Ram raiders by Susan Grimsdell
Auckland is enduring ram raids, where stolen cars are driven into the front of shops by kids, some as young as 7. This causes terrible damage to the shops, as well as terror to the shopkeepers. Let’s blame the parents There was a column in the media recently saying, “Where are the parents, what’s wrong with the parents?” Research into the circumstances of the offenders shows that they are usually school dropouts at the age of 11 or 12, with a family background of violence, drug abuse and gang life. Role models… Read More
Good luck or good management by Susan Grimsdell
I always find it strange that people who are incredibly lucky and end up with a disproportionate share of the nation’s total wealth, hardly ever attribute any part of their success to luck. In fact, if you tell successful people they have been lucky it makes them angry and defensive. They believe their success is entirely the result of their own talent and hard work. Luck breeds success However, there’s a body of research that shows the opposite, that there is a strict correlation between luck and success and in fact the… Read More
Taxing the super rich by Susan Grimsdell
NZ’s richest man, Graeme Hart, got headlines not long ago for donating fishing boats, tractors and a container of breakfast food to Tonga. Well, good on him, but where was the accompanying headline reporting that he is one of the super rich people who, thanks to a rigged economic system, grew his fortune by $3.4 billion during the Covid pandemic which has caused the worst recession since the 1930s. Avoidance of tax Recently, Hart lost a tax fight in Chile, a battle he had been fighting in the courts for 6 years. … Read More
You can bank on it! By Trevor Plumbly
Hard cash I wonder where the guy got his inspiration when he announced that ‘money was the root of all evil’? Maybe he’d been mugged or something. Lack of the stuff certainly clouded my childhood: having a few bob was the birth-right of the upper and middle classes, along with decent housing, education, clothing and food, whilst lack of it sentenced the rest of us poor sods to struggle. Growing up like that makes it hard not to be cynical about money; like religion and democracy it’s OK if it’s properly dealt… Read More
Beatniks, bombs and bollocks by Trevor Plumbly
Peace and love In the 60s, the British public weren’t ready for hippies. We had long hair, moustaches that struggled to impress and a creative scruffiness guaranteed to make mothers cringe. We were the new aliens; others tore themselves to pieces chasing the dictated norm, but we dwelt on a higher plane. We knew full well where the ills of the world lay, but didn’t achieve much in the way of curing them. We marched, of course, clutching signs saying, “Ban The Bomb!”, or the more creative, “Fighting For Peace Is Like… Read More
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