iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

It's fine they're making totally independent decisions that aren't biased at all by the received wisdom of their education and careers before they arrive at the RBNZ or the RBNZ as an institution. (All the sarcasm with this one)

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 3h

Labour added an employment mandate for the RBNZ while in govt last time which required the RBNZ to factor in keeping people employed when making OCR decisions IIRC. This govt removed it and Labour want to bring it back. Or pnvs doesn't go far enough though when the whole system is fucked.

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Ganesh Rajaram Ahirao @ganeshahirao.bsky.social · 4h

#nzpol And, us economists have special name for this "ideal level of unemployment". Am not kidding ... it is called the NAIRU. which stands for the Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment. And *really* scary is that it (continues to be) taught in ECON101 classes - and few question it😠.

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 4h

Where the primary factors or inflation all seem to be outside of our direct control

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 4h

As not an economist this fun system seems to rely entirely on inflation being driven by domestic factors while we've spent 80 years building an interconnected global economic system. Is there something I'm missing or it as ineffective as it's seemed at it's stated goal over the last 6 years?

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 4h

It's really fun when you find out the RBNZ has a target % for the ideal level of unemployment and it's definitely not 0%

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Musical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 4h

Sorry, I'll explain. We currently react to inflation by reducing the disposable income of spenders so that demand falls and unemployment goes up. We use a bufferstock of unemployed people to keep workers desperate, so wages are suppressed and we don't get a feedback loop (wage 🔄 prices) [🧵 1/n]

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 4h

The crypto stuff is another amazing example of how full of it they are. ACT won't shut up about boosting productivity but crypto is a totally unproductive asset with no inherent value or use. It's a total ponzi scheme so why would you incentivise it with tax changes if you're focused on productivity

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Musical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 9h

When you hear Luxon crowing about Treasury forecasts of adding 221,000 jobs over the next four years, know that (a) it's a pathetic level of ambition, and (b) it's highly unlikely to happen without significant changes in policy.

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 9h

Tbf they have been doing expectation setting for when policy wins can happen in 3 years and what will take longer for a couple of months now. Which is just sensible politics if they want to have staying power

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 11h

What's more valuable, a lone voice inside Labour or the Greens being in a better position to get concessions from Labour?

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Ah, that fun time of year where it's warm enough you need to open a window at night and now you can hear the drunks screaming abuse and slurs at people during the silence between songs

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Got to have 2 sides to have a civil war and there are fuck all of the apparently liberal Nats left in their caucus and if this election goes the way it's looking then 2 of the most prominent in Willis and Bishop will be gone.

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Would love to know how Treasury got to their forecast for fuel prices since even if the war actually ends tomorrow there's still a lot of damage to refining capacity and transport infrastructure which needs to be repaired

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Musical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I mean, it is not actually funny, but good grief. When you hear Lux-out talking about the 220,000 jobs on the way, getting the economy back on track, and the return to slurplus (whatever), remember that the numbers rest on assumptions that are frankly bollox.

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Musical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

If Govt reduces spending from 32% of GDP to 30% of GDP and the private sector doesn't grow, what happens to GDP? Anyone know?

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

If MPs voted individually for legislation we'd be having a different conversation but they don't in the majority of cases

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

As I said in another reply a token LW economic perspective in the Labour caucus vs better finding for JAG and the Greene for being an electorate MP imo is a clear choice imo

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I have thought about this a lot since he was announced

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

KAG being the electorate MP provides her and the Greens additional funding as part of that role. As much as I like Renney's perspective on economics it hard to see his presence in the Labour caucus making a difference to their centrist incrementalist tinkering at the edges approach

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

2 ticks Te Pati Pakeha Kidding obvs 😂

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Disabled Persons Assembly NZ @dpanz.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Access 2026 is the Electoral Commission’s services that are available to support Deaf and disabled people, tāngata Turi, tāngata whaikaha Māori, and their whānau, carers and communities to take part in the General Election. More here: elections.nz/about/about-...

elections.nz

https://elections.nz/about/about-the-electoral-commission/corporate-publications/access-2026-action-plan

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Even at 28-30% polling for Labor that's better than the 26.9% they got in 2023 so they'd need to win a bunch of electorates to get 0 list MPs and create an overhang themselves.

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Party vote: Greens, they're the only actually progressive choice. Electorate: JAG, I like Renney but can't think of any reason to go for him over her

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Tory Whanau @misswhanau.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Yeah, nah. Vote Green.

