National’s Economic & Social policy is rope looking for a noose
I think that we have seen enough National Party economic and social policy now to make a clear call on what it actually is that National are offering us post-pandemic and it’s all stick, no carrot.
ECONOMIC PLATFORM:
Here’s their economic platform right now…
…ok.
‘Stop adding costs to business’ – You mean like the extended sick pay that we needed because of Covid? You mean like allowing workers who have been beaten during domestic violence time off work? You mean like Matariki? You mean like the minimum wage increases? If your business is on the verge of collapse because of sick days during a pandemic, allowing your workers to heal their domestic abuse bruises at home, basic pay rises and the only Māori public holiday, could I humbly suggest you shouldn’t be in fucking business! The low wage economy that National and ACT live for is the problem here, not extra days off that attempt to provide better work conditions.
‘Remove bottlenecks to the economy’ – Oh you mean mass immigration, the very mass immigration that crushed Auckland, sparked the housing crisis and forces domestic workers to compete against cheaper migrant labour? That’s not a solution, that’s the problem! It’s like National are the Dr and they’ve suggested amputating the body away from the Tumour so the Tumour can keep growing!
‘Disciplined Government Spending’ –National always tell us that will cut spending, but never actually explain where that spending cut will come from because you the voter will shit yourself when you see how much they want to slash and burn out of welfare, education and health.
‘Tax relief for hard working Kiwis’ – The average worker will get less than $1000 in National tax cuts, Luxon will take home $18 000 in tax cuts! Poor people aren’t stupid, they see through that!
‘Focus the Reserve Bank solely on inflation’ – So remove the welfare of the citizens and just focus on inflation? What a great step backwards!
NONE and I mean NONE of this is a solution! Cutting sick days, dumping public holidays, stopping minimum wage increases, mass immigration, tax cuts for the rich, vast slash and burn campaign on public services (but not telling you what those public services will be) and forcing the Gods of NZ Capitalism to focus solely on inflation are not solutions, they are a joke looking for a punchline.
SOCIAL PLATFORM:
National’s slogan ‘welfare that works’ is a throw back to Shipley’s punitive welfare programmes of the early 90s…
…Luxon was already singing Bill English’s Social Investment model which spawned Oranga Tamariki when he became leader, he then went to a UK Right Wing Think Tank who specialise in privatising social services to give a speech and now right when NZ has one of the lowest unemployment rates ever, Luxon targets the weakest group to bully and just puts the boot in.
He is selling the crack of the whip by constantly repeating the use of sanctions to cut welfare.
He’s threatening welfare sanctions on the disabled, the ill and the sick.
That’s the kind of needless spite masquerading as tough love that National Party supporters love.
They crave this mean spiritedness. The more punitive, the better.
It doesn’t matter if it’s counter productive, in fact the MORE counter productive, the more excited National Party voters get.
Remember the State House Meth scam?
National used false science to breach Housing NZs own regulations to throw State Tenants out on the street. In the middle of a housing crisis, National created a homelessness crisis by throwing hundreds of State Tenants onto the streets for false Meth harm contamination readings.
No one got sacked, no one was punished, fuck it, Paula Bennett who was the Minister responsible gets to play charades on fucking TVNZ now!
For National supporters, when it comes to social policy, all that matters is that someone they hate suffers, regardless of the cost and regardless of the counter productivity of it all.
We-make-people-we-hate-suffer-no-matter-the-cost is actually right wing dogma.
Here’s how it works.
National will take $50million from MSD, give it to 3rd party contractors who will get a bonus by removing people off the list.
The 2 ways those young people get off the list is if they get a job OR they are sanctioned off the list.
You can all see the game being played here.
Taxpayer money to 3rd party contractors who get paid when they find them a job or they are cut off welfare.
National want to drive sick people back to work, that’s how this country will lead into the future???
This sort of bullshit shouldn’t be allowed to fly when there is so much academic research that this draconian welfare approach doesn’t work!
Pretending that bashing young people on welfare is the solution to rebuilding from covid or is a way to combat poverty or inequality or the housing crisis is just such inane bullshit!
