GUEST BLOG: David Birrell – Responding to Spinoff’s 7 reasons left can’t win

Hi, wrote this in response to SpinOffs article talking about 7 things that will stop the left from winning. Thought it might raise some interesting points for some of your bloggers.

7 reasons the left should win the election:

1) Todd Barclay debacle – Proof that the National government is corrupt, and rotten to the core. Paying out taxpayer hush money to cover their own criminal activities, irresponsible. This alone should be enough for all confidence in the National party to be lost.

2) Government debt has reached unprecedented levels under National government completely debunking their claims they can responsibly manage the economy.

3) The consequences of neoliberalism are rearing their ugly head… we have a housing crisis with a generation locked out of home ownership because the government has left the free market to bubble. Unfortuately neoliberals faith in the efficency of the free market fails to account for the social impacts of leaving something as important as housing, health, education to capitalists. Now we have the disgrace of having Kiwis living in cars, garages, leaky and cold homes. 3rd world.

4) Once again related to neoliberalism the National party considers the concepts of free education and free health as charity not a human right. This causes them to disdain the poor and middle class “peasants”. Once again this comes from a place of ignorance, because investment in health and education leads to a improved society that will benefit in the long run. Lack of investment in the youth for example will lead to more crime, overflowing prisons – which we are already experiencing. Time to stop the rot.

5) “Working for all Kiwis..” Yea right. We now have unprecedented levels of poverty, particularly child poverty in NZ. This is a real shame as NZ once prided itself as being an egalitarian society where everyone had the chance to succeed. Now we are seeing this is not the case and we a headed towards more of a American level of wealth inequality, some living the high life (think Max Key), while others are struggling to feed their kids and living in Ghettos (i.e. tent camps with 1000s of tents have arisen across West Auckland).

6) “Double Dipper from Dipton”, Paula Benefit scandal. National have come across as trying to line their own pockets. They are more concerned with keeping their high paying MP jobs than actually working for NZ. See Todd Barclay picking up 3000 dollars per week to go on holiday after shafting the tax payer for hush money after secretly recording his staff. Is he paranoid or something?

7) Winston Peters, I personally would prefer to see a Labour/Greens government but one cannot deny Winston Peters has hit a chord with the NZ pubic. After all he seems to be the only candidate with charisma.

Reasons the left will not win the election

1) Kiwis have become selfish, and consumerist under the neoliberal agenda. Promising tax cuts has traditionally been a winner come election time, even though National have a history of promising and then never delivering tax cuts. People would rather have a new phone than see their health/education sectors functioning well. Although people are pissed off with the overstretched infrastructure and associated traffic this may swing these selfish voters.

David Birrell is a 28 year old doctor living in Auckland.