GUEST BLOG: Tadhg Stopford – NZ is not poor. We are being plundered.
The neoliberal bamboozle. How it robs us, and how we build back our nation.
“People who have been bamboozled seldom break free of the bamboozle.”
— Carl Sagan
New Zealand is rich. Rich in land, water, minerals, forests, and human potential. Rich in history and innovation. Rich in cultural memory.
So why do we feel so poor?
Why do our children live with flatmates into their 30s, our public hospitals crumble, our wages stagnate, and our elders go without?
Why are we told we “can’t afford” homes, ferries, or healthcare — while offshore corporations grow fat on our power bills, bank fees, and supermarket margins?
The answer isn’t complicated.
But it is deeply uncomfortable.
We are being robbed, lied to, deceived, bamboozled. Betrayed.
Over the last 40 years, we New Zealanders have been systematically stripped of our collective wealth.
Not by war. Not by revolution. But by quiet political, regulatory, and legislative betrayal.
Perhaps some were merely incompetents, but at this stage I am in a hanging mood.
Our ports, power companies, rail lines, banks, forests — all sold off for a fraction of their value under the false promise of “efficiency.” The result? Higher costs, poorer service, and billions in profits shipped offshore. What a surprise!
But that’s just what we could see.
What few realise is that during this same era, we lost something even more vital.
The power to create money.
The power to issue credit for national development.
JP Morgan said, “Gold is money, everything else is credit”, and a famous line from the monetary debates of the 1920-30s goes “let me control the supply of money, and I care not who makes the laws”. Because the power of credit creation is the power to grow or suffocate an economy.
*Nb. While we cannot create gold, NZ is rich in it. But we give it away to Australian and
America multinationals for 2% royalties.
Thats 2% away from zero %, fyi.*
Meanwhile, re “credit” or (fiat) paper money, thst privilege has been given to private Australian banks. Which seems another bad idea. Because not only do they hoover that money overseas, but they don’t even create it for investing in the economy. They just farm us for mortgages. What a sweet gig for the underarm bowlers!
Most New Zealanders believe banks lend out existing money. But that’s a myth. As the Bank of England confirms:
“Whenever a bank makes a loan, it simultaneously creates a matching deposit in the borrower’s bank account, thereby creating new money.”
— Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, 2014
In plain terms: banks create credit — money — out of nothing.
And they charge compounding interest on it.
This means almost every dollar in circulation is someone’s debt. And almost every dollar carries a built-in obligation to extract more in return.
In summary. Aussie Banks create money from nothing, and turn us into debt slaves. Bleeding us and our economy, while doing near zero to grow it.
While, simultaneously, malevolent fools like Luxons losers (or labours neoliberals) tell us “the economy is like a household, there’s no money for investing in what our nation needs.
So sad. Let’s sell more silver”
That’s not a neutral system. It’s racket. It’s a wealth funnel — directing value upwards, eroding sovereignty from below; and then sending it overseas. Out of our economy, in a veritable economic bloodletting.
(Debt, fyi, means sin in many languages. Ie “Forgive us our debts”. But the book of jubilees, the murder of economic reformer Jesus, and the eventual corruption of Christianity into usury are tales for another day. But, history does indeed hold the answers. There’s not much new under the sun)
$93 Billion in a flash. But not for us.
During COVID, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand quietly created $93 billion in liquidity through its Large-Scale Asset Purchase programme.
No taxes were raised. No loans were taken. The money was simply created — digitally — and deployed.
As financial journalist Bernard Hickey wrote,
“The Reserve Bank is doing money printing on a massive scale, but we’re not even talking about how or why.”
— “Where’s Our Money Printing Debate?” – Newsroom, 2020
So when politicians say we “can’t afford” hospitals, homes, or public infrastructure; remember, we can afford it. They just prefer to hand our money to banks and markets, not invest it in our people or our nation.
This Isn’t Incompetence. It’s design. The system is working as intended. To extract our wealth. It’s a racket, and our rulers appear unfit for rule.
