Hello Nick. I smiled. Yes anything that gives hope, and belief in a sustainable future. At near 84, meeting with friends for good coffee and a slice or muffin, is an expensive treat!! $30.00!! That used to be entry to the movies lol ..for two of us. Emmerson's cartoon... Brilliant.
Bernard Hickey says their mess is so profound now, it will take six years to turn it around. As to Utopia. It would be different for different folk, but mine would be a society which cared greatly for young and old., made people feel valued and welcome, with clean awa and air, food on the table and family and friends gathered there, and a warm dry bed in a safe place for rest. Enough is probably my mantra, is He tangata, he tangata he tangata. The people the people the people.
Yes! I feel ever so smug when wealthy people worry about their investments or how their tax dollars are being spent. I just think, " well, I have something you will never have: enough."
The only way we are going to have a hairs-breadth of hope of achieving what you are wishing for Patricia, which is pretty well what Aotearoa used to be like when it was still called New Zealand or Godzone, about 50 years ago........is a capital gains tax AND a higher yearly tax on the self-employed 'superlatively well-off' farmers and landlords....back when Government Unions could just THREATEN to strike and the government of the day (didn't matter whether Labour or National) would quietly change its tack....do you remember price freezes, and rent freezes?...I certainly do.
I have tried with that, Kathleen. None of our candidates admitted to their affiliations, and it was near impossible to get past their glib, practised answers. So I still can't decide. Although a few ruled themselves out with claims that 'user pays' was the solution (been there, done that, and not a good result). They don't understand the concept of paying for 'public good' - which is quite out of fashion :{ Anyone from Wiaopehu Horowhenua with recommendations?
Thanks. He doesn't do Horowhenua. And I have a few doubts as he refers to LGNZ as a hard right group when it is in fact made up of most of the chairs of local bodies - unless they are all hard right, which I doubt. (I ran SOLGM for two years and we worked closely with LGNZ - and yes, things change and I don't know today's lot, so not saying he's wrong but he could be!!!)
It would look a lot like what Jacinda and her team were trying to achieve. It would look a lot like what the Mexican Presidente is putting in place. It would look like Jesus talked about. It would be based on love for all not on greed.
I wonder if others are getting the feeling that our boat is sinking? Not only is it leaking, but our response is to load it up more. Whether it is our Aotearoa waka or the global one, I cannot see a good end to politics, economics, or our obsession with money. If - when our various systems actually do collapse we will then make the changes for survival!
Utopia for me today was watching thousands of women marching against Pay Equity cuts on Womens Day of Action and seeing that not everyone are selfish bastards.
“.......... A society that puts the interests of the group ahead of the individual, while endeavouring to assure that everyone has enough.”
That will do me Nick for Utopia.
I thought we had it almost, back in the sixties. The only spoilers were the condition of Māori and the status of women.
But those two vast problems seen in hindsight, were enough to undermine the structure and help bring it crashing down when the poo hit the proverbial.
What we have now is becoming nightmarish or at least tending to be so.
We seem to be aligning ourselves with the right wing/ fascist policies gaining sway in many countries and in some places holding the reins of power.
To see this happening at my late stage of life is very difficult to take.
I am old enough to remember WW2 and it’s bloody awful austere grey aftemath.
That was part of the price paid in order to destroy the Nazis.
But fifty million or more people died in that conflict and they of course paid the ultimate price for freedom.
Now we are experiencing the same political conditions as our parents did in the 30’s.
They probably thought that all would be well and everything would come right.
But instead the clatter and noise of Nazi boots was heard all over mainland Europe as Hitler’s thugs systematically stamped out freedom everywhere in every country from France to Rumania.
