Monday 1 September 2008

Peters sacked. Who really cares?

I don't often find myself in agreement with the Ninth Floor Blog, aka, The Standard, but for differing reasons to the writers of the Ninth Floor Gazette, I do this morning when they say this:

It’s a bizarre world view that finds the suspension of [Winston Peters as] a minister more important than the state of the financial sector and related government policy. It’s a world view that sees politics as about personalities, not how government should be used to improve the lives of people.

Now, the authors of The SubStandard and I differ substantially as to "how government should be used to improve the lives of people" -- they think government should suffocate you; I think government should get the hell out of the way -- but they're right in this respect: the sacking of a minister and last week's shenanigans in parliament are of less importance to Joe and Joanne Punter than the effect governments have on their cost of living.

And while the DoubleStandard clearly just wants to downplay the importance of the sacking because it embarrasses the venal shambles of a government they blindly support, but even so, the fact remains that to most rational people the sacking of a minister is simply entertainment that doesn't touch them at all, whereas a rise in the cost of living can be a disaster.  Rational punters know which of the two is more important to them, and it's not really the hoped-for demise of the Bauble-Meister.  Politics is politics, but it only affects the daily life of most people when it gets in the bloody way.

That said, here then is some advice for rational candidates are trying to woo would-be voters.  You'd be much better placed not wasting voters' valuable time making fun of Winston Peters (an easy but unproductive job), and explain instead how having governments in their face makes their lives more expensive (and the likes of the Emissions Tax Scam should make this both easy and productive) and that getting government out of their face, out of their pockets and out of their lives will make their lives much better, and their cost of living much cheaper.

And I don't just mean to be metaphorical.  Be specific, like Libertarianz Tamaki candidate Elijah Lineberry who says:

Move away from personalities and a broad range of opinions, and get down to the basics of day to day life; in answer to the question "Why should I vote Libertarianz" here are some reasons:

  1. Cheap food.
  2. Cheap petrol.
  3. Cheap alcohol.
  4. Abolition of the Resource Management Act.
  5. No income taxes on most (or all) of your income.
  6. We are the best friend of miners, fisherman and forestry workers, farmers and businessmen by greatly encouraging those activities.
  7. Lower interest rates as we will stop the Reserve Bank Governor engaging in gross stupidity.
  8. Those in the South Island will no longer have their taxes used to subsidise Auckland motorways.
  9. Increased choices for users of healthcare and education services.
  10. Public Servants will be servants of the public, not the Masters.

These are some of the main reasons you should vote Libertarianz -- practical solutions to day to day problems.

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