand to build on. Getting economics right is so important as it affects the well-being of us all but it is most difficult to make solid progress because of the current paper money problems besetting the world. Roger lit the torch of truth and we must continue to follow this light. Rest in peace. Nov 4, 2011, 13:37 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Visit our Facebook We are now accumulating a number of new friends so visit our Facebook and join in the fun. [ Visit Website ] Nov 4, 2011, 11:52 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 ACT's Twenty Point Plan Continuing on with our look at progress with ACT's 20 point plan we now come to: Point Number Nineteen - Strengthen Political Scene This raises a number of points: Improve Democracy By strengthening the Constitutional framework. I have not heard of any progress being made on this front. Adopt taxpayer Bill of Rights: Place a cap on government spending which will ensure that spending is kept below this point. This legislation is being advanced and it is being kept "equitable" to government by making allowance for price inflation. Not in place yet. Pass Regulatory Responsibility Act - to get checklist for good lawmaking. This will be very difficult to resolve as every politician has much incentive for total flexibility. Perhaps this proposal needs to incorporate a sunset clause for all legislation. This would mean that all legislation would come up for review periodically and would lapse unless voted to continue. This would make it easier to remove bad law from the books. Return to Privy Council. This would give us free access to the best judicial minds in the UK where our basic laws and institutions were formulated over many centuries. It would also help to ensure that we don't get "entrenched cronies" at the top of the justice system. This has not yet been achieved. Hold Referendum on MMP Voting System. Well, here it is. The question seem to be more restrictive rather than certain and open as it asks us to make up our mind about the alternatives before we have even decided to get rid of MMP. This is odd and is probably just the result of muddled thinking and argument as per usual. So have a good look at the alternatives before you go in to vote in three week's time! I expect this topic will get some heated debate soon. So mixed progress for number nineteen but any progress is better than continuing our slide down the slippery slope to abject poverty - which is the alternative. Nov 4, 2011, 11:27 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Political Paralysis Prevails in Italy We can learn a lot from Europe. What not to do! [ Visit Website ] Nov 4, 2011, 09:42 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Greek Vote Sets off 'Pandemonium', Engulfs Italy The only "solution" for Europe is the American "solution". Print up Trillions of Euros and lend them to the banks and member states. Unfortunately Germany has experienced this sort of "solution" in the 1920s when they suffered from too much paper money and went into hyper-inflation. I remember as a kid collecting German stamps which were worth zillions of marks but could be bought by the packet for a shilling. Germany won't allow the European Central Bank to print up the paper money. China, Russia and Japan are most unlikely to come to the rescue. So the EU twists in the wind. We will eventually come back to REAL Money http://www.economicgrowth.org.nz/artman/publish/real-money.shtml but it may take some time. In any case, life is going to get much harder on all - except for the top 1%. [ Visit Website ] Nov 4, 2011, 09:09 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Economic Freedom The Fraser Institute has now produced its latest study and comparison of economic freedom for all the countries of the world. New Zealand has done really well with an overall place of 3rd. The only point which drags us down is on the size of government which puts us at 68th. We were 86th and 96th at the time of Muldoon but after Roger Douglas and the Lange team we got all the way up to 20th in 1995. After Helen and Michael had finished with us we had unfortunately sunk back down to 76th. John Key and his team have a long way to go if we are to survive as a small independent country at the bottom of the Pacific. We are no longer wealthy enough to survive a big government. [ Visit Website ] Nov 3, 2011, 11:47 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Now is the hour for our leadership to arise Owen Glenn is one of New Zealand's successful entrepreneurs. Muriel Newman asked him to write his thoughts for her magazine and this link will take you there. The only thing holding New Zealand back and reducing our wealth is our attitude of mind. Tell the government to reduce in size and just leave the entrepreneurs to get on with it. Freedom for REAL Capitalism to operate produces the cornucopia we all wish for. [ Visit Website ] Nov 2, 2011, 11:00 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 China's Entrepreneurs Head for Exits As the great detective once said, "To solve the case, follow the money." [ Visit Website ] Nov 1, 2011, 15:48 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Latest EU Bailout Deal Not Meant to Work? The world's paper money schemes continue on to their inevitable conclusion. The only question we have is how this will affect us. Badly, by the look of things! [ Visit Website ] Nov 1, 2011, 10:09 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 The Size of Greece's Debt Just to get some perspective on the problem. Now think about the size of the debt of all the other countries. Now here's the question. To whom is all this debt owed. Merry Xmas. [ Visit Website ] Oct 31, 2011, 16:11 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Green Rubbish New Zealand is falling under the spell of the Watermelon Greens. (Green on the outside and red in the inside.) We waste more and more money on ideology and increase taxes on everybody more and more because of faulty science initiated by the Green politicians. Dr Kreig points out the huge costs and the failures of green ideology around the world. I am afraid we are in for more of this. Can we afford to pay for it? [ Visit Website ] Oct 31, 2011, 10:26 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Paper Currency Has Too Much Bull, Not Enough Bullion The Canadian main-stream press presents some useful information about the use of gold in retaining value in money. [ Visit Website ] Oct 30, 2011, 11:43 Newsletters : 2011 Newsletters : 4 November 2011 Quote for the Week Now we are just on a pure printing press standard. This will end, this is the end game for that...because in the end, the printing press is no panacea, otherwise Zimbabwe wouldn’t have collapsed. Bill Fleckenstein...01 November 2011 Oct 29, 2011, 09:55