Thanks Dan, my Welsh father's sentiments exactly.... born 1920, fought throughout WW2 in the Middle East until 'The Year of Occupation', which he spent 'celebrating' in Brussels, escaped Post-war Britain in 1949 by emigrating to Canada, then escaped North America and the "Bloody Mad Yanks!! Allowed Kennedy to get assassinated! to NZ in 1964, passed away peacefully one week short of IOO (I think maybe he wanted to dodge what he called "all that RSA military B.S. about being a 100 year old Vet"). He was still cognitively right on the button to the very end...for instance the only news he could stand to watch for twenty years before he died was Al Jazeera....
Having collaborated on the Green Party policy on Human Rights, there is absolute affirmation that what you refer to as 'Utopian' are in fact basic rights for ALL including dry warm and afforable housing, kai, income, education etc. It's time for the other parties to step up and affirm what used to be considered and expected as basic and traditional kiwi rights... 🤔
In the world of my dreams, my Maori grandchildren feel as comfortable in their skin and command as much respect as my Pakeha grandchildren. It is unbearably sad that it is just a dream.
All anyone needs is enough. I want that for everyone, to have enough. More than enough leads to greed and avarice, and some with too much while others have none. When did we stop looking out for each other? Capitalism and its creed of more more more is a black hole sucking the life and light out of the world.
Define 'enough'! The boundaries seem to shift as some people see the opportunity to enlarge their kete. Or the old theory of the shifting goal posts. Sigh!
Hard amount to define, I agree, but only because people are so driven by profit and accumulating stuff these days.
For me, enough is food in the cupboards, a roof over my head, some time and energy to read and have a hobby or two. And a little bit of cash, for an occasional trip or outing. That should be doable for everyone.
These people with more money and houses than they could ever spend in several lifetimes, that's more than enough. And the fallacy that they work for it... they exploit the work of others for it just for gain. They don't need it. They pretend, but they aren't inclined to share it either. Not while status in life is defined by how much 'stuff' you have.
The worst thing that ever happened was when Capital Gains Tax/Rent Freezes were stopped. Everything that has ruined Aotearoa started there...remember Bob Jones's sheer delight??
👏 Pretty much "enough" is my Utopia - enough nutritious food, enough warm dry secure housing for everyone, enough Drs & Nurses & medical resources for those who need it when they need it, enough equity in earnings and enough jobs to go around, enough equity in all outcomes for Maori & Pacifica so their disadvantage is wiped out, enough commonsense to recognise harmful practices (cough cough nitrate leaching cough cough), enough courage to face up to putting solutions into place NOW not delaying them so future generations will have to live with the consequences and pay the costs, etc etc etc 🤷 I figured out long ago that the more I owned the more it would cost to sustain it - maintenance, insurance, etc - when I would need to live on a fixed income eventually...
On the other hand I have had ENOUGH of this incompetent uncaring cruel govt & the people within it that enable the disastrous policies & selfish attitudes towards those they are supposed to SERVE not destroy 🤬
Lord yes "Serve". That somehow became "Self Serve" in their world. It is shocking to me, when people are intentionally mean. Some rellies used to visit, and we would load them with the garden excess when they were leaving. We visited in return, and during the visit a young woman knocked accompanied by two young children, she asked politely, could she gather some of the feijoas from the lawn. There was a curt "No" and a slammed door. Needless to say I gave our excess to the neighbour, and said to the rellies "Maybe next time you come". " Pay it forward", you could make someone's day.
I agree Nick. Enough for all to enjoy life, health, community, family and the things that enrich our lives - equity, respect, kindness, freedom to become who we are. To be able to look back on a life we'll lived and to have made a contribution.
Hello Nick. I smiled. Yes anything that gives hope, and belief in a sustainable future. At near 84, meeting with friends for good coffee and a slice or muffin, is an expensive treat!! $30.00!! That used to be entry to the movies lol ..for two of us. Emmerson's cartoon... Brilliant.
Bernard Hickey says their mess is so profound now, it will take six years to turn it around. As to Utopia. It would be different for different folk, but mine would be a society which cared greatly for young and old., made people feel valued and welcome, with clean awa and air, food on the table and family and friends gathered there, and a warm dry bed in a safe place for rest. Enough is probably my mantra, is He tangata, he tangata he tangata. The people the people the people.
