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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (92968)	7/27/2012 12:54:33 PM
From: Maurice Winn	1 Recommendation Respond to of 217556

Cutting entitlement is quite doable, as demonstrated in New Zealand from 1984 through to "Time for a cup of tea" after the 1987 implosion. Not just hacking of entitlement but deregulation of ring-fencing, licensing, price-fixing, and sale of state ownership of businesses, foreign exchange controls and one thing and another. Still, today, people speak of that era and Roger Douglas [the main political ring-leader of the process] as though it was horrific and the tragedy of New Zealand. Yet none of those reforms have been reversed [that I can think of] though many other imposts and suffocatocracy have been laid on the population, such as the Resource Management Act and many other burdens. If somebody tried to reintroduce the controls, they would be hung drawn and quartered, yet people [most] still think it was a terrible time and terrible ideas. People in NZ can still take out as much money as they like [they were restricted to a government allowed amount for minor daily expenses], they can import cars [though there are now new restrictions on what they may import "for your own safety you know"], they can buy margarine without a doctor's prescription [though doctors do not now prescribe hydrogenated oils and trans fatty acids which are considered the opposite of health-giving. It was illegal to drive a truckload of goods more than 100 kilometres [to avoid competition with railways]. Maybe it was 100 miles [I forget and perhaps it was originally 80 miles]. It was illegal to charge more than 11% interest so of course banks would not lend [so I couldn't get a loan for a house without a corporate endorsement to the company's bank]. Prices were fixed. Unions were rampant. Devaluation was normal [10% and 15% at a time, overnight, by surprise]. But that was still at a time when unemployment and welfare had just increased from about 4000 people to 10,000 or something. Now, with half a million official bludgers of various types, there's a large political support for free-loading. Entitlements back in the day were for farmer subsidies, import licensing, licenses for all sorts of other things, and other protected businesses, not so much for welfare, though old people got a very good deal - retirement with good payments at age 60. With well over half the population now employed by the government, or directly paid by them through the welfare/pensions/benefits system, and swarms more working for the government as contractors, consultants or general hangers-on, it's unlikely that people will vote against their narrow financial interests. Young people are normally Big Government supporters and socialist in thinking [until they get a bit older and wise up]. So perhaps NZ has gone inside the Big Government event horizon and there's no way out as the tragedy of the commons destroys all. Maybe NZ will end up like a large Easter Island. Mqurice