Who's Counting?

You could be forgiven for thinking that the health system could save $1.9 billion if tobacco had never existed. That’s what the Ministry of Health says smoking costs the public system. But you’d be wrong. The ministry’s latest estimate of the cost of smoking has nothing to do with the costs that smokers impose on taxpayers or the costs that could be avoided if smoking were to disappear.After sorting the population by age, gender, income, ethnicity...

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Finance and Investments

Money illusion feeds into the kiwi obsession with property but as a recent Sunday Star Times article points out, many factors should be considered when weighing up the rent-or-buy options. The article quotes economist Shamubeel Eaqub from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research who says the case for "active" renting instead of buying a home is stronger than ever."I think house prices are completely unsustainable on pretty much every valuation...

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Womenomics

As the number of women participating in the workforce grows, their potential influence on business is becoming ever more important. Seventy-two percent of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey believe there is a direct connection between a company’s gender diversity and its financial success.Yet companies have not so far successfully bridged the gap between men and women in the top levels of management. This is not surprising, since the survey...

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Musings & Amusings

Marriage is a “public, formal, lifelong commitment to share your life with another person,” as Andrew J. Cherlin defines it in The Marriage-Go-Round: The State of Marriage and the Family in America Today. In the American view, marriage remains the ideal state: only 10 percent of Americans endorse the idea that the institution is outdated, compared to, say, in France, where a third of people think it is. On the contrary, America is seeing a sort of...

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Why?

It is a tragedy, a horror, a crime against humanity. The details of the murders – of the women beheaded, burned to death, stoned to death, stabbed, electrocuted, strangled and buried alive for the "honour" of their families – are as barbaric as they are shameful. Many women's groups in the Middle East and South-west Asia suspect the victims are at least four times the United Nations' latest world figure of around 5,000 deaths a year. Most of the...

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Everyday Money

How do we teach our teenage children how to handle money? The use of money involves logic, facts, and a healthy dose of discipline. These have no place in teenage brains.If as parents you are over indulging by being the bank of Mum and Dad you certainly won’t inculcate good financial habits so here are some suggestions:•Give your teenager an allowance after they have completed their appropriate duties, I define these as a contribution to the bottomless...

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