http://www.democrats.org.nz DNN Article is not only a powerful module to enable post and manage articles, but also provides total solutions for content management. Content such as articles, news, announcements, product catalogs, etc can be organized into unlimited levels of categories. There are six modules to provide rich and attractive look and feel experiences. New content can be moderated before published. The administrator can assign roles as moderator. Also an email can be sent when new content is added. Visitors can make comment and rating. Of cause it supports common features of DotNetNuke module such as localization, portable interface, search, Syndication etc. en-NZ Copyright 2007 by NZ Democrats for Social Credit web.admin@democrats.org.nz The TV advertisement encouraging public participation in the Constitution review asserts it purpose is to manage “how we will live together as a people”.And I am sure MPs see it in those terms, focused on the population rather than themselves. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/743/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Thu, 16 May 2013 00:39:57 GMT Compared to the number of people registered and eligible to vote, the number of people who actually cast a vote drops at every election. When asked why they don’t vote, many people will say, “It won’t make any difference to the outcome, so why bother?” http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/735/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 04 May 2013 23:51:24 GMT The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has about $20,000 million in assets, 20% of which are allocated to bonds and 80% to shares. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/734/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 04 May 2013 03:02:15 GMT The news that sales of safes have soared in Cyprus should come as no surprise. The truth has leaked out. Money on deposit in banks is no longer safe. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/724/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:07:13 GMT In Europe the discovery of nearly 29% of drug tainted horse meat in a frozen 100% beef burger revealed that much of the European processed meat supply was riddled with the stuff. While action is being taken to stop the scam taken by exploitative vendors, the victims of this fraud -the public- having been taken in, for how long no-one seems to know, are turning away in disbelief from the claims of 100% beef . http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/716/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 06 Mar 2013 04:34:37 GMT Is financial integration with Australia the long term policy objective of the National Party? Has the destruction of NZ as a sovereign state begun? It appears to be so judging by the tremendous amount of overseas debt being planned and accepted for our country. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/714/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:01:56 GMT It was frightening. The threat it contained was a statement of continued enslavement for the majority with continued destruction of whatever wealth they had and a promise of misery for years to come with their overseas masters controlling their every destiny and hope. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/710/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:12:21 GMT Tell that to someone frustrated by their being unable to find a job. Last December, Berrylands in the Marlborough region hired about 60 people to pick its boysenberries, raspberries and strawberries at Appleby. "People have been queuing for jobs as there are very few around. Our phones have been ringing all the time with people wanting work" said Peter Kristovski [Nelson Mail 14-12-12]. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/707/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:55:19 GMT This is not the physical climate change that is developing because of natural events and man made pollution caused by the needs of the present financial system. The climate change that will decimate New Zealand is a financial one. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/695/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 17 Dec 2012 03:11:41 GMT It's time for a dose of banking reality. The current global and local banking system uses a system of money creation and has done for 300 years. That’s how banks work. They use partial deposits and interbank lending, but most lending is “created” as debt plus interest. It used to be called Usury. The ratios of equity to lending alters and has been tightened in the last few years, not because of any benevolent decision by the banks but by gentle force of the Reserve Bank to avoid collapse. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/694/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:31:18 GMT About the time I first began to realise the value of money, I started to ask “Where did it come from?” – “The Bank.” I was told. “Where do the banks get it from ?” I continued. “People give their spare money to the banks to mind and banks pay them interest for it.” “Why?” I asked, “Why would a bank pay someone for giving it their money to look after?” “Well,” answered the big people, “that’s so the banks can loan out the money again to someone else who will pay the bank even more interest than the bank pays you.” http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/690/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 28 Nov 2012 04:05:26 GMT Forty years ago the governments of the day encouraged mixed farming. It was promoted to achieve a stable and sustainable economy after meat, wool and dairy booms of the 50s, and 60s. Spreading risk by having a number of different revenue streams including those outside the agricultural sector was seen as beneficial to the nation. This intervention was needed to control demand and inflation and achieve planned growth that the country could sustain. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/685/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 18 Nov 2012 20:45:04 GMT I suppose that it cannot be expected that a taxpayer funded Government run organisation, although claiming to be an independent money guide, would explain to the people what actually is going on in the world of money when the organisation's existence depends on its "toeing the party line" when it comes to the financial system being operated. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/683/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:57:43 GMT The Greens' recent call for the end to child poverty is an admirable aim, but the virtuous approach is one that they have had for over a year at least. Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei in September 2011 said that her party had a plan to bring 100,000 children out of poverty by 2014. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/677/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 04 Nov 2012 05:46:53 GMT Last few days of US Election and will it be Obama or Romney? Does it really matter who wins? And will another Global financial Crisis be averted? http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/676/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 04 Nov 2012 05:43:21 GMT The recent idea of the Green Party leader Russell Norman falls short of the mark. Russell Norman floated the idea that the Reserve Bank should indulge in quantitative easing [printing money electronically] to help lower New Zealand's grossly over-inflated exchange rate and also help rebuild shattered Christchurch. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/654/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 09 Oct 2012 19:49:38 GMT Why has New Zealand been sucked into forming the equivalent of its own European Stability Mechanism, the Local Authority Funding Agency? Why is New Zealand, unnecessarily, providing an even more safe secure financial climate for investments from overseas? Isn't selling off vital public assets sufficient? What's in it for New Zealanders except higher taxes, larger rates bills, unemployment and austerity? http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/643/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 16 Sep 2012 23:44:59 GMT I have observed a great deal recently that concerns me. The Government’s agenda cannot be to ‘pay down debt’ or ‘help mom and pop investors’ or even stimulate the economy by increasing trading on our stock exchange http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/641/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 03 Sep 2012 04:26:15 GMT We should never forget that John Key did not make his millions managing a fish and chip shop in Porirua. Like others, he joined the money manipulating financial world where all the big money is. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/639/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:05:36 GMT It just couldn't happen in New Zealand. Or could it, or has it? New Zealanders may have lately read or heard about the LIBOR, the RIBOR etc interest rate rigging scandals or the massive drug laundering by HSBC or even the payment protection insurance racket or even the interest rate swaps racket - all of which are happening overseas. We may have heard about the Public Private Finance rip off and we certainly know about failed finance companies over the years. We also know about the deal done whereby an Aussie bank didn't pay their full whack of tax. We know about the unnecessary asset sales programmes started by a NZ Labour Government when they bowed down to the financiers. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/632/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 01 Aug 2012 09:22:19 GMT The alarming disclosures coming from Britain and the USA about the continuing fraudulent activities of the banks spell danger for New Zealand's future. We are not immune from the rip offs travelling round the world like some tsunami. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/623/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 08 Jul 2012 06:45:23 GMT Mental patients facing starvation, the elderly unable to obtain vital prescriptions because pharmacists have not been paid by the government, the minimum wage to be cut, suicides increasing , soup-kitchen queues lengthening, school students fainting from hunger, unemployment rising to 53% for the employable under 24s, and debts unable to be paid - all are normal events in Greece nowadays. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/621/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 26 Jun 2012 09:39:18 GMT There aren’t many advertisements in the situations vacant columns for financial engineers. Perhaps it’s because there are no vacancies in this profession. Yet financial engineers are the best paid gamblers in the world. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/613/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 09 May 2012 22:19:29 GMT The Government has circulated its proposals for welfare reform, which involve ensuring welfare recipients are ‘available and supported into … work’. Much of this is directed at solo parents, with a particularly draconian measure against women who bear another child while on the DPB, and who will be forced to look for work after the child is a year old – ‘in line with parental leave’. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/609/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Thu, 03 May 2012 22:54:06 GMT We are used to seeing on international television programmes, particularly Al Jazeera, pictures of European doctors and health care professionals in Africa looking to help the ill, the poor, the hungry, the unemployed, and those with little hope for the future. Often this comes with justifiable appeals for funds for them to continue their work. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/604/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:26:45 GMT In order to balance the books, the National Government has had to make some hard decisions. Or so it likes to tell us. These decisions adversely affect your income and your assets. They're all being cut because National wants to balance the books -and there's nothing wrong in that. The mistake, or deliberate sleight of hand, in doing so is that there is no need for this attack upon living standards or level of employment. Nor need they take notice of the [financial] markets. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/602/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 11 Apr 2012 03:48:06 GMT The debate about the possibility of a Chinese state backed organisation being allowed to buy the Crafar farms probably has been determined by now, or even determined even if no decision officially has been made. