JOHN KEY GETS MORE INTERNATIONAL PLAUDITS

The Australian has a great column on the business nous of three world leaders - John Key, Kevin Rudd and Obama. She reckons Key has got it sorted. she even thinks that he should have a place at the hallowed table of G20.

She has picked up on the factthat Key is the only one who understands commercial realities because he is the only one of the three who has any real business experience.

Heres an excerpt from Jane Albrechtsen.

Key, on the other hand, understands what is needed to make businesses hum: lower taxes, smarter regulation and a flexible labour market. He has recognised that a one-off sugar hit - or cash splash - won’t help business employ people for any longer than it takes to spend the cash. Permanent tax cuts help business employ more staff - permanently.

He told The Wall Street Journal’s Mary Kissel a few weeks back that he is determined to stop the slide that has seen NZ fall to the bottom half on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s per-capita gross domestic product rankings. “We have been on a slippery slope ... so we need to lift those per capita wages, and the only way to really do that is through productivity growth driving efficiency in the country.” Key is cutting taxes, reforming regulations that inhibited foreign capital and tackling environmental legislation that has been misused by green groups to stop private sector investment. Oh, and he is undertaking a line-by-line review of every government department as part of his Government’s commitment to capping spending.

No wonder Key is the odd man out. And it is a shame that NZ will not be attending the G20 meeting in London next month, the latest effort by world leaders to confront the global financial crisis. Spend big and all will be in order is Obama’s resounding theme. It’s all stimulus this and stimulus that. Is it too much to hope that G stands for growth, not group-think?

We agree - they only problem is that its going to take a year or two to see who was right. Key, Rudd or Obama. Our money is still on Key.

FTA ON THE SLOW TRACK

Well this is not good news TVNZ reported that the FTA agreement with the US is on the backburner. Pretty much because Obama hasn't got his shit together and needs to appoint a trade guru.

However we were listening to Matthew Hooton interview Tim Groser our Trade Minister at 7pm tonight and Tim is alert to the consequences but far from panicked.

We have other FTA's on the table so there is still lots of work for him to do.

RACISIM OR CUTTING EDGE SATIRE

the New York Post has taken a hammering over this cartoon which was widly felt to imply that Obama was a monkey and that it was racist. They have apologised.

So whats the NZ take ?

BARRY STILL FULL OF SHIT AND NOW HE WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD

We listened to your words Barry and it was a speech that should ignite the passions of your people and given them hope and heart. You told them the road would be hard and there was much to do - you held out the olive branch to the nations who were waiting for a sign that the old regime was gone.

Then you said the the words that made all the other words turn to dust and blow away on the chill wind.

"know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."

You said you were ready to lead once more. No you are not Barry. You country is in ruins, Your people are standing on the edge of a social financial and economic precipice and your sights should have been on rebuilding you country and showing the rest of the world that you were ready to stand up and help lead the world. Instead you want to lead the world.
We don't want you to lead the world until you can show you can lead your own country.

We do not respect you when you show your arrogance. We will not follow you until you show us what you are capable of. We do not need for your to patronise us or assume that you have a divine right to lead the world.

Pick up your nation, dust them off and get them on the path to prosperity but do not ever tell us that you are ready to be our leader. We may come to you and ask you to help unite the world when we see what you can do.

So go Barry, go to your people - do your best to fix the mess your good country is in and maybe in a while we will come knocking at your door.

BARRY OBAMA - FULL OF SHIT?

Is anyone else out there just a little concerned about the god like status that Obama has in the US?
Now we applauded the US for appointing an African - American to the Presidency. It probably would have been more historic it has been a native American but thats bye the bye. But the hype the rhetoric and the adulation is leaving us more than a little fearful. Not PC has a good analysis of the strong left wing bias that Barry has. It makes for disturbing reading.
The trade implications for NZ are also worrrying.

I hope for the sake of the US and the rest of the world that Barry delivers on the hopes dreams and the needs of his people. Sadly we think he will go down as the worst President in living memory.

Interestingly we just tried to search the net for recent stories that criticise Obama. The few that are there are months old. Is there a tool that can purge the net of negative stories ? Some bloggers are convinced the Chinese used a purging tool to ensure the world did not know the extent of the San Lu scandal. Could the US be doing the same?