In his powerful parting work, Vincent Vickers, former director of the Bank of England and Armstrong Vickers Ltd munitions director/heir, wrote:
“The control of credit should not lie with private monopolies. It should be a national utility for development.”
— Economic Tribulation, 1941 (deathbed publication)
Nine years as a director of the Bank of England convinced Vickers of the damage done when private banking interests controlled public outcomes. He resigned in protest, nearly a century ago, at what was basically predatory class war on the nation.
What would he say about the fact that New Zealand’s money supply is now controlled primarily by foreign-owned banks, issuing credit in their own interest — not ours?
Norway. Singapore. We were them. Once.
Weslthy nations like Norway and Singapore kept control of their strategic assets and strategically reinvested in national wellbeing. That’s why they are wealthy.
We, on the other hand, were force-fed the neoliberalism of Rogernomics and Ruthanasia — and while many of us protested, the machinery of asset-stripping crushed us.
State assets were sold at fire-sale prices.
Our railways, banks, power companies, forests, and telecommunications infrastructure were handed over to private and often foreign interests, at far below market value, and without public mandate.
Our national wealth became someone else’s profit stream.
Politicians got international prestige and pay checks.
Neoliberals still parrot the line: “We should be more like Singapore.” But they rarely mention what makes Singapore successful.
Check this out. In Singapore, the state owns over 90% of the land, administered through the Urban Redevelopment Authority and Housing & Development Board.
80% of Singaporeans live in government-built housing, often long-term leaseholds.
The government holds stakes in hundreds of companies through Temasek Holdings and GIC, two of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world.
The government invests the equivalent of around 20% of GDP annually into infrastructure, housing, education, and economic development.
It maintains strict capital controls, public control over credit issuance, and no foreign ownership of residential property!!!!!!!!!!
That’s why they are wealthy.
Singapore didn’t succeed by deregulating and selling everything. It succeeded by planning strategically, investing heavily, and retaining ownership of the tools of national development.
We did the opposite
The original liberals, by the way, were what we would call today ’the 1%’. Today’s “neoliberals” are their heirs. Here to loot the commons and dispossess the public.
It really is that simple.
Our housing crisis. Our infrastructure collapse. Our low wages. Our deliberate underinvestment in what is important.
None of it is accidental.
It was built, policy by policy, to serve their greed — not our community.
What can we do?
We don’t need to invent utopia. We need to reclaim memory and restore sovereignty.
Imagine these things,
A publicly owned development bank issuing credit at 0% for housing, health, food, and energy security. We used to have a rbnz, BNZ and a development finance corporation for things like that. Have you heard of the state advances act? Or the first labour foreclosing program?
Royalties of 20–30% on our minerals, like Norway — not 2%. …Who negotiated that? Why are they not in prison?
Community-owned energy systems where profits stay local. …like Electricorp, if you’re old enough to remember.
Interest-free home loans for young families — just like the ones that built post-war New Zealand, via the state advances act.
These aren’t radical ideas. They’re common sense, and we’ve done them before.
Others still do them today. In nations where leaders care for the nation.
They’re what responsible nations do — when they’re not under the spell of asset-strippers, debt-lords, and captured politicians.
Let’s break the spell.
This is not about left or right. It’s about truth and sovereignty.
As Prof Michael Hudson has shown, financial capitalism is not productive — it’s extractive. It monetises the commons, turns citizens into tenants, and treats the economy as a harvest field for rent-seekers. But we can use our sovereign tools to invest in the industries, assets, infrastructure and services we need to build a future proof economy.
Or we can continue to slide.
As Prof Ha-Joon Chang has argued, development comes not from laissez-faire economics, but from deliberate national strategy. The ladder was pulled up on us — and we were told it never existed.
For this, I would like to see justice meted out.
Explore the work of Hudson & Chang:
Michael Hudson & Ha-Joon Chang – Sovereign Economics Playlist
We are not poor. We are plundered.
It’s time we rejected the lie of scarcity.