Using the excitement of the crack of the whip to smuggle through a vast privatisation of welfare agenda is going to spook the centre all the way back to Jacinda.
National trying to out ACT ACT on welfare privatisation is just too extreme for the electorate.
CONCLUSION:
Look.
I appreciate that there is a lot of anger from many on the Left at the incremental ‘progress’ of Jacinda’s Labour Party.
I appreciate there is a deep resentment to the Covid response and an anger towards another round of being told what to do by people who have work from home privilege.
I get all that.
But not one of you can seriously believe that National’s economic and social ‘plans’ are anything other than total bullshit that won’t in any way shape or form solve the complex problems in front of us!
The political shine is now off Aloha Luxon and National’s fortunes are fading.
His manipulation of Kiwi’s cost of living pain only to holiday in Hawaii while pretending to be in Te Puke is a political duplicity that once seen can’t be unseen.
You can be shitty with Labour, but don’t dare pretend National has any actual answers!
National’s Economic & Social policy is rope looking for a noose!
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GDP figures released. 1.7% growth in q2 2022. Following up on the reduction in the current account deficit, I guess not all is a disaster
Well according to many it was going to be two quarters of negative GDP growth and therefore technically a recession.
So by your calculations your mates John and Bills rock star economy was over stated by about 2% per year on average over their term because of inflation? I haven’t heard stated like that before
GDP figures released. 1.7% growth in q2 2022. Following up on the reduction in the current account deficit, I guess not all is a disaster
Do migration policy next 🙂 🙂 🙂
National do NOT have answers that positively address issues in NZ and what they do offer are reheated pig food from last year. And ACT are right of that!
But…
I cannot vote for a party whose disregard for social housing is as appalling as Labours.
I cannot vote for a party that thinks warehousing housing victims in shitty motels is not only acceptable but turns out to be the basis of their entire housing policy, like Labour. Just ask the residents of Rotorua!
And the law and order failure we are living through can no longer be tolerated either and if Labour want us to accept their version of this criminals paradise as the new normal, then Labour are off the list also on that count.
And let’s not mention the fiasco that is health, however I acknowledge we are not alone, internationally. But Andrew Little does not give me any confidence.
But who to vote for?
“But not one of you can seriously believe that National’s economic and social ‘plans’ are anything other than total bullshit that won’t in any way shape or form solve the complex problems in front of us!”
Bob does.
When you say you see Nationals policies are bullshit you are now talking about 37 percent of the population and growing .
These are those that look on in despair as crime grows, poverty increases, money is lost due to no staff shortages,schools are forced to hirer untrained teachers and hospitals continue to lose staff .
Man kills innocent woman after he crashes into her whilst driving drunk, 6th time he’s been charged. Avoids jail. The judge clearly wants more victims for this loser to harm! This is a repeat scenario in our courts lately!
Car thefts up 36% this year alone. Guess whose paying for that?
Car jackings now starting to become a new trend.
So many robberies and ram raids, now barely making the headlines. Oh, and shootings.
Fuck Labour and their version of law and order!
Nationals answer is to lock up our entire Maori population. What we are seeing now is the result of the nine years of the Key government.
Unlike USA you do realise Labour don’t hand select judges and they most seriously don’t set sentences.
If you need a right wing rant, attack the judges.
We get you dislike Labour to the point your opinion has become boring.
If anti crime and not enjoying this crime paradise as it worsens is right wing then Labours pro crime dysfunction must be left wing thinking!
Am I right Bert?
Clearly not right, how can a judges verdict be Labours fault, give yourself an uppercut!
So, how are Nact going to fix any of those problems X-ray? Give us clue.
You neoliberals have sown the wind.
Yes exactly kiwijoker, it’s called building more prisons and we a know how that works out. Nationals Serco debacle.
13 Months is a long time for mistakes to be made on both sides. If nothing dramatic changes about half the population are going to be disappointed. This is going to be another 2017 result very close .If National Act win the upper hand I do fear the reaction of the Maori as Labour will stir them up for their own ends which will not be good for the country particularly the tourist sector.
