Good Government

It seems to me that we are forgetting what good government is all about. The role of Government is not to promote one sector of society over another but to work in the Public  Good! It cannot be defined by ideology but rather a rational process and clear common sense. 

To often we see the application of theory at the expense of rational thought. We see little regard for consequences and certainly if the probable consequences don’t suit the theory! 

We are seeing a “not my fault” and “protect me” mentality developing globally. This means we need to find someone to blame and are therefore exposed to those who prey on these thoughts and promote divisiveness. We keep promoting our way is best when clearly if we didn’t have different ways of seeing and doing things we would not have progress. We need to celebrate diversity and learn from the differences not dismiss them or ridicule them. 

Government needs to understand that following rigorous ideological programmes does no one any favours. To suggest that we are going to have a “Bonfire of Regulations” is dangerously daft! We need regulations but they need to make sense. They should add value and create frameworks not barriers, I agree, but to rubbish the notion of regulation is disingenuous . 

The advent of Corona Virus has highlighted the how different Governments have reacted. Some have said “we need to be ahead of the curve and put in place processes and procedures to cope” as well as they can. Others have said it is all rubbish it doesn’t suit our agenda or ideology therefore if we ignore it it will go away or it is “fake news”. 

At the heart of the issue is how does any Government frame its role? With out a focus on the good of the public and a pragmatic approach to problem solving and an understanding of consequences then we end up with bombast and manipulation to benefit the few at the expense of the many.  

USA and Canada

I think if the world was like New Zealand it wouldn’t be a bad place. It certainly wouldn’t be perfect but it would be reasonable. We are blessed, slightly isolated, quite new and a simple democratic governmental system. We have excellent resources and an ethic based on human decency.

Our colonial past may have something to do with it. A terrible system that left us little but a legacy of art and literature, a legislative framework and process that recognises the rights of all and promotes (but doesn’t necessarily succeed) fairness.

All in all though with all its faults it is not a bad place to live. 

Sitting here is we do, it is easy to be smug but it gives us the opportunity to compare. In 1776 the USA was born and a democratic experiment began. The colonial oppressor was overthrown and a new and noble nation was born. Next door Canada continued under the oppressive yoke of British colonialism. It is interesting now to compare the two neighbours and ask the question as an outsider where would I prefer to be living.

I have been to both countries but I can’t say that I have spent much time in either. Generalised impressions of both to me suggest Canada is comfortable in its own skin, at peace with its place in the world, polite caring people who have self depreciating sense of humour. The United States seem more concerned with how others see them, are over confident and perplexed why the rest of the world doesn’t appreciate them. 

Enter Donald Trump, a man who calls a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel but seems to lack the wherewithal to be able to tell the difference between the two. He will make America great again and I look forward to seeing it happen. It is a no lose statement, you can great at being good or you can be great at being useless or ordinary. You can be really great at being really, really annoying. 

Some of the decisions made of late seem designed to annoy everybody. Iran, Jerusalem and ramping up pharmacy costs. Just as well America is making friends with North Korea because they would be lonely otherwise.

Speaking of North Korea doesn’t seem odd that it didn’t have a change of heart and stance until after Kim went to China for the first time. I wonder if a little word wasn’t whispered into his shell like ear?

Getting back to Canada wouldn’t it be nicer to be respected and liked instead of being annoying and an object of derision! Maybe not!

The Road Toll

Every death on the road is a tragedy. At holiday times the focus on the road toll comes to the fore. We have done a marvellous job in keeping the toll down. It deserves a closer inspection.

New Zealand has one of the highest car to driver ratio in the world. We have a long narrow country which breeds long narrow roads.

I believe that our fleet increases at the rate of about 15% per annum which means it doubles about every 5 years.

It is a drum we continue to beat but we fail to report how successful we have been in reducing the chance of death on the road by driving.

It is easy to see why the Politicians and the public react in horror to the Road toll but the numbers reported don’t give the true picture. Below is a graph of Road deaths from 1936 to 2014 plotted against deaths per head of population and deaths against the number of vehicles on the road.

As the cars get faster and more numerous, logic suggests, driving should become more dangerous, it would appear otherwise.

We are faced with a new tax targeting road safety the question is whether increased funding will have any effect on the existing trend? Is there a point where further investment is a waste of money? I don’t know the answers but I suggest it is a better debate to have. Perhaps we could move the Police back to Policing?

A sour puss note to end even with the road safety tax and the regional petrol tax Aucklanders will be pay less per litre than Wellingtonians!

Cost v Investment

I have been listening to the debate over the cost of superannuation to the country and it has been lumped in with health and education as a cost to the tax payer!

It seems the accountants have taken over the world! We need to stop seeing these necessities as expenses but rather as a country’s investment in the future.

If we keep seeing them as expenses we lose the chance to assess them as investments. We need to start looking at them in terms of what they return to the country both economically and socially. It is a change of mind set when we look them as investments. I always want to increase my return on investments but I want to reduce expenses.

