Last Updated: Nov 19th, 2009 - 11:07:39 Newsletters : 2008 Newsletters : 7 March 2008 Thought for the Day In 2002 a small group of us decided that the way Labour was driving the economy was a recipe for disaster. We were not economists but a long life in business had led us to the conclusion that governments should keep out of business and reduce the bureaucratic burden on individuals. Lots of legislation and regulation, we felt, was what had given us the disaster of 1984 when Muldoon's economic wizardry had stalled the country and Lange was faced with a tragic disaster. We weathered the storm and opened up the economy so that liberated people could "do for themselves" - and they did! We grew a nation of small businesses and managed to create over 400,000 of us. But now the burden of big government is crushing the economy. All those policy analysts having "latte" meetings around Wellington do not add to the wealth of the country. Rather they subtract wealth. Private industry creates the wealth - governments can only take it by force and spend it. Now we are in trouble. Inflation is booming along and the economy is quivering as people "follow the incentives" and adjust their circumstance to fit the maximum payout from the government. Welfare For Families provides the incentive for the middle class family with two kids to work three days a week for $40,000 instead of 5 days for $70,000. The extra time can be spent doing up the house for resale or renovating some flats. This is the logical thing to do. Evidence for this is given by the Inland Revenue Department which shows a large number of people earning $60,000 but a huge drop in numbers earning $61,000. Cullen's envious "tax the rich pricks" approach caused this. Now the chickens are coming home to roost and this year will be very sad for people in the lower half of the income spectrum. Forget the governments official CPI inflation figures. They don't show the real inflation that is affecting those on lower fixed incomes - like old age pensioners. How does our Labour government expect anyone to live for a week on $213.00? One filling at the dentist two weeks ago cost me $180! How will Labour solve our economic problem? They taxed us $14,000,000,000 and put it on the international stock markets. We have just lost $2,500,000,000 of it according to this morning's DominionPost. Global Warming ideology will cost us another $2,000,000,000 or so. Power bills, food bills and petrol are all sky-rocketing. Dr. Cullen will soon get his wish and the Kiwi dollar will plummet. Then we will really feel the pain. Mar 7, 2008, 11:05 Newsletters : 2008 Newsletters : 7 March 2008 When The Rock Began To Roll Bill Bonner has a happy knack of pointing out the basic principles of economics in delightful ways - every one a gem. Mar 4, 2008, 15:59 Newsletters : 2008 Newsletters : 7 March 2008 The Privatization of Public Services "In public administration, there is no connection between revenue and expenditure … there is no market price for achievements." Ludwig von Mises When governments expand the population gets poorer. This is the story of American cities. Some grow and have wealthier residents - others shrink and have poorer residents. This story shows how and why this happens. More examples of why we need small governments and local bodies leaving more initiative in the hands of private individuals. These studies tell us why New Zealanders are getting poorer and Australians are getting richer. Indianapolis can show us the way. [ Visit Website ] Mar 3, 2008, 17:28 Newsletters : 2008 Newsletters : 7 March 2008 Forget Global Warming: Welcome to The New Ice Age The current political leadership has little idea about how to improve our economic lot. They have only managed to lower us two more places down the OECD wealth per capita tables. Never mind - they can keep us bamboozled by spending a few more of our hard earned dollars stopping global warming. But, is it too late? Is global cooling already here? Will Helen and the Greenies cool the world too much and give us another Ice Age? Is carbon really to blame? For what??? Read on: [ Visit Website ] Mar 2, 2008, 11:57 Newsletters : 2008 Newsletters : 7 March 2008 U.S. Backs Plan For IMF To Sell Some Gold When times get tough we might end up selling the family silver to pay the grocery bill. When the IMF runs up an "overdraft" of $400m it sells the family gold. Times must be tough indeed. Feb 26, 2008, 10:48 Newsletters : 2008 Newsletters : 7 March 2008 Nanny State Has Gone Berserk! Nanny State Has Gone Berserk! Nanny tells us . . . We may not discipline our children We may not let them eat tasty food We must pay for hysterical advertising that treats adults like children We must not watch advertising that treats us like adults We may not drive fast cars in industrial areas at night We may not climb tall ladders We may not act in ways that Nanny deems "anti-social" We may not buy vitamins and minerals without a prescription from Nanny We may not drink alcohol in public places We may not smoke cigarettes at work or in the pub We may not smoke marijuana anywhere We may not ride a bicycle without a helmet We may not walk a poodle without a muzzle We may not buy fireworks that go ‘Bang!’ We may not put up bright billboards or sandwich boards around our cities We may not cut down trees on our own property We may not repair our own property if Nanny says we can't We may not plant trees on our own property without Nanny’s approval of the type of tree We may not paint our houses in colours of which Nanny disapproves We may not build houses at all where Nanny says we can’t We may not advertise for young female employees We may not open for business on days Nanny specifies If we do open for business, we must act as Nanny's unpaid tax collectors We may not fire staff who steal from us We may not fire staff, whatever their employment contract says We must surrender our children to Nanny’s factory schools We must pay for teachers that can’t teach and for centres of education that aren’t We must believe that Alan Bollard knows what he’s doing We must believe that our money is not our own We must not call bureaucrats “ar**holes” We must not offend people paid to boss us around with our money We must answer stupid questions when Nanny asks us We may not spend our own money in ways of which Nanny disapproves We may not defend ourselves against people who try to kill us We must pretend that snails are more important than we are We must pretend that murderers are people too We must pretend that totalitarian Islamists do not want us dead, that Castro’s hospitals are not abattoirs, and that Che Guevara was a humanitarian We must apologise to tribalists for things we didn’t do We must not offend criminals because of things they did do We must suck up to conservationists for things we need to do We must apologise for success We must ignore failure We may not build new power stations that actually produce real power We must not offend Gaia by driving big cars and enjoying overseas holidays … unless we’re a cabinet minister We may not end our own lives when we choose We must pay for 'art' we don’t like and TV shows we don’t watch We must pay middle class families to become welfare beneficiaries We must pay no-hopers to breed Are we all going mad … ? Its time to throw Nanny from the train... Tell Nanny to “Go to hell!” And start living like a goddamned adult! Nov 23, 2007, 10:15