Here is a Reminder to all of the Spending Sprees that the past National government of 2008 through to 2017 embarked on and it ALL used NZ taxpayers money. This list was posted whilst there was still a National government and is a stark reminder of what could happen again if they get in next year(after the 2023 general election). Lets remember Christopher Luxon is a John Key Protégé:
This is a small list researched from Newspapers and other media outlets including Parliament tv of what John Key and this National Govt believed were priorities over the people of New Zealand.
$260,000 Digital sign inside MBIE.
$70,000 for a sign outside MBIE.
$380,000 new furniture for MBIE.
$140,000 sundeck for MBIE.
$24,000 fridge for MBIE.
$400 for hair straighteners for MBIE.
$78,000 two doors for parliament.
$363,000 for govt agencies to watch sky tv.
$4000 for a sign for Steven Joyce opening MBIE new building.
MBIE spent $38.9 million on external contractors and consultants
$4000 for a sign Paula Bennetts office.
$600,000 spent on flowers by National.
$1200 taxi fares.
$4000 a night in Hotels.
$80,000 for Groser’s party in Washington
$17 million paid to a US yacht club.
$11 million paid to a Saudi sheep farmer.
$30 million tax cut for Warner bros.
$30 million tax cut for Rio Tinto,
$6 Billion NOT paid By National in to NZ super fund as part of Govts contribution SINCE 2008
$4 billion tax taken from New Zealands super fund.
$2.3 million paid to a banker to give advice to HNZ on how to selling HNZ homes.
Taxpayer paying for beneficiaries to live in short term motels at a cost of $500’000 million to the NZ taxpayer for 3 months
$45 million bail out media works.
$29 million Social bond program.
$45 million Nova pay.
$27 million paid for a flag referendum that 67% of New Zealanders did not want.
$1.7 Billion bail out SCF.
$6.2 million spent by National for a apartment for one in Hawaii.
$11 million spent by National for an apartment for one in New York.
$86 million to produce new currency that is uncounterfeitable… which has been counterfeited!
$20 Billion NZDF
$6.4 million spent for new BMWs for ministers Ever wondered what happened to asset sale money That’s despite Finance Minister Bill English promising in 2011 that all revenue from the sales would be put in a Future Investment Fund to pay for “schools, hospitals, roads, rail and public transport”. Money used from asset sales One big ticket item is our membership to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank which was funded as part of this year’s Budget and came in at a cost of $144M.
Another bank membership has also been paid for out of the fund. In 2014, the fund was used to pay $23 million for a subscription to the World Bank.
Doing up Government House
In all, $500,000 was also allocated to the Prime Minister and Cabinet to be spent on a new Visitor Centre at Government House in 2012.
And lets not forget this in regards to John Key of whom Luxon probably takes his orders from:
“The truth is that John Key’s Government has imposed at least 15 new taxes:
GST increase from 12.5% to 15%
Increased taxes on KiwiSaver
Compulsory student loan payment increase from 10% to 12% Increased tertiary fees The 2012 ‘Paperboy’ tax Civil Aviation Authority fees rise Additional fuel tax increase of 9 cents with annual CPI increases locked in for perpetuity Road User Charges increased New annual student loan fees introduced Massive unnecessary ACC levy increases Prescription fees increased by 66% New online company filing fees imposed on businesses Creeping expansion of the scope of Fringe Benefit Taxes – National tried to tax car parks and plain-clothes police uniforms Lowering of Working for Families abatement threshold and increasing the abatement rate, taking money out of the pockets of families Imposing a $900 Family Court fee “John Key was also wrong on capital gains tax. The CGT will not apply to the family home – including if the family home is owned through a trust “The Prime Minister is being deliberately misleading. He knows that his sneaky tax increases, such as the rise in GST which he promised would not happen, have massively increased the cost of living for Kiwi families.
Lest we forget.
My God, I forgot about that wasteful spending, I’m certain Coward Kraut and Bullshit Bob will be beside themselves with such wasteful spending.
You certainly stirred the pot with that article. Like anything else on the media that even slightly praises the Government, you draw the Cretins out from under their rocks. A few, must have hit their heads on the way out, if they think Act has the answers. Mark my words, the tail will wag the dog.