Yes! I feel ever so smug when wealthy people worry about their investments or how their tax dollars are being spent. I just think, " well, I have something you will never have: enough."
The only way we are going to have a hairs-breadth of hope of achieving what you are wishing for Patricia, which is pretty well what Aotearoa used to be like when it was still called New Zealand or Godzone, about 50 years ago........is a capital gains tax AND a higher yearly tax on the self-employed 'superlatively well-off' farmers and landlords....back when Government Unions could just THREATEN to strike and the government of the day (didn't matter whether Labour or National) would quietly change its tack....do you remember price freezes, and rent freezes?...I certainly do.
Youtopia, (or Wetopia) has been supplanted by Metopia
Or myopia, mine mine mine, right under my nose, everything else is blurry.
Or oligocratopia.
I'm getting in touch with the people standing for local government to see where their political allegiance lies.
A tiny way to show my support for socialism.
I have tried with that, Kathleen. None of our candidates admitted to their affiliations, and it was near impossible to get past their glib, practised answers. So I still can't decide. Although a few ruled themselves out with claims that 'user pays' was the solution (been there, done that, and not a good result). They don't understand the concept of paying for 'public good' - which is quite out of fashion :{ Anyone from Wiaopehu Horowhenua with recommendations?
try Paul the Other One on you tube. He has done a comprehensive break down of local body candidates:)
Thanks. He doesn't do Horowhenua. And I have a few doubts as he refers to LGNZ as a hard right group when it is in fact made up of most of the chairs of local bodies - unless they are all hard right, which I doubt. (I ran SOLGM for two years and we worked closely with LGNZ - and yes, things change and I don't know today's lot, so not saying he's wrong but he could be!!!)
It would look a lot like what Jacinda and her team were trying to achieve. It would look a lot like what the Mexican Presidente is putting in place. It would look like Jesus talked about. It would be based on love for all not on greed.
I wonder if others are getting the feeling that our boat is sinking? Not only is it leaking, but our response is to load it up more. Whether it is our Aotearoa waka or the global one, I cannot see a good end to politics, economics, or our obsession with money. If - when our various systems actually do collapse we will then make the changes for survival!
Unfortunately It's been my experience that those with more than enough are never satisfied and want more!!! Pure greed!
Utopia for me today was watching thousands of women marching against Pay Equity cuts on Womens Day of Action and seeing that not everyone are selfish bastards.
“.......... A society that puts the interests of the group ahead of the individual, while endeavouring to assure that everyone has enough.”
That will do me Nick for Utopia.
I thought we had it almost, back in the sixties. The only spoilers were the condition of Māori and the status of women.
But those two vast problems seen in hindsight, were enough to undermine the structure and help bring it crashing down when the poo hit the proverbial.
What we have now is becoming nightmarish or at least tending to be so.
We seem to be aligning ourselves with the right wing/ fascist policies gaining sway in many countries and in some places holding the reins of power.
To see this happening at my late stage of life is very difficult to take.
I am old enough to remember WW2 and it’s bloody awful austere grey aftemath.
That was part of the price paid in order to destroy the Nazis.
But fifty million or more people died in that conflict and they of course paid the ultimate price for freedom.
Now we are experiencing the same political conditions as our parents did in the 30’s.
They probably thought that all would be well and everything would come right.
But instead the clatter and noise of Nazi boots was heard all over mainland Europe as Hitler’s thugs systematically stamped out freedom everywhere in every country from France to Rumania.
Can it happen again? You bet.
And perhaps quicker than we could imagine.
Please could we have Nicks’s Utopia?
