Smoko

What was it exactly that possessed John Key in 2008 to say he would resign as Prime Minister before sanctioning a rise in the age of pension eligibility in this country?

The great inequality debate was given impetus internationally last week by revelations of astounding bonuses still being awarded to top bankers in the United Kingdom; and pointed relevance in this country by the row over the salary rise of Christchurch chief executive Tony Marryatt, and the noisy ousting, particularly in Auckland, of the protesters of the Occupy movement.

Consider these two unexpected propositions: a leading contender for the Republican nomination for President of the United States of America is ambushed by a competing conservative candidate for putting profits before people; and one of the richest men in America, a quintessential capitalist, is demanding that the nation's top earners pay higher taxes.

It wasn't so much the bare, urine-burnt patches of grass at the bottom of the wide garden steps that offended. No, that could be put down to sheer sloth on my own part, shooing the dog down in that direction late in the evening instead of taking him for a regulated constitutional stroll - to do his dirty work elsewhere, or kill some wild weeds on a roadside verge.

Traditionally, at this time of year, we look backwards and forwards - and sometimes sideways - to reflect on the world around us, and our part in it.

Hindsight has the potential to make fools out of the supremely confident while turning silent naysayers into sages.

The hostel was an old 1950s prefab building. I'm picturing it as a jaded yellow but that may be simply the sepia fade of memory. It was, after all, 38 years ago.

There is no doubt, as Prime Minister John Key is fond of pointing out, the mixed-ownership model that he and his party are proposing for their partial sale of state assets can work extremely well.

I am a member of a privileged lot, too young for rock'n'roll, too old for punk, a subset of the fabled and fabulously self-absorbed babyboomer generation.