While all our collective attention has been on the scandal after scandal erupting inside Politics, enormous changes in how National intend to run the economy have been missed.
Put aside the insane ghost road infrastructure budget that National didn’t bother to cost out, it is this news story by Thomas Coughlin at Stuff that is the most important political news story and will remain so for the next 2 months!
National would need to cut tens of billions in public services to meet debt target
National’s draft debt target would require it to slash government borrowing by $80 billion leading to what could be some of the harshest public service cuts seen in New Zealand history.
National finance spokesman Paul Goldsmith last week told a gathering of financial sector professionals that his party wanted to get net core Crown debt, the main way of measuring public debt, to below 30 per cent of GDP within a decade.
Just how big would National’s slash and burn on public funding be?
With the economy expected to grow to $506b by that time, National would need to get net core Crown debt down to $151.8b to meet the target of 30 per cent.
That’s more than $80b lower than the current Government’s track. In an ordinary year, the entire government spends a little bit over $80b – trimming debt by this amount by over a decade would be the equivalent of cutting out an entire year’s spending on the entire government, or four years of superannuation spending, or just under half a decade of DHB spending.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the National plan would lead to some of the most severe public service cuts ever.
Hilariously Paul Goldsmith rushed forward trying to hide the enormity of the cuts while ACT doubled down and cheered Goldsmith on…
But National’s prospective coalition partner ACT doubled down on the cuts. Goldsmith’s loose goal, revealed to a meeting of financial professionals last week, is to set out a path to get net core Crown debt to 30 per cent within a decade “give or take a few years”.
But ACT said a decade is too long to wait, saying the country needs to start to pay back borrowing by the end of the next Parliamentary term in 2023.
…so Paul is trying to hide what National’s cuts would be while ACT are cheering them on!
Imagine billions taken out of education, health and public services each year under National so they can balance the books for their right wing economic Gods.
Judith is hoping and relying on the dirty politics to keep NZers distracted from National’s slash and burn policy. How on earth are we going to be able to move forward as a country if National are quite willing to jettison the poorest amongst us in their drive for economic purity?
Allowing National to win and implement the most severe public service cutbacks in NZs history right after a pandemic would be economic suicide for our poorest and the working classes, the only offer of help National are giving the middles classes is a re-introduction of the housing crisis to dive up property prices.
It’s like all the worst parts of National with their worst ideas combined led by their worst leader ever.
I don’t think NZ could survive terrorism, volcanism the pandemic AND National.
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“We’ve changed “. I’ve learned from my past mistakes” so said an apparently softer warmer Judith just freshly minted as leader for National in orgy of leadership change not seen since the post Brezhnev era but on a sugar bag of Columbia’s finest blow. But it was all weapons grade bullshit.
This Trump Mini-Me can barely keep the super nasty super bitch contained. She let the real Judith slip out in a rage telling school girl tales on ILG in revenge for her sicko degenerate MP Andrew Falloon getting caught.
And can you just imagine someone as dry as a thawed out Friedman dinosaur like Paora Goldsmith getting his cost cutting austerity hands on our economy? I lived through Ruth Richardson’s nuclear winter economy and that was horrendous but that won’t hold a candle to Paora and Judith.
Good article on Friday by Patrick Smellie outlining the rich and well connected, (classic National supporters or past their used by date neo libs), dreams of making a fast buck out of Covid19, offering private enterprise to run Quarantine facilities, (Serco anyone?), reopening the borders to select “Covid free” countries and states, etc.etc. You just know these arseholes will have the ears of Judith and Paora. There is but one example of how we would be exposed to these captains of capitalism and how we will be in big trouble should she ever get her hands on the leadership of this country. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12350705
What is the plan on the left to pay down debt? Or is the left happy to mortgage the future of our children?
So National and Act would rather screw the future of our children at the present and then the kick the can down the road again? Just like they did with our health system that wouldn’t have coped if this govt hadn’t introduced lock down and instead opened the borders like the far right wants?
So you have no plan to pay down debt? Thanks for the clarification
Raise taxes on people like you hopefully and to answer the second part of your rhetorical question, you, your children and probably their children will be required to help repay a once in a lifetime pandemic debt.
What is the plan of the right other than stagnate wages and suppress the middle and lower income earners?