It’s time we reclaimed the tools of national renewal — starting with the power to issue credit for public good.
This is not ideology. It is competence.
This is not revolution. It is restoration.
Let the next generation say: We remembered who we were. And we rebuilt.
Each one teach one. Learn and share.
For sovereignty, truth, and the common good; in an age of polycrisis.
These are revolutionary times, whether you know it or not. Nz never ran out of money. We ran out of sovereignty. We were robbed. The Winebox was just the tip of the iceberg of the treacherous acts of our professional classes.
“Idiot” comes from the Greek ‘idios’, or private citizen. Those who stayed home and did not participate in the public assemblies.
It’s time to raise ourselves out of our sofas.
We have been idios, idiots, and chumps for far too long. Let’s get back on the field, and take our nation back from these backstabbing bastards.
Tadhg Stopford is a Teacher and Historian.
Yes we have become a nation of followers not inovaters.Singapore looks as though it has the right way to go but us Kiwis would call that communisim ,so would not accept that .I can remember the state advance corp here in NZ and sadly was unable to use it to buy our first house as Muldoon had sent the country to the wall so it was no longer funded and closed soon after as the result of Roger and his greed inspired policies .NZ shifted its focus from NZ to ME and has been in a race to the bottom since .
I often see people on the net saying we need to be like Singapore but they .like myself ,do not realise how much the state actually controls and owns ,so are the people really well off or just well looked after .There is also a lot of slave labour there from Malaysia who live in poor conditions ,that we are never told about .
Thanks for your reply Gordon.
With respect, are you misremembering? Norman Kirk ended the state advances act, but its functions were basically folded into the housing corp; which rogernomics and ruthenasia euthanised.
Separately, we could not get finance for a second hand house when I was a kid, but we could for a new build in Henderson. …I loved that Lockwood, hope it didn’t give me cancer!
Hi bud, that’s not quite correct. Kirk ended the state advances act. Muldoon put its functions into housing corp. which Douglas and Richardson euthanised.
Put this post through ChatGPT.
“Review if the person who wrote this was to become the Prime Minister of New Zealand and implement wide-reaching reforms to achieve the following: The neoliberal bamboozle. How it robs us, and how we build back our nation.”
Reply:
Core Arguments and Policy Themes
Anti-neoliberal and anti-privatization stance:
The manifesto clearly blames New Zealand’s economic challenges on 40+ years of neoliberal reforms, especially asset sales and foreign ownership. A PM enacting this agenda would likely seek to re-nationalize key infrastructure and industries, or at least place strict controls on foreign ownership and capital flows.
Monetary sovereignty and banking reform:
The document strongly advocates public control over credit creation, possibly through a state-owned development bank or restructured Reserve Bank functions. It criticizes private banking for its role in creating money through lending and proposes public interest lending at 0% interest.
Restoration of strategic state investment:
Inspired by Singapore and Norway, the writer proposes large-scale, state-led investment in housing, infrastructure, energy, education, and food security, paid for by public credit creation or higher royalties on national resources.
Economic justice and wealth redistribution:
Implicit in many sections is the idea of restoring economic democracy and justice, with a clear preference for worker empowerment, community ownership, and closing rent-seeking avenues used by banks, foreign investors, and domestic elites.
Potential Impacts if Implemented
Positive Outcomes
Reasserting sovereignty:
New Zealand could regain greater control over its resources, infrastructure, and monetary policy, reducing dependence on foreign capital and influence.
Revitalized infrastructure and housing:
Large-scale public investment could address the housing crisis, rebuild crumbling infrastructure, and increase national resilience.
Fairer distribution of wealth:
Higher royalties and reinvestment in public goods might help reduce inequality and raise living standards for the lower and middle classes.
Risks and Challenges
International backlash:
Moves to nationalize or restrict foreign investment could trigger capital flight, credit downgrades, trade disputes, or investment lawsuits under free trade agreements like the CPTPP.