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/597/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:42:13 GMT The agreed Greek bail out plan to enable the Greek government to repay loans plus interest comes with bigger loans and interest. It also comes with a retreat from democracy as the all powerful European Union Euro countries impose their own governance upon the Greek people with an agreement by all known Greek political parties to allow outsiders to rule the country economically. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/592/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:12:05 GMT Bernard Hickey should get together with Gareth Morgan; one has the daring, heretical call for the Reserve Bank to ‘print money’ (NZ Herald Feb 26) and the other maintains, shockingly, that we should all be paid a basic income. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/594/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:18:15 GMT With US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney admitting that on his $42 million annual income he pays about 15% tax only while those struggling on part time or any low paid job pay much more than, it is not surprising to read in the NZ media and in the internet concerns about inequality. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/583/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:12:50 GMT Something important is happening in New Zealand politics. After two-and-a-half decades in which economic policy has been a no-go area for political discussion, we have at last seen the beginnings of a debate about what is potentially the central issue of our politics. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/577/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:22:10 GMT If you had a fully grown elephant in your dwelling place, wherever or whatever it may be, you would surely see it, smell it, or bump into it. You probably couldn't move without finding it obstructing any plans you may have. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/569/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 05 Nov 2011 22:18:51 GMT There is a growing conviction around the world that something is fundamentally wrong with the economic system. Money, once a convenient means of exchange, has become a commodity like oil or wheat or coffee. It can be bought and sold, through hedge funds, futures and other money market casino games. Like any other market, demand drives price, and our red - hot NZ dollar is considered the Reno of currencies as it goes up and down in value. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/559/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:59:15 GMT Prime Minister John Key has been working for a free trade agreement with the US. The US is seeking other bilateral free trade agreements. Holdups by the Republicans are prompted by their opposition to ‘Trade adjustment assistance’ which attempts to reduce the problem of increased unemployment. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/556/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:19:37 GMT Should we trust Shell with oil exploration off NZ? Consider this: Nigeria is one of the world's major oil producers. Overwhelmingly its main oil fields are in the Ogoniland region, which could take 30 years to recover fully from the damage caused by years of oil spills as a result of 50 years of Shell’s oil operations in the region, a long-awaited UN report says. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/545/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 03 Oct 2011 01:01:14 GMT Here in New Zealand, the Green Party is stuck in the prison of the financial status quo unable to release itself from its self-imposed claustrophobic restriction. It voluntarily entered the cage, voluntarily shut the door and its leaders, by their statements, confirm that they have no intention except to stay in their present environment. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/542/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 19 Sep 2011 03:43:34 GMT New Zealand is a new country both geologically and historically, having been occupied for hundreds rather than thousands of years. Having become a nation, it hurried to make its mark politically, being a world leader in advancing social rights. Until the last thirty years New Zealand still was a world leader in political participation. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/538/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:04:19 GMT I really get tired of the moaning, bleatings, and threats of the wealthy and privileged that they are hard done by. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/533/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Thu, 01 Sep 2011 03:37:15 GMT There is ‘institutional truth’ favoured by politicians, the military and commerce - and there is painful reality. That is the choice that the late John K Galbraith, economist and political thinker, put before the women graduates of the elite Smith College, Massachusetts in 1989. Regrettably, this still applies today. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/532/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Thu, 01 Sep 2011 03:23:23 GMT Labour's slavish worship of the European Union and all the dictates of its unelected unrepresentive Politburo - or Commission - together with its dependency on militant unions to support it as well as its policy of unrestricted mass immigration to bolster its vote have led to disenchantment and lack of hope for thousands of teenagers and young folk. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/529/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:44:29 GMT Forty thousand New Zealand children are being fed by charities. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/524/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:48:53 GMT Future historians will read current press reports about the Greek shambles with amusement. We also, at this distance, can see the funny side of it already; when we understand how banking actually works. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/513/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 12 Jul 2011 02:06:45 GMT People, even those badly affected by measures taken against them to make the financial system operate, rarely have any idea as to the cause of their financial troubles. They accept the simplistic ones as they are easier to understand. As they watch the box or read their newspapers, they are fed the same story. Greece's financial troubles are the fault of the Greeks themselves and they must take harsh medicine to cure themselves. