9 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

dam, are things really that bad?

IMO worse. Cheap credit is keeping things going and the government refuses to talk about it, but it's happening.

I was talking to a lady in a petrol station shop, and she was scared her job will be eliminated by a machine. Human devoid self service petrol stations are already in existence. Car parks no longer have humans taking the money. Supermarkets have self service checkout counters. Bank tellers are a threatened species. Even social welfare staff could be replaced by machines as their lives become threatened by people outraged at the way they are being treated. They have to have security guards outside every social welfare office now.

AI can replace all the manual jobs, but what will people do, and if they are all unemployed, who is going to have enough money to make businesses viable?

The only industries doing really well, that I could tell, were camper van companies and the illegal weed industry.

9 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO worse. Cheap credit is keeping things going and the government refuses to talk about it, but it's happening.

I was talking to a lady in a petrol station shop, and she was scared her job will be eliminated by a machine. Human devoid self service petrol stations are already in existence. Car parks no longer have humans taking the money. Supermarkets have self service checkout counters. Bank tellers are a threatened species. Even social welfare staff could be replaced by machines as their lives become threatened by people outraged at the way they are being treated. They have to have security guards outside every social welfare office now.

AI can replace all the manual jobs, but what will people do, and if they are all unemployed, who is going to have enough money to make businesses viable?

The only industries doing really well, that I could tell, were camper van companies and the illegal weed industry.

Not really true. There is a growing Service Industry. And those in the Food Sector never enough workers. It is true technology moving in some Industries but in my rural town the local Service station expanding and taking on more staff. Following the Sept 2010 and Feb 2011 earthquakes most Businesses rebuild and expanded. World wide it is an issue no matter how cheap you can import something for if people have no income how do you sell it? The west will re Industrialise because the east is already beginning to price itself out of the market.. 

Of course New Zealand is a nice place now: most of their ratbags have moved to Australia.

2 hours ago, Prbkk said:

Of course New Zealand is a nice place now: most of their ratbags have moved to Australia.

 

Wrong. Some of us came to Thailand.

4 hours ago, Prbkk said:

Of course New Zealand is a nice place now: most of their ratbags have moved to Australia.

 

Word is that the rattiest of them are headed back to NZ as commodities $$$ have crashed and job losses mount.  

6 hours ago, Kiwiken said:

Not really true. There is a growing Service Industry. And those in the Food Sector never enough workers. It is true technology moving in some Industries but in my rural town the local Service station expanding and taking on more staff. Following the Sept 2010 and Feb 2011 earthquakes most Businesses rebuild and expanded. World wide it is an issue no matter how cheap you can import something for if people have no income how do you sell it? The west will re Industrialise because the east is already beginning to price itself out of the market.. 

OK, but I didn't say AI will take over tomorrow. It is here, but in a small way so far ( carparks and petrol stations etc ). It is coming though, and a country with such a small population will have great difficulty dealing with large numbers of unemployed. I think NZ should become part of Australia to help the transition.

NZ can't industrialise, IMO. They just don't have the people willing to do those sort of jobs. All the kids want to be in media and other stupidities.

Regulation is killing NZ businesses now, as the bureaucracy attempts to justify it's existence. Fining farmers thousands of $ for not wearing a helmet while riding a farm bike is an abomination, but no one is standing up against the stupidity. I think people are just trying to get by in a bad environment best they can.

22 hours ago, AYJAYDEE said:

except increasing the money supply will depress interest rates. and that is what is happening

Really? It used to be said that increasing the money supply will increase interest rates because it will lead to inflation. Now it's just the opposite? Actually, what is keeping interest rates low is lack of demand. Almost a century ago, Keynes figured how to solve this problem but it's a lesson well forgotten.

23 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

OK, but I didn't say AI will take over tomorrow. It is here, but in a small way so far ( carparks and petrol stations etc ). It is coming though, and a country with such a small population will have great difficulty dealing with large numbers of unemployed. I think NZ should become part of Australia to help the transition.

NZ can't industrialise, IMO. They just don't have the people willing to do those sort of jobs. All the kids want to be in media and other stupidities.

Regulation is killing NZ businesses now, as the bureaucracy attempts to justify it's existence. Fining farmers thousands of $ for not wearing a helmet while riding a farm bike is an abomination, but no one is standing up against the stupidity. I think people are just trying to get by in a bad environment best they can.

This is true about regulation but please bear in mind most of that is us following on from Australian regulations. It is the same in the workplace. Australian practices are adopted in line with C.E.R

On 10/30/2016 at 3:44 AM, ilostmypassword said:

Really? It used to be said that increasing the money supply will increase interest rates because it will lead to inflation. Now it's just the opposite? Actually, what is keeping interest rates low is lack of demand. Almost a century ago, Keynes figured how to solve this problem but it's a lesson well forgotten.

