blogging it real

There's been some interesting debate on Just Left about whether the current budget surplus leaves room for tax cuts, and if so, what form they should take. I chimed in with the suggestion that the first tax to be cut should be GST. This relates to some of the earlier musings from Yamis and myself that the cost of living in New Zealand is exorbitant by international standards. With relatively few exceptions, everyday consumer goods from razor blades to spinach and wide-screen TVs appear inflated here (feel free to ignore the right-wing drivel in the second part of the razor blade article). Anyway, my concerns about the steeply regressive nature of GST - and the problem it therefore poses for the Left - went largely unanswered. Perhaps we can have a debate here instead.

In other news, well, it looks like Kerry is toast. It's hard to find the words to express the world's disappointment really. I guess we'll be relying on the North Koreans, rather than the North Dakotans, to stand up to this imbecile and his posturing. I guess the biggest mistake Saddam made was not producing some WMDs to deter the great crusader. One worry is that once the fucker is back in power (GWB, that is, not SH) he won't have to worry about being re-elected, and can really pursue the neo-con plans for world domination ... sorry, full-spectrum doctrine. Under these conditions, you might as well start drinking.