iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 16/10/2026

Say what you like about the (former) McGillyCuddy Serious Party, but we owe them thanks and they've got the job done over the past 20 odd years: "Sending out intelligence agents around the world to wipe New Zealand off published maps, thus ensuring that no-one could invade the country" #nzpol

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 15/10/2026

For some reason I had it in my head Kevin Bacon had died. Glad to be proven wrong. No idea why I thought that.

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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854

Taxing Entrepreneurial Wealth: Evidence from
Norway, 2021-2025
Marius A. K. Ring
WORKING PAPER 35854|
DOl 10.3386/w35854
ISSUE DATE October 2026
Whether imposing higher taxes on business owners adversely affects business activity by constraining investment and inducing capitalist flight is a central question in the ongoing debate on how to tax the ultra wealthy. To shed new light, I exploit a series of related Norwegian reforms during 2021-2024 that increased dividend tax rates, removed migration-related capital gains tax loopholes, and nearly doubled the effective marginal tax rate on business wealth. These reforms spurred international debate and, allegedly, an "exodus" of Norwegian billionaires (Financial Times,
2023). While I document clear effects on migration, these responses are concentrated among the top 0.1% of the wealth distribution and mostly confined to 2022 and 2023. My results indicate that at most 100 individuals left due to the reforms. I find no evidence of significant outmigration or reduced inflows of startup founders or inventors. I estimate that absent any outmigration, wealth tax revenues would have increased by 75% from 2021 to 2024. Reform-driven outmigration lowers the revenue gain to 71.5%. My findings further show that outmigrating owners' firms remain economically active and do not reduce investment. In a broader set of analyses, I examine whether business outcomes are affected, regardless of whether owners outmigrate, since firms may reduce investment both due to liquidity constraints or distortions to owners' savings decisions. I compare firms owned by Norwegian individuals subject to the wealth tax with firms owned by foreigners and other tax-exempt entities. By merging historical ownership data from Orbis with the Norwegian shareholder register, I perform these analyses on both Norwegian and foreign-domiciled firms.
Across settings, I find no evidence that Norwegian-owned firms pay out more dividends or invest less after the reforms,…

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 15/10/2026

I grew up poor too. I had to work for any "luxury" in after school jobs and had to do menial work at school to pay for Bursary entrance. Luckily, and I mean that, luckily we never missed meals. So bleak.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 15/10/2026

Incidentally, and I'm not trying to lighten what the mafia has done in the past and the misery they've caused, but I was recently in Napoli and the mafia have gone out of crime and are now into property development, because, get this, it's easier money. They actually now step in to stop petty crime.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 15/10/2026

The obvious thing here is why are gangs growing so fast? What have you and your politician mates fucked up so badly that the only way out for some people is to join a gang? I see that as the issue here, not whether some MP or other has a chat to some. #nzpol

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 14/10/2026

I didn't watch the debate or know anything about the moderator other than I had to watch broadcast TV a little last week while on holiday and saw an ad. He looks like an AI generated human where the prompt is, create a creepy, slimy looking villain for a low budget cop show. #NZPOL

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 14/10/2026

Oil state FC vs Cheating Oil State FC. Does anyone outside their out fanbases give a shit any more?

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 12/10/2026

Fucking hate the state of the media. No kick back. Liverpool lost yesterday sure - but after a dodgy red card by the Manchester City fan / ref. Pundits carrying on like City - the cheats found guilty of the worst sportswashing in history are the victims. Insane and sickening. #LFC

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Andrew @openpolicy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This a great story about how a small action of solidarity by people thousands of miles way from where the horrible thing is happening can make a difference. And it's told really well. So anytime someone says your small action won't have an impact, show them this. #nzpol

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 21/09/2026

Someone make this into a billboard. #nzpol

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 16/09/2026

Winnie is a racist senile old fuck. Shane Jones will sell his children for money. That's established and unfortunate. The real danger in NZ is ACT. They are the evil ones. Kick them the fuck out NZ, so Seymour can inevitably end up being arrested for, well, you can work it out. #nzpol

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 15/09/2026

I've said it before but this is peak shit CEO behaviour. He is given the talking points and expects people to take it as fact. When pushed back, he just relies (or lies) on his talking point and has no critical thinking ability.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 14/09/2026

I'm in Italy for work. It takes a journey like this to realise how very fucking far away we are in NZ.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 14/09/2026

Read this thread. The biggest issue is there are no journalists any more, or the people that call themselves journalists are effectively just there for click optimisations and I'd bet almost none of them _actually_ understand any of this.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 10/09/2026