Nationalising banking. Exterminate the corporate parasites who avoid taxation.
Right on Do not worry so much my dear. There are some Kiwi guys in Auckland who obtain loan money from Chinese banks. You may even know their mama. You should be fine.
Right on July 26, 2020 at 9:25 am
What is the plan on the left to pay down debt? Or is the left happy to mortgage the future of our children?
The plan is to tax the rich.
Y’know, it kinda makes sense really.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/former-pm-jim-bolger-backs-calls-for-tax-on-rich/ar-BB16HSER
Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger is backing calls for taxes on the rich to be raised, saying the wealthy need to help pay for New Zealand’s COVID-19 recovery.
“The tax system is totally unbalanced,” Bolger says, “and the multibillionaires, and the billionaires, and the millionaires are all not paying their fair share of taxes.”
His comments come after some of New Zealand’s richest residents signed a letter urging governments across the world to raise taxes for the wealthy.
The Millionaires for Humanity letter was organised by the United States group The Patriotic Millionaires, and says that while they aren’t essential workers with frontline skills, “we do have money, lots of it.
NZ would quickly become ungovernable under those circumstances.
Shows how unhinged the Nats have become in their desperation to get their snouts back in the trough.
Uncosted imaginary roads. Now this.
Alas, this is the sort of madness you get with a sociopath in charge of a party.
Goldsmith being made to look like a complete fool
Beggars belief that these dinosaur Laissez-faire idiots are still trying to hang on by their fingernails in the middle of a pandemic when Keynes-ism is going to be the order of the day in the coming years. National and Act are complete jokes.
What flabbergasts me WK is the willingness of so many acolytes of the free market myth to put their hand and unashamedly take Govt money in recent times.
Like – if you believe in market forces, and those forces have turned against you and suggest you are no longer viable, then surely……???
Why does the Law of the Jungle only apply to the poor and the powerless?
F@ck ’em….and ACT…..and National…..and all the other hypocrites.
Their attitude is that Socialism is unrealistic and farcical, so any time they see a handout that helps the worse-off that they can apply for, they rush to get their snouts into the trough which they imagine to have been filled with taxes stolen from their “hard work” anyway.. and also, they do not want to let Socialism succeed, so they will try to sabotage it by any means, including claiming the handout which they know bloody well they do not need, and was not intended for them.
A National Act government at this time would be disaster for this country.
Vote kindness.
Also, someone please buy Grant Robertson a copy of “The Deficit Myth” by Steph Kelton for his birthday.
Just so we can put this “scary govt. debt so make the poor pay” bullshit to bed.
We have become so focussed on a spend and debt economy that we have lost the urge to critically assess the waste in both central and local government. It’s other people’s money so who gives a shit ehhh?
Unnecessary high salary costs, leasing the most expensive commercial property, external consultants, pistake IT system upgrades, corporate jaunts on business class flights, spouses getting free flights because their partner has been x amount of years an MP at the list goes on….
Piece of piss to reduce debt down without impacting ‘front line’ services. I’d bet good money if it was their money they would find a way. Unfortunately we have got so used to unsustainable cost systems with a default to charge more when we can’t afford that we can’t be bothered to look at the other side of the P&L and balance sheet. Real easy to fudge this when you stimulate the economy with unsustainable immigration.
This is the main reason for cost of living expenses over the past 10 years – charge individuals and businesses more and they just pass this on to consumers. Who benefits? Certainly not the poor.
But please keep on thinking increased debt loading is going to get us out of a recession. Worked a treat in Southern Europe over the last decade. Will National do this if they get into power – hahahaha of course not – Just like Jacinda was going to end child poverty. Rest easy Bomber just another promise that will never be met….
I’m not sure if the stupidist thing about that approach is that they’ll kill the economy which will lower the tax take and leave them with no money to pay down the debt – or if it’s that interest rates are approaching zero meaning it’s a great time to borrow – or is it that private debt in NZ is at record levels while public debt is actually quite low compared to other countries.
The mid boggles at just how disconnected with reality they are
Judeath announced a new road for Palmerston North while standing beside her 17 yr old (boy) candidate. Does she really care about Palmerston North? yeah nah!
Judeath announced a new road for Palmerston North while standing beside her 17 yr old (boy) candidate. Does she really care about Palmerston North? yeah nah!
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