I analyse what I am getting back for my investment, it is about the future where are we going to, why are we doing it and where do we want to end up? Shouldn’t we be looking at our government provided services the same way? Shouldn’t we be measuring on a return on investment to society rather than a cost against the taxpayer? 

I think we need to rethink what we want out of our services and I think that those that govern need to better appreciate what we deserve from our Government services. Sometimes we need to invest more to get a better return. Sometimes we have to cut our losses and get out of projects. We need to ensure that what we are getting is right, proper and of value to our society.

A few thoughts on Donald Trump

A few thoughts on Donald Trump

Every day there is at least one news story on Donald Trump, most are negative. Apart from the obvious that he looks and acts like a prat is he also a self-fulfilling prophesy. He creates his own negative media and then complains about the media reporting on it. It is all so unfair says Mr Trump!

I suspect both sides are lazy. The media know that if they wait Trump will “put his foot in his mouth” and they can continue to show the world what a fool he is. Mr Trump gets frustrated that the media don’t show his successes and bursts into ill conceived comment.

From down here we don’t understand most of the policies that he espouses. They are so foreign to us. He wants to make America great again, we didn’t know that they weren’t great but now he has pointed out it is beginning to look more and more like a third world country masquerading as a first world company. I wonder if they now resemble what Rome became after the Roman Empire moved to Constantinople?  Living on passed glories?

Arming teachers seems so contrary to what education should be! This policy seems to be treating the symptoms rather than dealing to the disease. What creates the environment in America to cause these horrendous events and what enables them. Why do the American public allow it? 

I am also interested in the increase in protectionism, Steel and Aluminium are the latest. After watching the cultural invasion of Coca Cola and MacDonalds over the last few decades I do appreciate the double standard. It seems it is okay to sell product around the world but you can’t sell to me without penalty! The home of the free market seems to have put up its prices. It is these sort of actions that highlight the hypocrisy of the United States. You can’t be a thought leader when you are narrow minded!

It is easy to be critical from afar but sometimes afar gives you the best view.

Retirement and the Housing Market

My wife and I realized that the passage of time bought the prospect of retirement right into the cross hairs! About 15 years ago we got serious and set out some savings goals to give us a comfortable but modest lifestyle when retirement came.

A figure was identified as a goal to achieve that would give us an ongoing income on which to live. At that time interest rates were between eight and ten percent. No more, at 3% our expected income will be about a third of what we had planned for!

I learnt about the supply demand graph on day one of stage one economics! I know that the housing issue is based on too little supply and too much demand! Why is there too much demand because people like me now have to look at the housing market to get the type of return we planned for when we started saving for retirement. We can achieve seven to eight percent and a capital gain.

If we were serious about the housing problem we would address demand. We need to get the Cash rate back to seven percent so that there is an alternative to investing in property. Banks could offer decent rates on term deposits. Higher mortgage rates would also cut demand for houses. It solves two problems; one it gets the investor like me who really doesn’t want be there out of the market and two makes it difficult for those to leverage mortgages from their new found equity to play in the housing investment market.

I feel a bit conned I have been exhorted for years to save for my retirement and now the savings I have won’t earn enough interest to give me the life style I planned for.

The housing problem is a supply and demand problem but unless you address the drivers of demand then you may as well throw money at the wall for all the good it will do!

It can’t that hard surely?

The public good

I have been thinking long and hard about the meaning of Government. Regardless of our station in life if we earn, buy or both we pay tax. This is our contribution to the running of the country.

All tax is a payment made by the ordinary people and companies of New Zealand and goes into a pool to be managed by the public service that are in turn governed by the elected officials (the Government). The pool of tax money goes to providing the services required of a society but can’t be effectively provided by other means. It also goes to providing the necessary infrastructure required in a civilised society but can’t be provided by other means (dams, roads etc.).

When deciding how that money is spent consideration must be given to the public good and to the strategic requirements of the country. It gives a lot of latitude to all the parties involved but they must also be held accountable by the electorate, that is, not only the elected officials but also those employed, by those elected officials, to carry out the tasks assigned. This is the fundamental premise of democracy. The people hold the Government accountable for its actions. Therefore everyone is responsible for the actions of the Government.

It also means that the Government owns nothing they are the stewards of that which is owned by the people. We don’t sell Government Assets we sell the people’s assets. I wonder what the cost benefit analysis has been on sales to date?

I sometimes think that it is the public good component of government that receives the least consideration and I think it can be canted by philosophical belief. It is a simple process, is it good for the people and the country, if so then it is a public good. I wonder if we don’t get confused with what is a public cost. Is education a public cost or an investment in the future of the Country. Are the Police a cost or an investment in public order? Is health a cost or an investment in public well-being?

When we look at infrastructure we assess it on need but shouldn’t we look at what sort of potential can be released by that investment; can it be an enabler of economic activity?

These are heady conundrums for governments all over the world. I do believe that we need to understand and promote government that emphasises the Public Good and acts as good and able stewards of precious public funds. Governments must also hold accountable those that administer those funds on our behalf.

Easy!