Pretty much the same for me. I actually was awake then but completely forgot it was on. I actually preferred to watch later cos could skip thru the boring bits.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 07/09/2026

As opposed to under the current Govt where people can't afford to go to the supermarket? Is that what shitstain brown means here? #nzpol

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 07/09/2026

Yeah I never call anyone except the Springboks or occasionally Proteas. I have quite a few ex-pat SAFA mates so it's a gentle, respectful rivalry for the most part.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 06/09/2026

Never knew how to spell it, don't even know what it means tbh, just used it from Radio Sport days back in the 90's

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 06/09/2026

While I'm in a pissy mood, it's about time refs started penalising the Yarpies front row for continuously boring in. Ox is at no point in ANY scrum square. He bores in and walks around too, but the boring is the bit that annoys me the most. Right in-front of the ref.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 06/09/2026

The worst part of this is this smug fuck trumpet doesn't believe any of this, I guarantee it. He'll say anything to try keep himself in power and it's just fucking sickening. #nzpol

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 04/09/2026

Out of all this, the thing that confuses me the most is the confederate flag. So, what, they side with racist losers? I guess that tracks with Henry visiting. #NZPOL

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 03/09/2026

Same goes for NFL and tackling. Take anyone with Rugby defence coaching skills (I'm available) and it would literally transform the game.

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Musical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I knew this would be bad, but it's awful. Malpractice even. I'll limit my criticism to 9 posts. The Herald have added together the gross debt of NZ public & private sectors and called this debt 'we collectively owe the world'. Pure unadulterated nonsense. Literally untrue. [🧵1/n]

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 31/08/2026

Hmmm, so what I'm inferring from this is, not eating chocolate is bad for the environment: "Some researchers have suggested that around 84 percent of the fat we lose is exhaled as carbon dioxide"

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Katya @nzkatya.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

A multi-millionaire on a $520k salary (plus perks) sanctimoniously telling parents on $67k that they have to financially support adult children who cannot find work, thanks to the youth unemployment crisis his government created - so infuriating. I couldn't hate him more #nzpol

rnz.co.nz

Watch: Christopher Luxon defends cuts to benefits for youth

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has defended tightening eligibility for jobseekers benefits for young people and encouraged them to do "whatever it takes" to get a job.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 31/08/2026

Not too bad in St Albans FYI

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 31/08/2026

Conflating school attendance with success is like Toyota being happy because its engine uses the most fuel. #npol

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 30/08/2026

MTB are only there to keep idiots off the road anyway mate.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 30/08/2026

Shit has someone made a time machine? This is 2022 Warriors right now.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 28/08/2026

How's that book of (wool) sheds coming on mate? I'd do it myself, but I don't have your talent.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 28/08/2026

We had this. It was called the pest board. They had pests under control in the 80's, then the farmers didn't want to subsidise it so it got scrapped, and here we are.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 28/08/2026

Are we sure Hipkins isn't a National plant at this point?

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 27/08/2026

Until something like Nepal, happens in the west nothing will change. People only care in a superficial way until it happens to them. Concrete eg: Jeremy Clarkson. 15 years ago he couldn't give a shit about farmers and climate, now he lives it he's the greatest farming advocate..... in the world.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 26/08/2026

It's not only maps we don't appear on:

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 25/08/2026

In a world of contemptuous arseholes, be a Dolly.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 25/08/2026

It's not until you realise that the people responsible for the nursing shortage and complete cluster fuck that is our health system, will never use our health system, it starts to make some kind of gallows humour sense. #NZPOL

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 24/08/2026

Hey here's a big fuck off to you National. I'm a responsible parent and I'll decide when my children can be on social media, not a bald fraud and the worst govt since the 80's.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 24/08/2026

"Chippy: because he's white and boring and will side with anything" #nzpol

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 24/08/2026

Make a band bigger: Crowded Mansion

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 22/08/2026

The AB's were epic. Took everything the 1 dimensional Boks could throw at them and just played better Rugby. Fitter, faster and played actual Rugby. There are a few things to sharpen up for sure, and one drink doesn't make a summer, but this is chalk and cheese compared to last year.

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 20/08/2026

I once worked under a CEO who would roll into the office around 10am, get the HR person (she was the only female in that part of the office) to print off all his email from the previous day, which he would then take away with him. Luxon feels very much like that kind of CEO/PM. #nzpol

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James Sugrue @kiwibastard.omg.nz · 19/08/2026

He was wearing shorts. That made him cool(er). I'll see myself out.

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