Last week saw the Labour Party chief finger wagger Steve Maharey announce that he wasn't going to run for the 2008 Election but take up the offer by Massey University for the position of Vice Chancellor.
He was previously a student, then a lecturer at the University and after nearly 18 years in Parliament has never held a productive job in the private market sector in his life.
A perfect candidate for the Labour Party of course but both Labour and Massey University will be losers. Losers because Labour need an effective smarmy politico to push more nut case lefty social reforms and Massey are big losers because they are lumbered with a collectivist who will want to push the same sorts of "Labour Like" Socialist reforms on campus.
The only winners will be the New Zealand public who no longer have to put up with this control freak who was behind one of this countries biggest attacks on the family, the anti smacking law, that was passed earlier this year.
Say what?
From the department of silly walks and departmental office of equidistant paper clips comes news this week that Labour wants to outlaw working over 40 hours per week.
That is, not just lowering the working week and allowing workers overtime rates after that but making it illegal to work more than 40 hours!
State worshiper and freedom hater, Labour MP Darien Fenton says, "employees currently work too hard". She says the grind of long hours at the office is, "causing too much stress".
Surely individuals are big enough and ugly enough to decide whether they want to work or not eh Darien?
No, not Ms Fenton, a lifelong union "advocate" and succubus of the working man.
Quite apart from the stupidity of Fenton's idea, the chaos that it would cause employers , employees and the economy would be horrendous and would be vast and far reaching.
Employees would have to apply for state assistance to provide additional income and employers would have to find extra imaginary employees to fill the vacuum left.
It fits the Socialist argument that everyone should be equal though, and that of course extends to income, where Labour's bright idea for a 40 hr week would be yet another tool to achieve that end.
France tried the 35 hr week and it nearly sunk their economy. They are of course now trying to move away from that sort of nonsense.
Let them eat Cake
"A lie told often enough becomes truth" Lenin
Tax cuts are on the agenda again this week.
Yes Micheal "Fiscal Drag" Cullen has been making excuses again in Parliament as to why he wont give back the money he has stolen in high taxes to those that earned the money in the first place.
This quote may help out readers of this column:
"The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation" Lenin
Replace bourgeoisie with middle classes and you get what Cullen and Helen Clark are doing to New Zealand's new proletariat.
Nanny State worshiper Helen Clark is also a disciple of Lenin and seems intent on grinding the masses to a lifeless pulp or until most of them leave to live in Australia.
Cullen and Clark are not about to relinquish the control that they have over the hapless middle class that comes with high taxes.
Any "tax relief" in the grab for control next election year will come in the from of State sanctioned or controlled benefits, like the "working for families" welfare package and bribes that have some sort of State apparatus attached to them for absence of the State means no control over the people:"When there is state there can be no freedom, but when there is freedom there will be no state" Lenin
PC Banging
Almost the end of a Kiwi institution this Guy Fawkes Day when a multitude of restrictions come into use over the sale and restriction of fireworks.
Sure, fireworks are dangerous but they are also fun and the labeling last year by David Benson "Tennis Ball" Pope of Kiwis who like to have a little fun with fireworks as "naughty boys and girls" and if they don't behave public use of fireworks will be made illegal is more than a little over the top when one considers what Mr Pope used to do with school pupils in his days as a teacher in Tauranga.
State sanctioned hand wringing will be De rigour again this year and it is possible that State run firework displays will be sanctioned by the anointed should New Zealand have the misfortune of morons having them elected again in 2008.
c Darren Rickard 2007