Don’t pop the corks on ‘modest’ US tariffs
Although looking less likely by the day, should President Trump’s promised new golden age for America materialise and he single-handedly makes America great again it will not be widely celebrated by way of the traditional and ceremonial popping of Champagne corks.
Trump has threatened a tariff of 200% on all French Champagne which would increase the price way beyond the budgets of most Americans.
The salutary message is that no imports into the US are sacrosanct from the president’s obsession with import tariffs and this will be having an extremely sobering impact on European wine producers.
Deficit budgeting
I am not surprised that no Dunedin city councillor admitted deficit budgeting in their private lives, no doubt because they use their commonsense at home.
To read council dividends are to be funded by borrowing is insanity. Then sponsoring a university student. Well? There is no point saying "stick to core business" as no-one seems to know what that means. The likes of the arts and playgrounds just have to wait. Just stop spending and see what happens.
Happy people
In today’s ODT (12.3.25) Cr Vandervis says a recent survey showed that Dunedin people are the happiest in any city in the country. Perhaps we could have referencing around this point and, if the research is of quality, perhaps it would be of more use for the council to dig into why this is so rather than spend their time bemoaning lack of growth.
Leadership needed
RE the ODT 13.3.25 "City falls short, economic report depresses."
Well of course it does. Unless you are a ostrich Dunedin has lost its forward momentum.
Dave Cull’s governance aligned with strong council staff direction has died unfortunately.
We need to rethink where we are heading collectively, rich and poor. These elected politicians play a major role.
Otherwise we will be swept aside by more forward thinking players locally and nationally.
Dunedin is a great little city that needs strong leadership going forward, I believe.
Lunching out
I agree with the thoughts that Alex Familton has expressed in his recent letter (14.3.25).
Maybe it is time we took education out of the political field and have a committee made up of professionals and employer representatives .
This committee could oversee educational standards and represent to government’s budgeted suggestions to improve and maintain education standards.
I think it is scandalous that school lunches are not made locally helping local suppliers to survive, tendering should be involved.
Maybe the cost should come out of the national super, which now stands at close to $22 billion.
Surely us grandparents would like to see our young people get good feed and enjoy their lunches at our expense?
In our day we possibly made our own lunches overseen by parents.
Now both parents have to work, and also many children live in one-parent family situations, so good healthy lunches are a must.
The importance placed on tertiary education
The editorial on the University of Otago (18.3.25) points out an encouraging increase in student numbers and their significance for the city. However, from a wider perspective it appears that tertiary education, and universities in particular, is a political after-thought.
The government sees them merely as commercial entities, "monetising patents" and selling their wares to overseas students.
The Labour Party, in its latest reshuffle, has relegated tertiary education to number 33 in a caucus of 34.
Wokeism and bores
Many thanks to Anaru Eketone for an excellent article on the definition of wokeness (Opinion ODT 17.3.25).
I agree the term stems from awakening, for instance to racism, sexism and so on, but suggest there is another way of looking at the woke attitude.
It can be interpreted as extreme in the sense of born again Christian bores and even born again non-smoking bores.
This applies to justice, racism, sexism, sexual diversity.
The woke attitude tends to be educated, superior, puritanical, and lacking tolerance for any degree of humour.
I agree there is a tendency to use the term woke to dismiss alternative view.
But I suggest the tendency to dismiss other views goes both ways.
A wafer thin mint
Do we really need to get school lunches from Western Australia?
If it wasn’t serious it almost has a Monty Python feeling about it.
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
