POLL: Are you satisfied with your current government?

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No; the federal gov't is reneging on written accords and agreements; in a minority government, that's basically asking "I don't want this job anymore, will someone please fire me?".

 

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

There's a lot I'm not happy about, in regards to the way NZ government is running. But then again, compared with many many governments in the world, I'm sure the NZ government is pretty good (IMO at least).

 

I've never been satisfied with government in my country. Most of the politicians are corrupted here.

 

As a matter of fact - yes. Yes, I am. Definitely.

Compared to other nations the political class of Germany is doing its job reasonably well. That's not to say there isnt a whole string of things that have me utterly conflunkerled, but it could all be so much worse.

 

@ Register - I'm curious. Could you give some examples? I mean, it makes sense that people without a job won't live as well as those with a job - afterall, if you have no job you don't have money. But what I'm more curious about is the privatization you don't like.

 

Probably 60/40 against. I can't deny a lot of good has come out of our governement in the last 10 years but it's horribly tarnished by Spin & Lies, Iraq, Pensions & Stealth Taxes.

 

Aldeth, me and Register live in a country that has been run by the Social democtratic party for most of the last 80 years. Which means that by American standards our views are probably a bit odd.

There have been a very strong social security net and being unemployed wasnt a huge personal disaster unless it lasted for a prolonged time. The state has also been in control of most infrastructure and several big corporations in all manner of areas. Once in a while a more right wing government comes into power, even though they are seen as right wing nutcases hellbent on killing all the poor they are generally more like the democratic party than the republican. So when they come into power and implement more "liberal" policies (European liberal) most of us Swedes really dont like it and it usually means bad stuff for the country as a whole.

 

I don't get it... It just seems fair that those who work recieve more benefits than those who don't. Work is the price you pay for continued existance on this planet.

In New Zealand we don't have a social net, we have a damn hammoc. We're on 4th generation 'wards of the state' or in other words people who've never worked in their life despite being capable of doing so.

Now, being disabled and unable to work is one thing, but choosing not to work and to leech off society is another.

 

@ joacquin - sorry, but I'm still not getting it. What specific types of privatisation are you and Register referring to that is so bad? Over here in the states, a lot of people view privatisation (although we call it privatiZation) as a *good* thing, as most of the time private companies can do a better job (usually cheaper too) than the government can. Now, I'm not saying everything should be privatis(z)ed - there are certainly things that I believe should remain in government control, but I don't have a "privatis(z)ation = bad" mindset.

Also you haven't answered anything regarding the unemployed to clear that part up either. To me, No Job = No Money = Worse Life.

 

Anyone can do a better job than this government, so that's not really saying much. But anyone who has worked in the private sector long enough should know that they are generally just as bad as most governments. The PS is populated with self-serving, autocrats. The idea that they would defend the public good, especially over their own interests, is a strange notion.

[ May 25, 2007, 19:08: Message edited by: Chandos the Red ]

 

I'm not sure at what stage they are privatizing in Sweden but in Finland the government is slowly cutting back on government owning in various telecommunication and electricity companies. The main point in holding on to these is the security issue. It's not viewed safe to have all electiricty and all telecommunications in the country in foreign hands. In such a small country it would make us dependent upon foreign investors. These days most of these worries are unnecessary since the competition in all those sectors have significantly grown and the country is not usually dependant upon individual companies. The secondary gain is the considerable dividend payments that the government recieves from their ownership in these companies and use it to fund the public sector.

Then there are the state monopolies on alcohol and gambling, which are motivated through various health reasons. Wether or not they are necessary is debatable and big international companies (especially the betting ones) are seeking to crack these monopolies through EU courts.

Thirdly there is the public education and universal healthcare. I doubt neither will be up to any restrictions in here or Sweden in the few future years.

This much is obvious. Under most circumstances you won't get nearly the same money from welfare as you'd get from working. It's something that you can manage to live on but it certainly won't get you any luxuries. The main purpose is to secure that if someone gets unemployed their entire life quality won't suddenly plummet and that they get some breathing room and time to organize themselves new employment.

There's also the fact that it might be difficult for a university graduate to accept the fact that there aren't any openings in their discipline right now and must start working in mcdonalds. The rightwing government is taking a harder stance upon these people and forcing them to take any job they are offered or loose their welfare.

Register and joacqin can correct me if I missed something or am wrong at something.

Also, while this has not reached the critical point yet, let's avoid dwelling on these issues. If someone wishes to discuss welfare or privatization in depth they are free to start a new thread about it.

 

Me, too.

And to clarify: No, I'm not.

 

No, they are definately the worst government since the fall of the colonels in 1974. Do you know many prime ministers who work in their office from 9 to 14.30 and then return to their home to play with playstation?

 

Aldeth the idea that the private sector will do a better job than the state at running things is a political view point and one which in my experience has proven itself to be anything but true.

My anectdotal evidence points to privatized companies usually supply worse service to higher prices and bigger profits for the owners.

[ May 24, 2007, 23:11: Message edited by: joacqin ]

 

Heh - no. The country is run by a man who'd probably hold a massacre of small children if he thought it would help the economy somehow.

 

Not really. Politicians are a bunch of self-serving vermin whose only concern is getting reelected. Almost without exception their chief goal is to increase the size and scope of government at the taxpayers expense (literally and figuratively). They look upon the taxpayers as a giant milch cow from which they can extract nearly unlimited money to fund their harebrained schemes. From Bush on down they are a corrupt, contemptible lot. The Republicans and the Democrats are simply two sides of the same worthless coin.

 

In India, there's not much in the way of social security or government caring for the people...much. Its mostly every man for himself, with all the important things such as medical care etc being paid out of the pocket of the individual completely.

Soo...we don't really expect too much from our government here unlike you folks in the West. Having said that, don't really care...not like they affect our lives much anyway...

 

No. Our government is corrupt, prejudiced and inept.

Some examples:
Its getting pretty lawless in my country with quite a few deaths from robbers and such. When there is a public outcry, the police announces in the news that they are lacking in manpower so the citizens should take steps to ensure their own safety, i.e. employ private guards (if I were them robbers, I'd be breaking out the bubbly!). Then comes this Visit Malaysia Year 2007 where the government promotes tourism, and then goes to announce about 2 weeks later after the above fiasco that they will be placing 4000-5000 police officers to help maintain the safety of tourists (as a citizen, I feel pretty shafted over).

Then another fiasco with major foul ups in goverment buildings and major roads that costs millions to build only to break down and costs millions to repair. An example would be this infernal highway that took years to complete and an overinflated budget of 120mil to make. A year later, cracks were seen and it took another 70mil (more than half of what it costs?!?!) and another year to repair. Naturally, lotsa fingers were pointed at the works minister, but he just shrugs it off and says its not his problem. And our government doesn't do a crap about it (even with government buildings breaking down! Our NEW immigration department and our NEW high court are in need of major repairs).

Then, there is the major racial and religious prejudice in our country that is quite sensitive and I prefer not to point these out. Suffice to say, my government sucks.