Zelotypia – morbid jealousy; abnormal or excessive zeal.
Thursday’s quiz
31/03/20111. Who said “Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor.”
2. It’s débauché in French, libertino in Spanish, and disoluto dissoluto in Italian (I couldn’t find it in Maori), what is it in English?
3. When was daylight saving introduced permanently to New Zealand?
4. On which station was the merino wether Shrek found and who owns it?
5. what does the culinary term au gratin mean?
What does your tax buy?
31/03/2011Ever wondered exactly where the tax taken from your hard earned income goes?
You can find out here.
The biggest proportion goes to the Ministry of Social Development (about 27% if my calculations are correct). Health, Education, Inland Revenue, Treasury, Transport, Defence Force, Labour, Police and Corrections get the next biggest cuts. After that its spent on Economic Development, Justice, Building & Housing, Foreign Affairs and Trade, then Research, Science and Development.
Then the money goes to Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, Conservation, Internal Affairs, Defence (not sure why the Ministry of Defence is different from the Defence Force), Culture and Heritage, States Services Commission, Justice, Te Puni Kokiri, Land Information NZ, Customs, Parliamentary Services, Statistics, Fisheries, Food Safety Authority, National Library, Crown Law and Government Security Communications Bureau.
After that the money goes to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Education Review Office, Archives New Zealand, Parliamentary Counsel Office, Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Ombudsmen, Serious Fraud Office, Pacific Island Affairs, Women’s Affairs and the last few cents go to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Calculations are based on the 2010 Budget and there have already been changes, for instance Archives and the Parliamentary Library have been combined and a Primary Industry Ministry is being formed from Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
If you earn $20,000 it calculates you pay $2,520 in total of which $681.13 goes on welfare and 10 cents contributes to the environment commissioner.
If you earn $50,000 you contribute $8,020 to the public coffers, $2,167.73 to the social development ministry and 32 cents to the commissioner.
Those on $100,000 pay $23,920. MSD takes $6,65.34 and the commissioner gets 96.
If you’re earning $500,000 you pay $155, 120 in tax contributing $42,143.62 to the MSD and $6.24 to the Environment Commissioner.
Hat Tip: Credo Quia Absurdum Est.
Commerce Commission looking at investigating dairy prices
31/03/2011The Commerce Commission is doing preliminary work to determine if a price control enquiry into the retail price of milk is warranted.
A number of parties have laid specific complaints with the Commission about the retail price of milk and are calling for the Commission to hold a price control inquiry. . .
“A price control inquiry is undertaken in order to ascertain whether to recommend price regulation of a good or service. Goods or services may only be regulated under the Commerce Act if there is little or no competition, and if the benefits of regulation materially outweigh the costs of regulation. We do not undertake such inquiries lightly,” said Dr Mark Berry, Chair of the Commerce Commission.
There are potentially three market levels involved in the production of milk: the supply of raw milk to milk product processors, the manufacture and supply of milk products, and the retailing of milk products.
“The Commission intends to review the operation of each of these levels and consider whether it should hold a price control inquiry,” said Dr Berry.
The Dairy Industry Restructuring Act aims to ensure that independent processors are able to obtain raw milk from Fonterra at the price which Fonterra pays to its own farmer suppliers. This legislation plays an important role in ensuring contestability in dairy markets. The existence of that legislation would be an important consideration in any decision to commence a price control inquiry. Also important would be whether the increased prices reflect increases in the international price of milk products rather than a lack of competition in New Zealand.
In deciding whether a price control inquiry is warranted the Commission would also need to consider the level of competition between the two major town milk processors and the two major supermarket chains. The Commerce Act requires that there be little or no competition between these parties before regulation can be imposed. Such an inquiry would also need to address the likelihood of potential new competition.
It’s only a week since the Commission said it wouldn’t be looking into the price of milk but the change of mind isn’t a bad thing.
It isn’t launching an investigation, merely doing preliminary work to see if there should be an inquiry.
Dairy products, or alternatives, are important in balanced diets, especially for children, and the Commission’s findings will determine if there should be an inquiry.
Dairy prices are largely influenced by the international market. Higher prices mean we’re getting more for exports which is good for the economy though not so good for people shopping on tight budgets.
Federated Farmers research shows farmers get between 15 and 35% of the retail price of milk which doesn’t look like creaming it to me.
Meanwhile on the other side of the Tasman Coles and Woolworths are facing a Senate inquiry into the milk wars which started in January when Coles dropped its own-brand milk price to $1 a litre.
Hat Tip: Interest.co.nz