Moaners on the Money

Yesterday the Reserve Bank revealed New Zealand’s new bank notes, which will begin circulation in October 2015. I like them. They are colourful, vibrant  and, in their design, an astute blend of tradition and modernism. That is my opinion, anyway. Others will and do disagree. I knew they would. I said to someone yesterday they would. There is no special prescience in that; all it takes is a knowledge of New Zealanders.  In New Zealand there will always be some—many—who will disagree with something, particularly something subjective such as design. Of course they are entitled to express their opinions, as I am entitled to do about the bank notes and about them. But I can’t help thinking that many of these people do not start and stop with bank notes, or flags for that matter. We seem to have in this country a disproportionate number of perpetual wingers, and that is both disappointing and discouraging. In a past life I was required to deal with some of them—negative thinkers who generally had a raft of eclectic complaints. To be confronted day after day with such complainers was both tiring and tiresome. But I had to do it. For pay. Today, I don’t. So, allow me to vent, from experience: all you glass half empty people, life on my side of the fence that divides us is good. Life is not perfect, but it is a joy. Even in our waking moments we can always find something to look forward to in the day ahead. It is not hard and it will, literally, make our day. Try it. You will like it. And you, in turn, will become more likeable. That said (and vented) let me return to the bank notes and reiterate that—in my world—you are allowed to dislike them. But surely you should do so for the right reasons, and by that I mean realistic and reasonable reasons. Here are some of the reasons, expressed on Twitter, Facebook and the Herald website, given for not liking the bank notes. In quoting, I rest my case on negative thinkers.

• A change in a pay rise would be better.
• Will they print enough to feed all the kids in poverty?
• A country in debt and where (sic) wasting money on money hahaa
• Not that safe to have bright cash …. pretty much saying look what I have, now come and rob me
• How many million did it cost to do that?
• Does the govt have this excess funds? What about our nurses, teachers etc?
• I don't think the colours need to be any brighter? What's the point of that? Won't the ink make it more expensive?

But in this there is humour (Thank God). I like these two comments, both from Facebook:

• Don’t have money long enough to look at it....
• Do we get to have a free sample?