Thanks Dan, my Welsh father's sentiments exactly.... born 1920, fought throughout WW2 in the Middle East until 'The Year of Occupation', which he spent 'celebrating' in Brussels, escaped Post-war Britain in 1949 by emigrating to Canada, then escaped North America and the "Bloody Mad Yanks!! Allowed Kennedy to get assassinated! to NZ in 1964, passed away peacefully one week short of IOO (I think maybe he wanted to dodge what he called "all that RSA military B.S. about being a 100 year old Vet"). He was still cognitively right on the button to the very end...for instance the only news he could stand to watch for twenty years before he died was Al Jazeera....
Having collaborated on the Green Party policy on Human Rights, there is absolute affirmation that what you refer to as 'Utopian' are in fact basic rights for ALL including dry warm and afforable housing, kai, income, education etc. It's time for the other parties to step up and affirm what used to be considered and expected as basic and traditional kiwi rights... 🤔
In the world of my dreams, my Maori grandchildren feel as comfortable in their skin and command as much respect as my Pakeha grandchildren. It is unbearably sad that it is just a dream.
All anyone needs is enough. I want that for everyone, to have enough. More than enough leads to greed and avarice, and some with too much while others have none. When did we stop looking out for each other? Capitalism and its creed of more more more is a black hole sucking the life and light out of the world.
Define 'enough'! The boundaries seem to shift as some people see the opportunity to enlarge their kete. Or the old theory of the shifting goal posts. Sigh!
Hard amount to define, I agree, but only because people are so driven by profit and accumulating stuff these days.
For me, enough is food in the cupboards, a roof over my head, some time and energy to read and have a hobby or two. And a little bit of cash, for an occasional trip or outing. That should be doable for everyone.
These people with more money and houses than they could ever spend in several lifetimes, that's more than enough. And the fallacy that they work for it... they exploit the work of others for it just for gain. They don't need it. They pretend, but they aren't inclined to share it either. Not while status in life is defined by how much 'stuff' you have.
100% ... downsizing my house was such a great decision!
The worst thing that ever happened was when Capital Gains Tax/Rent Freezes were stopped. Everything that has ruined Aotearoa started there...remember Bob Jones's sheer delight??
Him of Taxpayers Union fame 😡
Every generation since August 1945 has lived under the threat of annihilation by nuclear warfare.
To remove that threat would, I’m sure, be a great step toward Utopia for all of us….
like!
Is that an order Janet? OK, me like 😀
no just I like it! lol
👏 Pretty much "enough" is my Utopia - enough nutritious food, enough warm dry secure housing for everyone, enough Drs & Nurses & medical resources for those who need it when they need it, enough equity in earnings and enough jobs to go around, enough equity in all outcomes for Maori & Pacifica so their disadvantage is wiped out, enough commonsense to recognise harmful practices (cough cough nitrate leaching cough cough), enough courage to face up to putting solutions into place NOW not delaying them so future generations will have to live with the consequences and pay the costs, etc etc etc 🤷 I figured out long ago that the more I owned the more it would cost to sustain it - maintenance, insurance, etc - when I would need to live on a fixed income eventually...
On the other hand I have had ENOUGH of this incompetent uncaring cruel govt & the people within it that enable the disastrous policies & selfish attitudes towards those they are supposed to SERVE not destroy 🤬
Lord yes "Serve". That somehow became "Self Serve" in their world. It is shocking to me, when people are intentionally mean. Some rellies used to visit, and we would load them with the garden excess when they were leaving. We visited in return, and during the visit a young woman knocked accompanied by two young children, she asked politely, could she gather some of the feijoas from the lawn. There was a curt "No" and a slammed door. Needless to say I gave our excess to the neighbour, and said to the rellies "Maybe next time you come". " Pay it forward", you could make someone's day.
Thanks Nick, I choose your Utopia. Enough, really is enough for all.
I agree Nick. Enough for all to enjoy life, health, community, family and the things that enrich our lives - equity, respect, kindness, freedom to become who we are. To be able to look back on a life we'll lived and to have made a contribution.