They involve tax rates horrendously high or the minimum incomes so low that ihe UMI is not a viable means of eliminating poverty.
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World News Brief, Friday February 13
Ukraine cease-fire brokered; Burma revokes voting rights for Muslim Rohingya; Taiwan prison standoff ends with suicide; Al Jazeera journalists released on bail; suicide bombers target Niger border town; and more
Read MoreWhy not elect a Cassowary as Premier?
Queensland voters didn't go quite as far as this cartoon recommended. But they did create quite a thorny thicket for their politicians to play in.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday February 12
EU and Russian leaders meet to negotiate peace in Ukraine; Chinese president Xi Jinping to make first state visit to US; Australian police thwart alleged ISIS attack; Western embassies pull out of Yemen; Greek Pm wins vote of confidence; and more
Read MoreNetanyahu needs to pull the plug on his address to the US Congress
Israel's Prime Minister is using the potential nuclear deal with Iran for his own personal political reasons. While there is still time he should heed the advice of those who actually do value the close and, until now, non-partisan relationship between Israel and the United States.
Read MoreWhen the umpire commits the foul
If Parliament's rules say you aren't even allowed to refer to the existence of a particular court case, then how can the Speaker enforce those rules without letting everyone knows that the court case exists?
Read MoreDanger cliff edge: Andrew Little's loose footing
Andrew Little has wandered off message a bit recently, and as parliament starts needs to give himself a stern talking to if he's serious about earning the trust of middle New Zealand
Read MoreThe Inquisition of Obama's Crusades
President Obama wants a public debate on the danger of a religious war against all of Islam because of the hideous criminal actions of some under the banner of Islam. Like anything done in the US in the name of God, it is fraught with the dangers of partisan politics.
Read MoreTrading Water Resource Consents
‘Iwi leaders and the Government have agreed on a deadline to sort out Maori interests in fresh water by Waitangi Day 2016.’ (News: 5 February 2015)
Read MoreAll those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain
Canada's Supreme Court just announced that Canadians do not have a duty to live. Why do New Zealanders?
Read MoreWhy does one symbol matter, but another does not?
John Key thinks our colonial flag is an outdated symbol that needs replacing. So why is our relationship with the Monarchy any different?
Read MoreWhy it's OK the coach can't go to the [basket]ball
The rules were pretty clear and the ethnic sports tournament hardly unprecidented, so why the fuss about the Maori Basketball tournament? Is this Waitangi fever?
Read More"A trying operation under the influence of chloroform"
Handing someone a "Vote United Future" pamphlet on election day is an offence that can get you fined $20,000. Why is that, and should it be so?
Read MoreNothing takes the place of a great teacher
Online learning is not the solution it was touted to be. You just can't beat real-life interaction with a great teacher
Read MoreJust Do It
Policy announcements do not always reflect careful analysis. Too often the unstated political considerations have too much influence.
Read MorePutting Eleanor Catton among the pigeons
We need to go further than just defending Eleanor Catton's right to an opinion, we need to encourage her for doing her job
Read MoreHow Shallow is Intellectual Life in New Zealand?
It is not what Eleanor Catton said about the government, but how we respond to what she said.
Read MoreTheme of the Traitor and the Hero
How do you think the kind of society that Eleanor Catton described in her (now infamous) interview would react to someone like Eleanor Catton saying such things in an interview?
Read MoreState of the Nation II - John Key
John Key took social housing head on in his first big speech of the year and in doing so raised the ideological politics of ownership, trying to cast it in a new light
Read MoreState of the Nation I - Andrew Little
Andrew Little kicked off the political year proper with his state of the nation address this morning, and it emphasised that Labour is under new management
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