iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Interested in expanding on your take? 9 year veteran of a big Danish bank hit by a huge scandal (after i left) here, and felt like Danish Exceptionalism means the guardrails largely consist of 'can't happen here, we don't do that sort of thing'. See also: the Tax Rebate Scandal

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Any economists thinking the NZ economy is at risk from excessive demand needs to, crazy idea I know, look at some data or maybe go for a walk

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Agreed, along with the dumping migrants in Rwanda madness, feels like Colonialism making a comeback in some quarters

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Horrific, but bigger than the history of eugenics?

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

"I think it is important, because it is the truth, to clarify a few things before talking about Denmark. Firstly, the concept of Hygge is an important driver of Denmark's xenophobia problem"

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Evergreen: "It’s wild how a left-wing government has to completely eliminate poverty, solve climate change, and usher in utopia in 6 months to be considered a 'success,' but a right-wing government just has to avoid accidentally setting the parliament building on fire."

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Listen dirtbag, I have proof you were at an Anerley Hawks game in SE London at the time

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I don't know it for a fact, I just know it's true: the Treasury 'model' assumes money for The Poors evaporates, money for The Richwhites multiplies

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Amen Also, very symptomatic of our corporate culture that doesn't want to invest in the development of talent and building bench strength

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Openly and vociferously themselves. Which is exactly why it's fine if they leave (they will or won't invest in NZ purely based on expected profits, not on their domicile)

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Faraday bag but entire entertainment venues

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Dunno, Philly was the superstar (largest city, capital, home of independence), now happy to be a member of the squad but with a halo of historic significance

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Sense a correlation (not perfect) with voters per representative

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Peak CEO Brain: running stuff is hard so focus on the glossy stuff (Ad campaigns, Events, Sponsorship) and a Strategic Plan with targets beyond their tenure

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Hot Take: membership-elected leadership of the legislative wing of political parties is undemocratic

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The Dog That Caught The Car Government (2020-2023)

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I know I'm a dreamer, but can we go back to just funding Public Goods because they're good for the public

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Makes sense that ACT does the opposite of famously left-wing failed economy Singapore, who raised productivity by raising wages in the 70s

There were three complementary labor market policy initiatives. First, the NWC recommended wage increases in excess of past productivity growth, and the CPF employer contribution rate was raised in order to push up labor costs. The increase in the relative price of labor encouraged substitution of capital for labor and the phasing out of low-wage, labor-intensive activities. Second, steps were taken to improve labor skills. In addition to various adult education and worker training programs, the Skills Development Fund (SDF) was formed in 1979. Financed by a levy on employers, the SDF was designed to upgrade employees’ skills and expertise and to retrain retrenched employees by providing financial assistance for approved courses and on-the-job training. Third, the Government announced that unskilled foreign labor from nontraditional (that is, non-Malaysian) sources would be phased out by 1984. The intent was to limit the inflow of foreign workers into lower-paid, unskilled occupational categories.

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This! MP who would not be an MP if enough voters marked a different box is by definition elected (btw using a system chosen by a clear majority) Been hearing this crap for 3 decades (except curiously a spell when List MP Brash led National)

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

*disposable income growth

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

On a side note, the Denmark drop is even more dramatic considering the state of their economy (& NZ possibly more similar to Oz, adjusting for disposable income)

GDP growth (annual %) - New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Canada, Korea, Rep.
Denmark booming, NZ very sluggish

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Resource Extraction + Housing Speculation + Ticket Clipping NZ's 60 year love affair with the easy options

GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) - New Zealand, Denmark, Australia
1965 very similar. 2025 NZ way behind the others.

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Denmark cannot fail, it can only be failed by [insert scapegoats]

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Hopkins disparaged himself talking about "internal polling", he could have said "I'm not looking at polls, just focussed on free dental care for all [or] lowering the Super age to 60" - you know, winning votes with sensible policies

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

RMS Titanic's internal polling says that's not an iceberg

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Probably a coincidence, but that's the view of Iran if looking from Moscow

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

His Cold War callbacks only remind me that he started out a member of Muldoon's caucus. Muldoon did state intervention that make Mamdani look Libertarian

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I'm in a Greens heartland & they usually pop up in my local news feed for opposing things - e.g. apartments, stadiums, highways. Fairly or not, I suspect that undercuts their appeal to the "I'm angry as hell & want change" crowd

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The greatest 'success' of the neoliberal project is the Othering of Government for business & the wealthy. Tax is theft, govt spending is waste, rather than the obvious fact that Government provides rule of law, infrastructure, trained labour & the protection of the consumers they depend upon.

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

That's really abusing the word "worth"

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Since violent crime peaked in 1990, NY crime films are now: Wolf of Wall Street Margin Call The Big Short

Chart of collapsing NYC murder rate since 1990

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Over 600 served in these roles at huge risk through the war anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-mis...

anzacportal.dva.gov.au

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Fingers crossed, it's a no brainer.

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Economic illiteracy but I guess they think politically savvy But maybe, just maybe the electorate are ready an aggressive government investment program - r&d, infrastructure resilience, renewable energy

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Carl AF @carlos8.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Gerald Seymour's Jonas Merrick books?

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