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I'm sure it's a total coincidence 😂😂

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

It's hard to see how they stick to their bottom lines while working with ACT and NZF, and if they don't then what's the point of them

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

@patbrittenden.bsky.social Arens Williams is the Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs which is why she's with Hipkins for all their announcements about regulating companies taking the piss which is a lot of what they're proposing to tackle the cost of living crisis

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

They were investigated for pressuring respondents to give certain answers and having leading questions so they left before there could be any kind of penalty that people could point to when talking about how obviously biased they are as a pollster

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Keith Ng @keithng.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Honestly, if you make a whole bunch of people unemployed via industrialisation in Vic3, it models the lost wages and demand side crash, which is more than you can say about "AI will make everyone unemployed so GDP will skyrocket" models

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The thing I keep coming back to is that what the marketing departments are selling and what the technology actually does are only vaguely related to each other and it keeps failing to deliver in the real world

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Especially when the former tends to favour deregulation of companies which is usually directly on opposition to the latter

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Nothing says outsider bringing change like 48 years in politics (mostly inside parliament), 4 stints in government under 3 National and 2 Labour PMs and 3 stints as Minister of Foreign Affairs

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Just don't ask about how service provision is going

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

So fucking tired of these cunts and their need to perform toughness by inflicting cruelty on vulnerable people

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Lew @lewsos.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Like clockwork, the govt that has done more to destroy employment than any other in decades is trying to get re-elected by blaming people for being unemployed. No solutions, only punishment. Pure cynicism. www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361...

stuff.co.nz

What about drug testing at Parliament? Luxon is ‘quite open’ to it

Follow the election campaign live.

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

They don't care if you're dead or homeless or not as long as they can cut spending on beneficiaries which is worse because beneficiaries stop being people and just become numbers on a spreadsheet to make smaller

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

It's entirely performative toughness designed to appeal to the worst instincts of their voting base They're such cunts

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CEO Johnny Cans @oldmatecans.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

*airhorns* the rare Chris Luxon handing it to him has occurred

Luxon promises no changes on abortion, conversion therapy laws

Responding to Peters' comments on abortion, Christopher Luxon said the laws were settled and he would not be changing them.

"I said in 2023 I would not be changing them as prime minister, and I've met that commitment, and I'll continue to meet that commitment," he said.

"There will be no changes under me as prime minister."

Luxon also shot down Peters' hopes for reversing the conversion therapy ban: "No, we're not overturning that at all. That's not changing whatsoever."

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Just a coincidence that NZF put Alfred Ngaio at #5 on their list and now Winston Peters is pandering to the conservative Christian cranks on the same day #nzpol www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

nzherald.co.nz

Peters keen to revisit conversion-practices law, likens abortion to murder

The NZ First leader aired his views but stopped short of announcing new policy.

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Winston has never met a culture war, conspiracy theory or form of bigotry that he won't embrace for votes

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GreenLeft Network 🍉 @nzgreenleft.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

All it takes is a search on any given internet search engine... "Xero controversies" "Rocket Lab controversies" and inappropriate behaviour with former staffers, and launching spy satellites to aid with America's military-industrial complex... are not "moral rules" to be worried about. #nzpol

From: https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/09/27/politics-live-national-and-labour-to-launch-election-campaigns-today/

"Oct 07 • 06:13pm
'I'd like to see more billionaires': Seymour wades into debate row

ACT leader David Seymour says he wants to see more billionaires in New Zealand, after the issue was raised in last night's leaders debate.

"It's morally acceptable to be a billionaire if you have not broken any rules and you have voluntarily exchanged value for value with the other people that you're doing business with," Seymour told media.

He pointed to companies like Xero and Rocket Lab.

"If people value it so much they want to pay that person a billion dollars over time, then what moral rule has been broken?" he said.

Seymour said creating businesses was the only way to generate the wealth needed to fund the promises other parties were making to voters.

He criticised the Greens' policy to tax the "super rich", saying it sent the message that people's problems were caused by someone else's success."

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Simeon Brown was really trying to sell it this morning in-between getting calmly steamrolled by Kieran McAnulty

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Winston has never met a culture war, conspiracy theory or form of bigotry that he won't embrace for votes

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The conservative Christian cranks are pretty well served by this National caucus. Feels like trying to peel votes from National and the sub 5% parties like the definitely not Destiny Church party

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Just a coincidence that NZF put Alfred Ngaio at #5 on their list and now Winston Peters is pandering to the conservative Christian cranks on the same day #nzpol www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

nzherald.co.nz

Peters keen to revisit conversion-practices law, likens abortion to murder

The NZ First leader aired his views but stopped short of announcing new policy.

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

You don't put Alfred Ngaio at #5 on your list if you're not going to try peeling the ultra conservative Christian cranks away from National and the sub 5% parties

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James W @jamesw228.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Foster being in a marginal position and Ron Marks being basically guaranteed to not get in is pretty funny considering everyone they parachuted in ahead of them

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