By: Larry Williams | Tuesday, October 09, 2012 4:35 PM

ON YOUTH WAGE

Details of the 'youth wage' unveiled today.

Young people will be paid as little as $10.80 an hour under the government's new youth wage - being introduced in April next year.

The Government says it'll create demand for young people, by giving employers an incentive to take them on.

It'll cover 16 and 17 year olds in their first six months in a new job, 18 and 19 year olds starting work after more than six months on a benefit and 16 to 19 year olds who are in industry training.

The rate is 80 percent of the minimum wage.

Putting aside the mock outrage from the usual quarters this youth wage has to be a good thing for a number of reasons.

No employer in their right mind wants to pay kids adult wages when they lack skills and experience. They will take the the adult who offers a lot more. The lack of a youth rate is a disincentive for employers to take youth on.

The youth unemployment rate is high. Giving them a leg up on a 'youth rate' just makes sense.

Its for a period of 6 months.

I don't know what the anti's are on about.

 

ON THE DOLLAR

The reaction to Russel Norman's plan to print money has generally been one of 'loony tunes'.

You will not find too many economists who endorse it.

The reason is that NZ is not in great economic shape but its also not a basket case. We have options. The US and Europe had run out of options.

Economists are very much divided as to whether the quantitative easing will work long term.

The inevitable consequence of lowering the NZ dollar, and the jury is out on whether that is achievable, is a lowering of real wages. It would lead to inflation which would mean the real exchange rate wouldn't really change. Kiwis would pay more for almost everything. Printing money comes with great risk.

Go check out what the Reserve Bank says if you don't believe me.

What we are seeing is a political beat-up.

You look at those making all the action here. Its Labour and the Greens.

The noise being made about manufacturing is coming from the unions - a branch party of Labour. So it's mostly political. Sure there's an issue but politics is driving this.

Manufacturing is down but not fatally so. 58% of manufacturers don't actually export by the way.

Through 2007-8 the dollar was hovering between 70c and 80c against the US. The Kiwi against the Australian was high 80's and into the 90's.

Not a murmur then. Not a whisper.

 

ON AFGHAN INTERPRETERS

The PM is not closing the door to the Afghan interpreters who may want asylum here after the troops pull out of Afghanistan.

They believe that the Taliban will target them as soon as the troops pull out.

There are 26 of them plus I guess family.

Enter Winston Peters. He says "by opening the door at all, New Zealand First says it could be impossible to close again.

“Well they will have effectively jumped the UN queue for a start,” says Winston Peters. “The second thing is they will be bringing hundreds of thousands as well with them.

What a load of tosh.

Now of course a risk assessment on these claims will be carried out. But these Afghans have been helping us in the fight against the Taliban. How can we justify leaving them there to be strung up?

I think we have an ethical and moral duty to help them out.