Yes Keynes always advocated the Invisible hand to stimulate and reduce demand as required. Sadly all the Worlds Governments have become side tracked by the slash and burn Policies of Milton Friedman. This makes them deludedly rely on the market to even things out. A Market driven by greed and manipulated by the Top 5%. I have only believed the trickle down theory works when a drunken wealthy person P........ses on the poor in the Gutter

On 29 ตุลาคม 2559 at 9:44 PM, ilostmypassword said:

Really? It used to be said that increasing the money supply will increase interest rates because it will lead to inflation. Now it's just the opposite? Actually, what is keeping interest rates low is lack of demand. Almost a century ago, Keynes figured how to solve this problem but it's a lesson well forgotten.

IMO, for what it's worth, the zero or very low interest rates are a huge scam by the banks and the people that control them. By not having to pay interest but charging interest they are coining it large.

 

By destroying savings they are ruining the lives of people that used to live off interest and are now having to spend capital.

Nothing convinces me that we are not heading for a catastrophe, caused by greedy capitalists.

 

Lack of demand!!!!!! Is anyone surprised? Having to spend a large proportion of income on either mortgages or rent means that there is little surplus for non essentials.

The only thing that surprises me is that so far that most non essential luxury- overseas holidays- has not been curtailed to any great extent, yet.

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO, for what it's worth, the zero or very low interest rates are a huge scam by the banks and the people that control them. By not having to pay interest but charging interest they are coining it large.

 

By destroying savings they are ruining the lives of people that used to live off interest and are now having to spend capital.

Nothing convinces me that we are not heading for a catastrophe, caused by greedy capitalists.

 

Lack of demand!!!!!! Is anyone surprised? Having to spend a large proportion of income on either mortgages or rent means that there is little surplus for non essentials.

The only thing that surprises me is that so far that most non essential luxury- overseas holidays- has not been curtailed to any great extent, yet.

In the USA it's more about low wages and lower and lower taxes on the rich.  Virtually all of the productivity gains by industry since the mid nineties have gone to the wealthy. It doesn't help that Republicans have done their best to cripple unions and stop an increase in the minimum wage. If the minimum wage of the 1960's had just kept pace with inflation it would be at $15 per hour. It's significant that there is now a much larger and economically healthier middle class in Northern Europe than the USA.

As for it being a bank scam?  Really? The spread in interest rates is very small. And the demand for the Treasury notes of the EU, the UK, and the USA is very large.  Right now it's a seller's market for bond issuers.

I understand that New Zealand is determined to avoid being dependant on other countries. Leading the drive is the military, which now relies on locally developed equipment.

 

Well the Kiwis must be doing something right, the currency is close to a one year high http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=NZD&view=1Y

3 hours ago, steelepulse said:

Well the Kiwis must be doing something right, the currency is close to a one year high http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=NZD&view=1Y

I would say, IMO, it's a consequence of huge amounts of overseas money coming in to buy property.

I can't think of any other reason, unless it's that every other country is doing worse.

A really boring place. Going back there would be like a really slow suicide.

 

High tax, high cost of living and low salary too.

Edited November 4, 20169 yr by nottocus

1 minute ago, nottocus said:

A really boring place. Going back there would be like a really slow suicide.

Anyone with "get up and go" has got up and gone

8 minutes ago, nottocus said:

A really boring place. Going back there would be like a really slow suicide.

 

High tax, high cost of living and low salary too.

Hmmmm. No more boring than a no horse Thai town, and at least the roads are better, even if the drivers are terrible ( NZ people can't drive safely anymore ).

Not somewhere to live if you don't have lotsacash.

Tv is rubbish and even on cable they have zillions of ads.

New Zealand is a great tourist destination and the prospects will be further enhanced with Marriott announcing major hotel openings over the next 4 years.

On ‎04‎.‎11‎.‎2016 at 0:38 PM, Prbkk said:

New Zealand is a great tourist destination and the prospects will be further enhanced with Marriott announcing major hotel openings over the next 4 years.

Yes, I agree it's a great tourist destination. It's just living there that has become difficult unless one has loadsacash.

On 10/28/2016 at 10:13 AM, Paul Catton said:

No tongue in cheek at all.

"Most places are pretty dead by 10 pm" is really too broad a statement to make to interpret that you really meant other destinations aside from the Gateway to the Nation.  

Auckland like Bangkok is a great tourist stop for a few days before sampling the other regions.

As Mt Maunganui has casually been thrown into the pot, here's an example http://www.ikandi.co.nz/ but I doubt they and others have promotional cards on the countertops in the motor camps.

On a pro rata basis between services available versus actual patronage, wouldn't be at all surprised if NZ isn't punching well above its weight.

 

 

Those prices better be in baht!

Emirates just started service between Bangkok and Auckland...I guess to get in on the NZ tourism boom.