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/510/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 04 Jul 2011 06:39:17 GMT On 31 January 2011 a letter signed by more than 250 American and international economists, including prominent free-traders and former IMF officials, was sent to Secretaries Hilary Clinton and Tim Geithner and trade Ambassador Ron Kirk advocating control of international capital flows. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/501/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:01:23 GMT The re-emergence of the looney left and rabid right is not a solution to the economic ills of NZ or indeed the world, simply because it ignores the driver behind the problems besetting economies. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/500/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:57:45 GMT A small phrase in the London Financial Times [27-4-11] caught my eye and brought some apprehension for the future of New Zealand as a sovereign country. It said, inter alia, the Chinese navy is investing in a new long-range fleet . http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/490/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Thu, 02 Jun 2011 08:27:34 GMT A high level of government borrowing, including up to $3.5 billion in domestic bonds from 20 April to 3 May 2011 is being used to contribute to Canterbury’s earthquake recovery and other planned investments such as Kiwi Rail development, irrigation, trades training, road improvements and coverage of recession and earthquake derived deficits arising from reduced revenue and increased unemployment. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/489/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 30 May 2011 00:07:42 GMT Aren't you fed up with hearing and reading about the sacrifices we all have to make to meet the demands made upon us? Let's face it. With its massive overseas debts, New Zealand can no longer afford to continue to fill the pockets of overseas and local financiers, speculators and financial parasites. That must be plain to anyone who thinks - what's it all about ? http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/482/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 07 May 2011 03:30:06 GMT However you look at it, the damage to Christchurch is a tragic disaster that will continue to affect all of us for a long time, and in many ways. Inevitably, economics raises its ugly head - the cost of rebuilding, the slowing of the economy due to so many businesses unable to trade, and the ways we are all going to have to pay. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/474/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:02:37 GMT Having been in Christchurch for the 7.1 September quake, the dreadful events of 22 February easily renewed in me the stress and fears I had felt then. Anxiety for those I know there came to the fore. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/473/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:01:07 GMT Having studied the Prime Minister's statement to Parliament of early February, his words sounded like a dodgy spec builder. “ We will build the foundations for a stronger economy” should have told how his pro finance industry government intended to do that. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/472/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 01 Mar 2011 01:58:23 GMT John Key is seeking a free trade agreement with America. NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) gives cause for concern. Law professor Charles Brower says that its provisions lack clarity. In addition, he claims that ad hoc tribunals based on the commercial arbitration model have generated incoherent doctrine and are less accountable, transparent, and accessible than permanent tribunals. Furthermore, he argues that the NAFTA Parties and their courts so far appear to place a higher priority on the pursuit of narrow self-interest than on the principled administration of international governance. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/471/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 13 Feb 2011 23:25:48 GMT Violent anti-government violence is not only the result of anarchist activities, but a popular anger at the actions, and non actions, of governments and banks. The best educated young people in some European states complain that they have become the victims of their parents' own profligacy [ London Sunday Times 9 -1-11]. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/465/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:34:58 GMT Recently, while waiting for a friend to have completed out patient treatment at Nelson Hospital, I browsed through pamphlets extorting people to improve their health. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/460/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Thu, 13 Jan 2011 04:15:48 GMT When John Key pushes the idea of PFIs to solve New Zealand's public infrastructure problems, beware - for the taxpayer it's just one big con. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/458/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:11:31 GMT The Irish people are paying a terrible price for their having no control over their financial system. When private banks can do what they like by pandering to greed and with no regard for the needs of the nation and its people, then calamity is sure to follow. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/454/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 11 Dec 2010 06:41:45 GMT If you think that the purpose of electricity, gas and water companies is to provide you with warm houses, cooking fuel, power for your gadgets and water for drinking and sundry use, think again. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/453/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 11 Dec 2010 06:40:18 GMT Are you sure your Kiwisaver contributions are safe? It is worrying that the NZ government's support for the Kiwisaver scheme to ensure private pensions for people in the future will turn out - as critics have suggested - to be nothing but a scam to bolster the stock market and enrich those managing and trading in the contributions. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/439/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 06 Nov 2010 21:03:43 GMT PPPs are a taxpayer rip off. Mention has been made in this column several times of the huge financial cost being imposed on taxpayers by the so called public private partnerships. This is where the government of the day gets private groups to fund the building and servicing of public infrastructure projects. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/431/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:33:12 GMT Rodney Hide’s Local Government Act 2002 Act Amendment Bill claims to rest on the principle that decision - making by local authorities should be clear, transparent and accountable, and that financial reporting is in clear English. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/419/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:48:11 GMT Concern over chronic current account deficits prompts politicians to exhort the productive sector to work harder and improve efficiency. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/418/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:48:37 GMT They may be, but only because they probably don't know what they're missing? When I read on the Internet that about 49 per cent of New Zealanders are content with the economic situation, one assumes that all his getting much better for everyone. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/411/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:53:42 GMT Will New Zealanders ever save enough? The recent call by the Governor of the Reserve Bank for people to save more and stop piling up debt should send a shiver down the spine of all business folk and those in paid employment. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/406/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 27 Jun 2010 00:44:45 GMT Kiwisavers: lookout! When one learns of another New Zealand finance company going bust leaving 9,000 investors out of pocket, thoughts must surely turn to the Kiwisaver "market" said to worth over $5,000 million. Investments made with these funds intended to provide money for pensions can sometimes not deliver what governments promised. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/385/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 12 May 2010 06:20:20 GMT In his opening address to Parliament, PM John Key ignored most of the Tax Working Group’s recommendations for tax reform. The TWG report recognised New Zealand’s tax system was dysfunctional, but could only suggest clumsy patches and shuffling revenue streams. It is more notable for omissions and inaccuracies than anything else. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/390/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 01 May 2010 00:06:23 GMT The other day I bought a pair of headphones with a microphone to use with my laptop computer. The main reason for the purchase was to dictate into the computer - as I am doing now - rather than typing.   The problem was that I could hear nothing back, nor could I hear the music I had filed on to the laptop. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/370/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:36:25 GMT In his book Whoops! Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay , John Lanchester seemingly explained how modern language of government, (delivering of services, providers etc) came into being. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, this produced a climate of unchallenged victory for the capitalist system, a clear ideological hegemony of a type that had never existed before. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/367/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:30:07 GMT View a "campaign video by Richard Curtis and Bill Nighy, about the Robin Hood Tax, a tiny tax on bank transactions that could raise hundreds of billions for public services and to tackle poverty and climate change at home and around the world.   http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/366/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:37:27 GMT Are carbon credits a solution or extra wealth for the rich? There is evidence that the activities of the human race over the years have adversely affected the environment. The debt based financial system has seen to that. Whether the carbon credits schemes are the answer to the problems of air pollution is questionable. They seem to advance the pockets of the rich rather than help clean the earth. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/358/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:58:26 GMT Professor Brenda Vale and Dr Robert Vale of Victoria University are respected experts on sustainable buildings. In their new book ‘Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living’, they claim that feeding a large dog has a larger environmental footprint than driving an SUV 10,000 km, while a cat is environmentally equivalent to a VW. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/355/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:44:15 GMT It's our bank - it's our money. The Bank of England secretly lent two banks $142 billion in October and November 2008 and this was repaid the following January. The London Evening Standard , now owned by a Russian, in an editorial [25-11-09] asked why the matter was kept secret for so long.   What the Bank - and specifically the Governor, Mervyn King - appears not to understand is that this is our money. Taxpayers bailed out the banks; we are entitled to know how our money is being spent.   http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/354/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:31:56 GMT Years ago, well before my time, there were no pensions or state superannuation. Indeed people didn’t live long enough to enjoy any period of retirement. There were exceptions of course. The financially wealthy could retire any time they wanted. It seems as if we are slowly returning to those days. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/351/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:54:42 GMT The news that banking institutions, some saved by a massive injection of taxpayer backed money, are to pay out huge bonuses has not gone unnoticed.   Goldman Sachs is on course to pay on average to its 30,000 staff over $1 million each, although some will receive over $40 million. The UK state owned Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to hand out record bonuses with the average payout for its investment banking group being $500,000, some 66% higher than last year and even higher than the peak of bonuses paid in 2007. At the same time the government and opposition are planning to cut back on welfare benefits for the poorest to pay for the debts incurred bailing out the banks. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/347/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:37:57 GMT Is New Zealand seeking an export led recovery? If it is, it is not alone. Irwin Stelzer, business adviser and director of economic policy studies at the [American] Hudson Institute writes ' Almost every country is seeking to export its way out of the recession. Germany is relying on its exporters to create jobs; China is depending on its export machine to keep its economy growing fast enough to create millions of jobs and avoid social unrest; Japan's new government also needs exports to end a decade off stagnation. [ Sunday Times 13-9-9 London]. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/341/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:52:39 GMT The basic global problem is that the world’s money supply is created, owned and controlled by commercial financial institutions and lent into the system at interest. The interest is not created, requiring more borrowing, resulting in ever increasing, compounding debt. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/340/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:54:54 GMT The spectacular fall of Bernard Madoff is but one of countless frauds by trusted operators in the finance industry. Hawkes Bay’s Warren Pickett may have been a much smaller fraudster than Madoff, but the suffering he caused his victims was no less. New Zealand has had a judge and an auditor- general convicted of fraud. It is noteworthy that these and many other fraudsters had secure and comfortable incomes. It seems that a high income can be the trigger for addiction to money accompanied by callous disregard for the welfare of clients, family and trusting friends, and also loss of realism. There are frightening parallels here to substance addiction. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/333/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:56:00 GMT Looking for a job? The UK Statistics Authority is looking for someone to sit on a board for two days a month for which they will pay $50,000 a year. The advert didn't mention whether, if off sick for those two days, your pay would be deducted $4,170 for non attendance. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/331/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:48:13 GMT A relationship breakdown, affecting either a couple or a family, can be devastating for all concerned. The sense of loss and failure, the emotional and financial stress have been shown to reduce job productivity and performance, impair learning and damage health. Men in particular carry their distress into the workplace, and children going through a family crisis will often display negative behaviour at school. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/330/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:42:44 GMT Liu Mingkang, economist chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, explained in a June 28 article in the Financial Times how China avoided the worst of the financial disaster that almost caused total collapse of the British and American economies. Chinese banks and other financial institutions did not have staff incentives designed for short term gains rather than long term benefits. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/327/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:27:38 GMT Remember the discussions back in the 70’s about how technology was increasingly doing our work for us, how we were going to manage the work that was left, and what we would do with our leisure time? Somehow, that debate has been silenced, and now we work longer and harder and smarter for less (except the unemployed, who help keep wages down). It seems that anyone who doesn't work for pay is labeled a 'burden' - including retirees.  http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/317/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:48:36 GMT The rewards for failure are high. Sir Fred Goodwin, accused by the news media of being one of the bankers whose decisions brought down the British financial system, was relieved of his executive position at the Royal Bank of Scotland and granted an annuity from age 50. His reward for failure was an annual pension for life of $1.8 million. His knighthood was given earlier for his services to banking . http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/315/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:19:40 GMT In these difficult days, the massive loss of financial wealth by the rich probably won’t be a worry to them. They have enough already. To those who have little savings or assets to sell, the loss of an assured income through job redundancy, the depressing constant rejection of job applications, or a downturn in trade for a small business is a major setback to a comfortable or settled life. It brings upon depression, domestic insecurity and a loss of self esteem. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/307/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:54:25 GMT The upcoming budget will do more harm than good. With unemployment rising and work hours falling, the Government has to open the economic shutters, not close them. Modern debt-based economies are wholly debt driven. Without vast increases in debt from year to year the economy must go into recession, or worse. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/294/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 12 May 2009 21:38:47 GMT In the 1920s, Social Credit founder C. H. Douglas proposed that what is physically possible and desirable ought to be financially possible. Yet here we are in 2009 with people being laid off work, plant underused and stockpiles of unsold goods piling up. There is no physical reason for this. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/279/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:21:38 GMT Anne Tolley’s removal of the ban on schools selling junk food is plainly an ideological political statement, because there’s no sense in it. If you want to change behaviour you don’t send mixed messages. