Opponents of even the partial sale of a few state assets wail about selling the family silver but as Owen Glenn says:
If selling the “family silver” produces gold, and a continuing return on investment, then it makes sound economic sense.
Quite why Labour thinks borrowing from foreign banks is better than paying 49% of the dividends to shareholders, most of whom will be New Zealanders and all of whom will pay tax on their earnings, defies logic.
For a sobering look at what happens when you continue borrowing to live beyond your means, check out this video of the real national debt .
Homepaddock 
“If selling the “family silver” produces gold..”
1. How much gold? A few specks?
2. Who’s selling the cutlery – the whole family, or just those who sit at the top table?
3. What do we eat our dinner with, once the cutlery’s sold – our fingers?
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The mistake you are making Robert Guyton is that the Government is not about making money – it is a necessary evil whose purpose should be solely restricted to letting people go about their lawful business without hindrance from barbarians and supporting the infrastructure surrounding this eg roads.
Unfortunately Government in the Western world has grown like a necrotic tumour and now thinks it is about telling people how to live their lives and squeezing ever more money from the peasantry in order to fund its depredations
Give it five years and I wouldn’t be surprised to find the taxpayers will be paying for TV ads on how to wipe our bums and reminders to wash our hands after going to the toilet – this will probably be funded by a new levy on sugar and products containing sugar which is bad for you doncha know – worse than you ever thought according to new junk science reports paid for by – you guessed it the tax payer.
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Government’s “purpose should be solely restricted to letting people go about their lawful business without hindrance from barbarians and supporting the infrastructure surrounding this eg television advertising to aid the identifycation of barbarians, what to do when you see one, who to call for help when confronted by a barbarian and companies that will insure you against barbarian attack. The role of Government is very simple Andrei.
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More to the point Andrei – the council upon which I sit has investments that produce significant returns that mean lower rates from the ratepayers. You wanna tell them that they need to take up the slack when we divest ourselves of our investments (as per your instruction)?
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Not PC has written a very thought provoking article “Are we really thinking about selling 49% of our SOEs to pay for 1 year’s worth of tax cuts?”
“…..the more capital that foreign owners invest (since there’s blessed little real capital around “our” way to do anything with), the more power there is for New Zealand producers to use to produce things.”
“Power companies, sir, are primarily there to generate power not to fund a dying welfare state. Or election bribes.”
“Now it might be objected however that any major improvements in power generation would only come about if we could harness the expertise of big overseas players. And we could only harness their full and undivided interest if they could buy more than the derisory 10% which our sad excuse for a Finance Minister will allow them to buy. Which is of course an argument not just for the pathetic partial privatisation proposed by this pussy, but for the fully-fledged full-blooded proper privatisation in which all the shares of all the government “assets” (sic) are allowed to find their way into the hands of those who value them the most.
But the Finance Minister is a moron too.”
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Had you stuck to the first half to three quarters of Not PC’s post, I’d have agree with you but he loses his way towards the end.
The last line is personal abuse and totally uncalled for. Whether or not you support Bill’s policies he’s a very intelligent man.
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Common sense often wins the day over intelligence.
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Bill’s got that in spades too Colin – it’s a potent combination.
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Ele, I am very surprised at how you have over- reacted to NotPC’s comment. This was not personal abuse.
Because the Minister is perceived to be an intelligent person, his ruling on ‘partial’ asset sales, to other intelligent people, does not make any sense at all.
What it shows is the Minister and this governments total lack of common sense.
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Calling someone a moron isn’t personal abuse?
Intelligent people understand that in politics it’s better to take the slow road forward in government than to speed back to opposition.
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“Intelligent people understand that in politics it’s better to take the slow road forward in government than to speed back to opposition.”
Does not make it morally right.
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Evans – I wonder if your question will be answered?
“I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.” –
— Martin Luther King Jr.
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Evans – is doing something that you know will enable others to do wrong morally right?
Sally – I agree with that quote. History is littered with examples of the dmaage done by people motivated by power for ppower’s sake rather than to make a positive difference. Fortunately that doesn’t apply to our current leadership.
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Redbaiter (along with many others) sums the current leadership up very well.
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