正文翻译
Why is it expensive to live in New Zealand？为什么新西兰的生活成本很高？
评论翻译Nicholas Smeaton,Lives in Christchurch, Canterbury, New ZealandThere are several factors as to why the cost of living in New Zealand is so high.Economics of scale, with only five million people we don’t have the same level of buying power as countries like the UK or US so we end up paying more per unit of goods.Geographic isolation, it costs money to move goods around the world and been a long way from everywhere else means we pay more for transportation than most. I work for an importer and the cost of getting a container from Europe to New Zealand has trebled over the last 12 months!Profiteering, some industries such as fuel companies, banks and supermarkets are effectively operating as a cartel and screwing over the public big time. The government is trying to deal with this problem but to date it appears that any changes made by the industries involved are purely cosmetic.Government subsidies, back in the 1970s stuff like electricity and milk were subisidised by the government, then in the 1980s the government went totally free market and removed all those subsidies, so we’re paying the market rate. Or we should be, when the price of milk goes down internationally, Fonterra likes to hike it domestically in order to keep it’s profit margins looking good.新西兰的生活成本如此之高，有几个原因。规模经济，我们只有500万人口，没有像英国或美国这样的购买力，因此我们最终要为每件商品支付更多的费用。地理位置孤立，在世界各地运输货物需要花费大量资金，而且距离其他地方很远，这意味着我们比大多数人支付更多的运输费用。我在一家进口商工作，在过去12个月里，从欧洲到新西兰的集装箱成本增加了三倍！为了牟利，一些行业，如燃料公司、银行和超市，实际上是作为一个卡特尔（垄断联盟）运作的，欺骗公众。政府正试图解决这个问题，但迄今为止，有关行业所作的任何改变似乎都只是表面功夫。政府补贴，早在20世纪70年代，电力和牛奶之类的东西就由政府补贴，然后在20世纪80年代，政府完全进入自由市场，取消了所有补贴，所以我们按照市场价格支付。或者，当牛奶价格在国际上下跌时，恒天然集团喜欢在国内提高价格，以保持良好的利润率。John Dunford，Former Super Annuitant... Previously a CEOIts no more expensive to live in NZ than it is in other first World economies… compared to third world economies it is extremely expensive so judging externally if you come from a third World country without the level of pay in NZ of course it appears prohibitive, Tax is not massive in NZ and some things such less expensive than he UK for example. Its difficult to make exact comparisons. Just recently due to world issues and the inflationary cycle costs have increased but again this is the same everywhere.在新西兰生活并不比在其他第一世界经济体更昂贵。与第三世界经济体相比，这是非常昂贵的，所以从外部判断，如果你来自第三世界国家，而新西兰的工资水平却不高，这当然显得令人望而却步。很难进行准确的比较。就在最近，由于世界问题和通货膨胀周期的影响，成本增加了，但这在所有地方都是一样的。David WyattIs living in New Zealand expensive?People say it is.However, I have compared prices in other countries related to incomes and have found New Zealand to be no more expensive than other countries.For example, the average grocery shop spend in the UK is around the same as in New Zealand.So yes, living is expensive in New Zealand. However, living is expensive all over the world and there are plenty of countries where it is much more expensive to live than New Zealand.Remember, you can’t just compare the price of things only between countries. You have to compare them relative to incomes. For example cost less in dollars in the USA but wages are also way lower in the USA than in New Zealand.The thing is nowhere in this world is cheap to live. Relative to incomes everywhere is expensive to live.在新西兰生活成本贵吗?人们说是的。然而，我比较了其他国家与收入相关的价格，发现新西兰的价格并不比其他国家高。例如，英国杂货店的平均花费和新西兰差不多。是的，新西兰的生活很贵。然而，世界各地的生活成本都很高，有很多国家的生活成本比新西兰高得多。记住，你不能只在国家之间比较商品的价格。你必须将它们与收入进行比较。例如，美国的美元成本更低，但美国的工资也比新西兰低。问题是，世界上没有任何地方的生活成本是便宜的。相对于收入，世界各地的生活成本都很高。Rosco JohnsThe last trip I did back to New Zealand was 18 months ago, and I was quite shocked at the price of everthing. I told myself it could be Ive been living in South East Asia too long and maybe Ive had just forgottenHow did the cost of living become so high in New Zealand?In the Late 1980s and into the 1990s a series of events occured in New Zealand that had a material impact on the cost of each and every goods and service you purchase today.Among these events were: the introduction of the Resource Management Act. The Accident Compensation Commission funding analysis and The Leaky Buildings issue. Each of these events has lead to changes in the way New Zealand does anything, and those changes, in most parts has taken on a life of its own.First off New Zealand managed to inflate the value of houses not only by allowing speculative investment from Asia. They also inflated the cost of construction by regulation. Over a few decades they managed to inflate the cost of construction and value of homes to one of the most expensive in the world.