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/278/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:16:57 GMT In view of the confusing and sometimes downright misleading statements made about the present crisis, a factual statement to explain the situation is overdue. Some points made here may appear contentious; they can be verified from quotes elsewhere on this site, or from authorities such as the New Zealand Reserve Bank. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/252/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:24:46 GMT Listen to ‘Social Credit Accounting Correction Removes Limitations’, a podcast of the Economic Democracy NZ interview with internationally recognised monetary reformer Richard C. Cook   by clicking on this link: http://plainsfm.org.nz/on-demand/Richard-Cook/ http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/245/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:42:58 GMT Anyone reading this is probably like the vast majority of people engaged in life in the 21st Century - swimming ever more frantically in order to keep their heads above a flow of circumstances and events they have little or no influence or control over.   Media headlines daily confirm the present 'system' for managing our collective affairs is not working particularly well for most people. Issues around health, education, crime, welfare, trade, transport, taxes etc. have been around for most of my life and indeed the lives of my parents and grand parents. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/239/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:47:11 GMT How does Social Credit differ from all other political parties? The basis of Social Credit Philosophy is the principle that every sovereign state should be able to create and enjoy everything possible, using current resources; but without mortgaging its children to the finance industry. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/237/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:05:57 GMT The proposal is very simple – so simple seemingly as to be incapable of being grasped by minds steeped in orthodox ‘money’ mythology. It is that the parliament – or rather an agency of Parliament - creates the funding to pay for designated public infrastructure but charges no interest for it. The only requirement is that it be paid back. Having done its work, the funding is withdrawn from circulation. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/216/Default.aspx Martyn Cook Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:39:56 GMT In most economic theory today, there are still proposed axioms that are both gratuitous and demonstrably inconsistent and erroneous. Two are taken to task here; the first, that money is a real commodity having inherent value; the second, that the object of the economy is to provide employment. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/193/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:56:10 GMT As most of us know, New Zealand started out as a colony. A powerful force from the other side of the world claimed ownership of these islands, and sent soldiers, settlers and fortune - hunters to take possession. The indigenous people were robbed, their land taken over by foreigners, and they became impoverished second - class citizens in their own country. Their populations were decimated by war and disease, and at one time it was assumed that they would die out - conveniently for some. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/177/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:02:36 GMT A major report by the Children’s Commissioner and Barnardos reveals that 230,000 kiwi kids are living in “unacceptable poverty”. While our politicians have been trading insults in and out of Parliament, and our media concentrating on personality politics, the fabric of our society has been unravelling. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/172/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:29:48 GMT One of the iniquities of the present rating system is without doubt the imposition of GST on rates.   Technically it can be termed illegitimate because it is a tax on a tax, which, although it may be lawful, does not make it legitimate. What is even more vexing is that GST is a regressive tax because it impinges most heavily on the lower echelons of society but does not accrue to financial services. A vast catchment of potential GST revenue is therefore lost. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/156/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:09:20 GMT On May, 21 st , 2008, the French newspaper Le Monde published an open letter signed by seven former European prime-ministers, five former finance ministers and two former presidents of the European Commission, with the significant title “The mad finance should not govern us”. It outlines that the financial capital of the current privately created, compound interest bearing Debt Based international monetary system is 15 times the GDP of all countries in the world. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/178/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 01 Sep 2008 03:50:05 GMT I suspect if the National Party becomes the government their rule will be limited to one term, and it won’t be all their fault. Labour has crowed for years about full employment, low inflation and a buoyant economy. However this was an illusory prosperity based on an out of control money supply, much of it sourced from overseas via immigration, foreign takeovers and money attracted here by the high interest rates, an intrinsic part of our dysfunctional monetary system. Like Chinese emperors who were booted out of office when the Hwang Ho or Yangtze flooded, the new government will be blamed for bad things, even if it is not culpable. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/123/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:34:02 GMT As many are aware, the current method by which the Reserve Bank attempts to control inflation is by setting the Official Cash Rate which in turn affects the interest rates for borrowers and lenders engaging with the finance industry including banks. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/101/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:18:15 GMT As New Zealand's public hospitals plunge ever further into industrial unrest it is sobering - and instructional - to reflect on the recent history of health management in this country. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/25/Default.aspx Martyn Cook Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:37:17 GMT The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has just released its annual report for 2008. “So what of it?” you might say. Few have ever heard of BIS and even fewer know anything about it. That lack of awareness needs to change at about the speed of light. BIS is possibly the most powerful organization in the world, more powerful in some ways than the United States government. Whereas the goal of US policy is to achieve full spectrum dominance of the physical world as promoted by The Project for the New American Century (Google PNAC), BIS aims to maintain the full spectrum dominance it already has of the world’s finance and money. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/26/Default.aspx Martyn Cook Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:40:03 GMT New Zealand with its highest interest in the OECD has yet to feel the full impact of the subprime credit crunch. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/28/Default.aspx Martyn Cook Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:45:14 GMT People are inherently conservative and will not look to alternative economic and monetary policies unless forced to do so by personal distress or pity for the plight of others. Cynical though it might be, the present subprime crisis as it spreads from the United States of America will give enhanced opportunity to those who are committed to monetary reform. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/27/Default.aspx Martyn Cook Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:42:55 GMT The book “What Your Accountant Doesn’t Tell You’, by New Zealand accountant Fiona Clayton-Law, gives tips on tax avoidance, and advocates getting into networking. She says this has created more millionaires in America, Australia and New Zealand than anything else. She also advocates share trading, not investment, but property speculation, options and other derivatives. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/29/Default.aspx Martyn Cook Fri, 30 May 2008 03:46:18 GMT It’s simple, it’s legal, it’s respectable….. All you need is a bank! Almost everybody worries about money, but very few people know where it really comes from.  Most people are so confused by economic jargon, they don’t even know they’re being ripped off. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/119/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:58:00 GMT In 1929, in the boom before the Great Crash, Irving Fisher reckoned that market forces would force a correction, though not collapse. Countless other ‘experts’ in the sharemarket denied the possibility of financial meltdown. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/120/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 01 Mar 2008 10:01:03 GMT "To suggest that the New Zealand economy depends on investment in the stock market is absurd and ignores the fact that most of the companies on the New Zealand stock market are overseas owned and therefore profits go overseas with little if any benefit to this country. To have as a goal that all New Zealanders invest in the stock market I consider a recipe for disaster". Ian Ritchie, Palmerston North 28/1/2008 in email to  Radio NZ "ninetonoon". http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/121/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:04:19 GMT A layperson attending diligently to the information available about fluoridation over the past year would be hard put not to vote for it in the upcoming referenda. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/122/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 01 Jan 2008 10:08:00 GMT The furore about people being forced out of their homes and farms by rate increases well above increases in the consumer price index (CPI) forced the government to set up an inquiry into the subject. Mayoral and council candidates have weighed in with promises to rein in council spending and keep rates in line with CPI. What they, like their predecessors, will find, is that there is little scope for savings. Higher standards and construction costs for roads, water, sewerage and pest control race ahead of CPI creating a dilemma that is beyond the powers of local government to resolve. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/146/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 03 Oct 2007 09:14:20 GMT A layperson attending diligently to the information available about fluoridation over the past year would be hard put not to vote for it in the upcoming referenda. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/145/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Wed, 03 Oct 2007 09:10:40 GMT When the power of private debt based finance that is built into debt based capitalism is replaced with the Social Credit dividend, then the means of exchange which currently serves as the means of mastery over wealth production, will become what its natural function should be, as the means of the distribution of wealth which all citizens have a share in as a democratic right. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/147/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:16:49 GMT Everyone knows that when there is too much money in relation to goods and services available, inflation occurs. Robert Mugabe has given us an excellent demonstration of this. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/148/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:21:32 GMT Increasing outflow of interest and dividends from foreign loans and investments leaves us with zero increase in average disposable income over the past three years. Inequality continues to increase, so that most of us are getting poorer year by year. Labour is quite out of its depth in trying to better the lot of New Zealanders. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/149/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:21:01 GMT With a few very visible women in top positions of New Zealand government and industry right now, some of you might be forgiven for thinking that the battle for women’s equality has been won. Some might even feel that things have gone too far, that men and boys now suffer discrimination in the name of political correctness. Any government initiatives that privilege women are condemned in some quarters as “social engineering” or ridiculed as “political correctness gone mad”. http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/Articles/tabid/112/selectedmoduleid/548/ArticleID/150/Default.aspx Stephnie de Ruyter Sat, 28 Jul 2007 10:23:55 GMT