Inflation and monetary instability:
Aggressive use of money creation to fund public programs could lead to inflation or currency devaluation, particularly if not carefully managed.
Legal and institutional resistance:
Courts, entrenched public service institutions, international agreements, and financial markets might resist or block radical change, leading to prolonged battles over implementation.
Political polarization:
The rhetoric, while galvanizing to some, could be seen as divisive or extreme by others, risking civil unrest, media backlash, or loss of legitimacy among moderate voters.
Leadership Evaluation
If this person became PM:
They would upend the status quo, fundamentally challenging decades of economic orthodoxy.
Their leadership would likely be transformational or highly polarizing—either lauded as the restorer of New Zealand’s sovereignty or decried as a destabilizer.
Success would depend on building a competent, disciplined, and broad coalition capable of navigating institutional resistance while maintaining public support.
Conclusion
This manifesto is radical in scope but grounded in real historical grievances and economic arguments. Its success would hinge on execution: bold ideas require pragmatic, legally sound, and carefully staged implementation. If pursued recklessly or rhetorically over-politicized, it risks economic turmoil and social division. But if done well, it could trigger a renaissance in public ownership, social equity, and national resilience.
This guy is wasted in the classroom – Isn’t the kind of guy who should be leading the Labour Party?
He should be leading a party and pushing the message endlessly whilst forging an international network of like minded people as fixing the problem will be difficult without global support. Just getting rid of the credit rating agencies and international trade agreements and sovereign individuals will be difficult without creative thinking and international support, a cross order movement.
The Labour Party has proven over 40 years it cannot be trusted and has no interest in social justice and equity from an economic perspective.
One of the first steps has to make people aware of all the points raised here. Most people I know believe strongly the message that NZ cannot afford all those nice luxuries like houses and healthcare, there really is no alternative.
But the message that the entire system has been designed (and it is by design, not incompetence, those buffoons like Trump, Boris Johnson, and John Key act like they do on purpose, to hide the fact that everything is by design) to benefit the sovereign individual at the expense of the commons and the sovereign state is fundamental to any solution which means those individuals must be called out and dealt with appropriately.
Cheers bud! Teaching is the most important thing.
Please join me on Substack, and spread the gospel with your networks? Each one teach one, learn and share. Public credit for the productive development of our tangata, our whenua, and our wealth. With power comes responsibility, and justice. Or, it should.
What’s who’s, ChatGPtTAZ and other letters possible? At least you have a pseudo James B. We need to be talking our own thoughts amongst us and practising how that goes. We have marvellous brains but it appears that we will do anything but use them effectively and regularly do the demanding thinking.
Don’t let us be bamboozled by machine words that happen to suit us.
Perhaps we can play word games to get our brains working. How about this palindrome from colleagues of Turing’s. Think too about Turing’s rewards post-war, he was good at thinking but didn’t comply with the narrow minds on sex of the ruling PTB who were prepared to use him and then deny him a life.
https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wc/the-palindrome-game-of-the-enigma-codebreakers/
https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=17884
As we’re so smart perhaps also:-
spoonerism, reversal of the initial letters or syllables of two or more words, such as “I have a half-warmed fish in my mind” (for “half-formed wish”) and “a blushing crow” (for “a crushing blow”).
Spoonerism | Wordplay, Humor, Comedy – Britannica https://www.britannica.com › art › spoonerism
That might help us to understand the actual meanings of politicians’ addresses (or speeches that come in short pants).
Hi grey warbler. You’ve lost me. Is there a question or a criticism in there?
Just a thought. The quoting of Chat etc, the turning to tech for our ideas rather than our information, the AI-ing of our lives like a kindly, wise uncle. It’s seductive. So Chatwhatever, the acronyms, may please a short attention period applied when deep thinking personally is needed to direct us to where we have decided we want to go. If we listen to and follow tech we will go where the hypnotised masses go. I’m not sanguine about the tech cropping up which seems to offer rational ways out of our dilemmas. This explanation will probably be as obscure as previously.