我上次回新西兰是18个月前，所有东西的价格都让我很震惊。我告诉自己，可能是我在东南亚住得太久了，也许我只是忘了新西兰的生活成本是怎么变得这么高的?20世纪80年代末到90年代初，新西兰发生了一系列事件，对你现在购买的每一件商品和服务的成本产生了重大影响。这些事件包括:《资源管理法》的出台。事故赔偿委员会资金分析和漏水建筑物问题。每一个事件都改变了新西兰做事的方式，在大多数情况下，这些变化都有自己的特点。首先，新西兰不仅通过允许来自亚洲的投机投资，还成功地提高了房价。他们还通过监管提高了建筑成本。在几十年的时间里，他们成功地将建筑成本和住房价值推高到世界上最昂贵的城市之一。How does the value of our single largest asset have an impact on the cost of living? Well of course it does, but also remember the cost of construction is not just private houses, it's commercial buildings as well.The cost of complianceNew Zealand is a Nanny state and a cotton wool country, where I say “cotton wool” is because that is what the government try to wrap the population in. New Zealand is a country with both a public health system, and an Accident compensation system. On top of that its a welfare state with benefits available for things like sickness and unemployment . Therefore any member of the public suffering an injury accident may impose a cost on one, if not all three of those systems.To mitigate these liabilities, in the late 80′s, early 90s the New Zealand embarked on a number of strategies. The first, through a series of legislative amendments an introductions began identifying third party liability, and wrapping the public in cotton wool. The Health and Safety at Work Act. The Gas Act, the Electricity Act, the Land Transport Act, the Building Act. The Swimming Pool Fences Act - and the list goes on and on.我们最大的一项资产的价值如何影响生活成本? 当然有，但也要记住，建筑成本不仅仅是私人住宅，商业建筑也是如此。合规成本新西兰是一个保姆国家，也是一个“棉絮国家”，我说“棉絮”是因为它试图把人们包裹在棉絮里。新西兰是一个既有公共卫生系统，又有事故赔偿系统的国家。最重要的是，它是一个福利国家，为疾病和失业等问题提供福利。因此，任何遭受伤害事故的公众都可能对其中一个系统 (如果不是所有三个系统) 施加成本。为了减轻这些负债，新西兰在20世纪80年代末90年代初采取了一些策略。第一，通过一系列的立法修正案，开始确定第三方责任，并将公众包裹在棉絮里。《工作场所健康与安全法》、《燃气法》、《电力法》、《陆路运输法》、《建筑法》、《游泳池围栏法案》——这样的法案不胜枚举。The trickle down effect cost of legislaton amended or introduced in the 1990s in New Zealand is one major reason to its cost of living being so high in 2019The main culprits have been the RMA and ACC, and it became apparent that the strategies introduced in the 1990′s weren't having the desired effect. In 2009 ACC posted a $4.8 billion loss, recorded as the biggest loss in New Zealands corporate history. With each and every loss the answer was to turn the screws on OHS requirements even further. Make the public safer. Don't allow them to take risk. Wrap them in cotton wool.You cannot have a swimming pool without a regulation fence around it. You cannot ride a bicycle without wearing a helmet. You cannot undertake minor tasks around your workplace without a health and safety procedure. A home handyman can no longer undertake minor repairs and renovations on his home.Think of the OHS and other compliance cost involved in the manufacture, distribution and sale of a single bag of frozen peas. The OHS compliance cost growing the vegetable, the hazardous substance handling of chemicals and fertilizers. The heavy machinery operation in picking the vegetables. The facility to process and pack the vegetables. The transportation to distribution, the OHS compliance in distribution, further transport, the OHS compliance in retail. Then add to that the cost of every building involved along the way.If you're a fan of Warren Buffet you’ll be familiar with his excitement over “compound interest” in investments. Well the cost of compliance works the same way, it's “compound compliance costs” New Zealand is a country that has excessive regulation, and a country that just adds to the regulation every year. The cost of compliance is a major reason the cost of living is so high!新西兰在20世纪90年代修订或引入的法律的涓滴效应成本是2019年该国生活成本如此之高的一个主要原因主要罪魁祸首是新西兰资源管理法(RMA)和意外事故伤害赔偿局(ACC)，很明显，20世纪90年代引入的战略并没有达到预期的效果。2009年，ACC公布了48亿美元的亏损，这是新西兰企业历史上最大的亏损。面对每一次损失，答案是进一步加大对职业健康和安全的要求。让公众更安全。不要让他们冒险。用棉絮把它们包起来。如果游泳池周围没有监管围栏，就不能有游泳池。你不戴头盔就不能骑自行车。在没有健康和安全程序的情况下，你不能在工作场所周围从事琐碎的工作。家庭杂工不能再对他的家进行小修翻新了。想想生产、分销和销售一袋冷冻豌豆所涉及的职业健康安全管理体系（OHS）和其他合规成本。OHS合规成本包括种植蔬菜、化学品和肥料的有害物质处理。采摘蔬菜时的重型机械操作。加工和包装蔬菜的设备。从运输到分销，分销过程中的职业安全合规，再到运输，零售过程中的职业安全合规。再加上沿途每座建筑的成本。如果你是沃伦·巴菲特的粉丝，你就会熟悉他对投资“复利”的兴奋。合规成本也是一样的，它是“复合合规成本”，新西兰是一个监管过度的国家，而且每年都会增加监管。合规成本是生活成本如此之高的主要原因！
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