Reviving this old, dusty thing for the summer holidays.

Because I have probably posted a grand total of 20 things this year? And all of them were before I started university. Damn learning. Taking up time and shit. But all that aside, I have decided I will rise this thing from the damned and start updating again. Starting with a rant on the issue that is up in my grill the most at the moment.

Election. Woo freaking hoo.

Let me preempt any shitstorms by making my own stance perfectly clear. I have ACT ideals, will probably vote for them to keep them in Parliament even though every single member could get hit by a train before I gave a shit, and will be voting MMP. I’ll talk about specifics about my stance as they crop up, but for now, I’ll get on it. From this point on, I am playing devil’s advocate and speaking as impartially and factually as possible.

Right. Onwards.

2011 Election. Nothing particularly exciting about it, really. There are really only two things people will be thinking about when they vote on Saturday - state asset sales or no? And is all the stuff Phil Goff is saying about Key have merit or is he talking out of his arse? I’m not belittling Goff when I say that, btw. He is a capable politician with some good ideas - we saw that at the alst parliamentary debate. It is almost a shame that his worst idea is the one people are talking about the most. I say almost, because the idea isn’t all that well thought through. Borrow now to invest and pay it all back later. It sounds good on paper, but he has not only forgotten about the fact that the global economy is about as stable as my third ex-girlfirend on a axe-swinging day, but he has his sights set purely on the beginning and end of his parliamentary reign. I’m going to let that last sentence marinate. Goff plans to borrow money and increase our debt in order to reap the benefits later on down the line, as opposed to selling off state assets and freeing up funds that way. The endgame is to get out of the black. Fine. But whatever happens in between is all grey space. And no one - not even Labour, National or the wanker Guyon Espiner can predict what happens in the next year. If Europe is anything to go by, I’m assuming the dollar will be replaced with chickens. But Labour is so focused on fixing the supposed problems of the now that they have not given a lot of thought as to the way they plan to run Parliament when they get in. Although, I have to point out that Labour has covered what National hasn’t done, surprise. But then, this isn’t entirely Labour’s fault. The tone of the entire election this year is one of anger and mudslinging.

Why is this? Because non-National supporters are trying to slow the lumbering behemoth of a National Government, powered by basically half of New Zealand and the ever-charismatic John Key, who is probably hands down one of the better Prime Ministers we’ve had for the last few years, all things considered. National have kept a lot of their announcements low key (wark wark), except for their state asset sales which is probably their more controversial plan. Before Labour supporters get literally up in arms, don’t think National is skating by without some scrutiny. The state asset sales isn’t without its disadvantages - most notably, the physical loss of ownership of New Zealand land into the hands of non-New Zealand owned businesses. They may pay better, sure, but there is a sense of betrayal and defeat when we are forced to give up the ground underneath our feet just to get by. And the biggest scrutiny around this is exactly that - New Zealanders want to keep what is theirs. However, land and capital is a much more stable international market than currencies are. The New Zealand dollar is one of the top ten most traded dollars in the world - bigger than the Indian rupee - and that means we are subject to more ups and downs than a Bangkok strip joint, and yet we are still holding our heads above the water. It’s a matter of seeing the big picture.  In saying that, that seems to be exactly what people are losing sight of.

You see, social policy - and by that, I’m more referring to PR rather than physical policy - has been the driving force behind this election. Sure, the people have the power over most elections, but we see it a lot later most years. This year has been shit, and New Zealanders either want to back who got them through or need someone to blame. In both cases, it is the National Government. This Government has seen more pressure from the public than most, even though in hindsight, most of the problems that surfaced were not the direct and sole responsibility of the Government. And time and time again, we are faced with people sledging the Government for what hasn’t been done and what hasn’t happened yet, rather than counting their blessings from one of the most financially costly years in recent memory. People have to stop thinking like this. The reason people are voting can’t be motivated by hate. It sounds hippy to say it, but saying you are voting for Labour purely because you think National is a crock of shit (and vice versa) is completely pointless. If you vote for the opposite party out of spite without thinking about where exactly your vote is going, shit can and will hit the fan, and we’ll be even more screwed.

Which leads me to my next point. Yes, the welfare gap is a problem. Yes, it is something that needs to be resolved. No, it cannot be something that decides the election. People from lower deciles that vote for a Labour Government purely because they believe in equality are petty and, more importantly, jealous. Before you begin typing about “foo, you know nothing bout hard life”, cancer isn’t cheap and neither is having seven siblings, so shut the fuck up. I’m alive and I have the intelligence to see past the political spin that is being used to pull up the pants of people who won’t vote because they can’t shift out of their state housing long enough to count their blessings, let alone vote. There is a gold mine in the social sphere that stems from people that are straight up angry that the economy is hurting them and who need to pin it on someone. This is bullshit. There is a bigger picture to consider - are we going to even make it to the next election with the amount of debt we’re in? When we are stable, we can deal with the individual. But costing the many to save the few, however noble, is not the highest priority in this election. Nor is the supposed profiteering of the rich. I couldn’t care less, and it will not sway my vote. Purely because it is not the largest factor.

To put to rest some other minor election niggles, the Skynet Law has more loopholes than a Nordic prostitution ring and it’s nothing to get panties in a bunch over; National Standards are laughably hated and will not make it forward if National continues to run Parliament, or I will shiv Anne Tolley with a Demon can (no seriously, she is the worst politician of the lot); Winston Peters will probably pull a Phoenix Down out of his arse but that isn’t a bad thing because he is, when all is said and done, a smart and experienced politican, and if I hear one more person trying to pin the Rena on National their ass is after Tolley’s. The response from the National Government could not have been faster without clairvoyance. Get a grip.

I’ll talk about the MMP referendum briefly as well, because that is the Part 2 of the election this year. Keep MMP. FPP, for those who are not aware, is the method that exists in America. Each party runs in every region of New Zealand, whoever wins the most electorates gets the most seats. Naturally, the amount of seats is weighted on the electorates won, but that’s semantics. Where FPP is region based, MMP is based off the population in general. Simply put, FPP is too large-scale to be implemented in New Zealand fairly. There would be too many margins of error to make it work and the resulting parties that were electorate would probably not have the majority vote of the nation. MMP has its kinks, but it works. Failing that, the single transferable vote system seems to be the only one that makes any sense. That is when an MP - and in turn, a party - has to meet a quota of preference before getting elected. That is a loose definition, but it is essentially the gist of it. The other systems are contrived and flawed.

I think I’ve just about covered everything except why I am voting for ACT. Well, first off, I believe in the ideals despite the individuals. Second, they are on the verge of dropping out of Government altogether if National don’t need them to get by. Call me a tosser, but I’m not so much focused on bringing everyone to the same level as much as working from the ground up. Help yourself, and when you are able to assist others, do everything and anything you can without throwing yourself in the fire. That’s a personal philosophy of mine that falls into the same vein as ACT, coincidentally. That and I learned it off a First Aid course. Shush.

Peace out, yo. Vote wisely and justly this Saturday. Or vote for the Cannabis party. No harm, no foul.