1995

Seeking the Middle Price
NZ is developing a world wide reputation for low inflation, but at home we are fraught over just what measure of inflation we should keep low. The flip side of this question is what unexpected inflation bites, or price shocks, should we put up with? The Reserve Bank’s Act requires it to maintain price stability and does not provide for exceptions. In practice the Bank and the finance ...
4 December 1995 - money markets / policy - Phillip Wrigley

Getting the Donkey in Front of the Carrot
Animals can be enticed to perform by rewarding them for desired behavior. Humans are a little more sophisticated, but possibly only in the complexity of the schemesdevised to deliver the reward....
22 November 1995 - labour market / jobs - Andrew Gawith

Not Working With Labour
A classic example of Labour’s current policy impotence is their industrial relations policy, titled “Working Together With Labour”. The essence of Labour’s JR system is a move towards collective employment agreements in lieu of individual contracts, requiring abolition of the ECA. This would be achieved through a larger role for unions in the course of wage bargaining. Labour’s policy ...
15 November 1995 - labour market / jobs - Michael Jansen

Baby-Boomer Conspiracy - The True Story
Baby Boomers, that generational cohort spawned in a frenzy of begetting after WWII, have stealthily foisted an insidious generational imperialism upon New Zealand society. Having commandeered the reigns of political power in 1984, portentously the year of Orwell’s totalitarian nightmare fable, the most pampered generation in NZ’ s history have set about dumping on the cohorts strewn ...
8 November 1995 - retirement / super - John Carran

Working the Percentages
Statistics are the measure of all things economic. The pulse of the economy is not measured in beats per minute, but in percent per month, per quarter or per year. All those hundredths are compared with all the other hundredths looking for turning points, inflexion points or any point at all. An apc is the most familiar reading of all, the percentage change from the equivalent period in the ...
8 November 1995 - other - Phillip Wrigley

Compulsion Revulsion
Calls for introduction of compulsory superannuation persist despite the lack of any evidence that such schemes lift savings rates or will provide the magic remedy for an apparently imminent funding crisis for State-provided pensions. The folly of State-administered compulsory schemes can be seen as no less than that of an unsustainable pay-as-you-go arrangement. In NZ we’ve already diluted ...
18 October 1995 - retirement / super - Gareth Morgan

ACT IV: The Final of a Political Tragedy
So to summarising the policy offering from ACT. The party has produced a policy mix itclaims will deliver major improvements in economic performance. The claims though are justnot substantiated. Hyperbole is the emphasis, and paternalistic arrogance the tone of theirpublished prescription. In terms of economic efficiency, the likely outcome of their socialpolicies would most improbably be ...
11 October 1995 - politics - Gareth Morgan

ACT III - Health Policy
ACT’s health policy essentially is to replace the current RHA as purchaser system, with compulsory private insurance, funded directly by consumers via monies currently ~ expended on health suppliers 4~ taxation. Health insurance for those without sufficient income to pay for it themselves will be funded by the taxpayer. The policy case then rests on the insurers purchasing health care ...
4 October 1995 - health - Gareth Morgan

ACT II - The Superannuation Policy
ACT’s superannuation policy intends that an amount equal to 700 of a person’s income be diverted from their current tax bill and directed to a personally owned pension fund until such time as they’ve accumulated capital of $155,000 for when they’re 65. In assessing this compulsory scheme its necessity and efficacy need to be tested. While their education and health policies contain a ...
27 September 1995 - retirement / super - Gareth Morgan

ACT's Education Policy
From my reading of their documentation, ACT’s education policy is more resources by cuffing out the middleman. The claim is that by switching to direct funding of the schools by parents and abandoning the current approach of the government collecting tax and then spending Vote Education on the education authorities and schools, that money available for spending directly on educating children ...
20 September 1995 - education - Gareth Morgan

The Pain of Progress
The plight of some farmers is as bad today as it was in the mid 1980s when Roger Douglas re-wrote the economic rule-book. Blame is being heaped on the exchange rate, which, as Dr Brash is quick to point out, is now virtually at the same level as it was in March 1985 on a trade weighted basis. Interest rates are lower, but so also is inflation. The ports have been reformed, land transport has ...
6 September 1995 - money markets / policy - Gareth Morgan

Judge Not, Lest Ye be Judged
The independence and integrity of our judges lies at the heart of the constitution and is a bulwark of the rule of law and the rights of citizens. Nevertheless we cannot afford to place the judges on too high a pedestal. As with other institutions, the judiciary must justify its privileges by showing that it has the ability to adapt and renew itself to meet changing societal needs. There ...
30 August 1995 - law, order, & crime - Gareth Morgan

The Superannuation Surcharge - Time to Go
The super surtax, long the subject of aged concern, has recently been in the limelight again as the politicians debate whether to jettison it, modify it, or leave it alone before the 1996 election. The first of those alternatives would be best, The greatest misnomer about National Super is that it’s a universal pension available to all. Since it’s a tax funded scheme there are few grounds ...
23 August 1995 - retirement / super - Gareth Morgan