Just chucked Tadhg’s post through ChatGPT just to see out of interest what it’s conclusion would be if Tadhg became PM and implemented his outlined changes etc . .
Hi greywarbler. Yes, you’re pretty opaque. It’s taken me forty years to reach this level of clarity and offer the hard won learnings. So your replies are, to be frank, a disappointment.
Indeed. C. H. Douglas had these people’s number.
Salaam alaikuum, …it seems so.
“Perhaps some were merely incompetents, but at this stage I am in a hanging mood.”
The fact that we face inner turmoil as to whether someone like John Key is incompetent as opposed to purposefully lying to, deceiving, bamboozling, betraying and robbing us is all part of the design.
Which is why we have so many apparent fools in positions of power. But they and their coterie of advisors know exactly what the agenda is and how to enact it without detection.
Agreed. An uninformed mass stands little chance against an informed cabal of insiders. That is why knowledge and self education and social collaboration is so important! Each one teach one. Public credit for productive infrastructure.
Some of us have been preaching this stuff for our entire lives.
Keep it lit.
Bless. Thanks bud. Together ae?
Read this article.
Now read it again.
This is us.
This is where we live.
It needs to change.
Now is the time to act.
It won’t get better without change and that change won’t be voted in.
I wish that our health system was as good as in Singapore. The quality and speed of their services is so much better than in NZ. And they do all of this for half the cost (in terms of GDP) that we pay.
Why can’t we simply copy their model?
There’s something powerful in reframing NZ not as poor, but as mismanaged. The issue isn’t scarcity—it’s extraction without reinvestment.
Framing, and truth in language, is vital. As is outflanking the right; whose rhetoric is only a shield for irresponsible greed.
True, we have a counterfeit democracy! Plundered, fed crappy lies, sold overpriced vehicles and used as lab rats. Norway’s royalty on minerals is 25% except for minerals mined on indigenous Sami land~ that rate stands at 0.25%. Chile, Mexico and Peru have zero royalties on mining and the free for all just resulted in the murder of 13 gold miners in Peru. May they rest in peace.
sad
I have seen the Greens who presented themselves as understanding our modern problems go off track in a hissy fit that was ultimately personal and not relating to the future of humankind especially the kind end.
If we start using Chatthing as the ultimate summariser, AI etc we aren’t further ahead.
After stating what has been happening in NZ very clearly are any of you going to start
programs yourselves, small ones with a few wise and capable people. And then link in and encourage others to do the same. Rarely do any of you writing in here say you have ideas of what programs to start running for the future. It isn’t enough to identify the rot, but then a remedy must be found or different methods to overcome the failure points which must be looked for, discussed and agreed.
Are you better than the other forward lookers I have worked with who can’t stick to a clear path that includes concern for everyone, cpmmitment to the jointly considered project, and working teams of rational and caring people – such as the students after Christchurch earthquake. What can you think of to do? The politicians have sold out. Climate change is progressing strongly, and many of the actions that pollies have set up are found to be false or mistaken or fall hardest on poorer people. We have to help ourselves. No cargo cult tech can do it as it is mistaken to think that modern technology is going to save us – it just adds to the complexities, poorly understood and again hurting ordinary people – think of lithium batteries going on fire in toys etc. Just about every new discovery increases deterioration of our environment. We have to slow that down, but can’t stop it, it is just PMC unreason. to think we can change everything we do because of poor effects on the ozone etc. How do we get people to stop taking meth? To take care of oneself and each other? How to not be turned on by pornography and get better approaches to mental health?
Hi. I’m working on numerous things thank you,
I’m not just thinking of you Tadhg. Sure you are achieving but we can’t rely just on a few people doing something. But the congratulatory comments that have come on here about how right you are, leave a space unfilled at the end about what people are trying to do themselves about it. There is such an empty feeling around as to positive commitment to a good, working society which needs input from all. I don’t know who you are Tadhg and what you and others are doing to help all of us to retain our humanity and have satisfactory lives that concerns me.