Jacinda Ardern’s ‘Dear Don’ letter

29 comments on “Jacinda Ardern’s ‘Dear Don’ letter ”

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1. the sprout 1

   24 May 2011 at 12:11 pm

   great stuff
2. sean maitland 2

   24 May 2011 at 12:11 pm

   Ummm Jacinda – I’d just like to point out that the deficit we have at the moment is because the country is stuck trying to pay for super, KiwiSaver, student loan borrowing, Working for Families, DPB, Sickness benefit, Accomodation supplement, 10,000 extra public servants that Labour hired and Kiwi Rail (among other items).

   They were costed in times of surplus and a booming economy, and are now simply unaffordable. The borrowing the government is doing is to pay for these schemes. Its not to pay for tax cuts.

   All the rhetoric and fluff in the world about expanding our economy and training schemes is not going to change the fact that we have a massive social welfare bill that our country simply can’t afford.
   • Lanthanide 2.1

     24 May 2011 at 12:44 pm

     “All the rhetoric and fluff in the world about expanding our economy and training schemes is not going to change the fact that we have a massive social welfare bill that our country simply can’t afford.”
      
     That’s the whole point of expanding the economy and training people, you know. So that they’re employed. And therefore not being paid the unemployment benefit. National is (belatedly) trying to do the same.
      
     Seems this guy is just a thoughtless troll.
     • wtl 2.1.1

       24 May 2011 at 12:50 pm

       But he is l337. He knows how to spoof his IP address!!oneone
   • Ben Clark 2.2

     24 May 2011 at 2:11 pm

     Excellent reply Jacinda.

     sean: read this if you want to see how National have caused a $16.7 billion debt hole. If, as Lanth says, we get people employed by up-skilling them and expanding the economy, we won’t have such a deficit problem, and things become a lot more affordable. If we continue National’s course, well…
   • aj 2.3

     24 May 2011 at 5:54 pm

     Sean, do you acknowledge that the tax cuts have ANYTHING to do with the current defecit?
   • Georgecom 2.4

     24 May 2011 at 10:35 pm

     Sean. The so called ‘tax switch’ has left the government with a structural fiscal deficit. Everything after the tax ‘switch’ has exacerbated that deficit. On that count the government doesn’t so much have a debt problem, but an income problem.

     Yes, the global recession did hit the governments income and books. So too did the 2 earthquakes. The tax ‘switch’ exacerbated the first issue, the downturn. The earthquakes exacerbated the structural deficit. So to did English and Key taking the economy back into recession BEFORE the earthquakes.

     Global recession – one hit that lingers on.
     The tax switch, premised on very hopeful growth figures but even then requiring borrowing – large structural deficit.
     Leading the economy back into recession – exacerbating the structural deficit
     Earthquakes – further deepening the strucural deficit and adding rebuilding costs.

     Rob
   • Deadly_NZ 2.5

     24 May 2011 at 11:55 pm

     You mention all the good things TROLL but as usual you have overlooked the Taxcuts that Smile & wave gave to the top few % and is now furiously borrowing to pay for this largess.
3. billy fish 3

   24 May 2011 at 12:15 pm

   I luffs her even mores 🙂
   • Tigger 3.1

     24 May 2011 at 12:50 pm

     National can only dream of having talent like this in it’s newer or upcoming MPs.
     • Colonial Viper 3.1.1

       25 May 2011 at 12:17 am

       The have Jami-Lee.
4. Andy-Roo 4

   24 May 2011 at 12:23 pm

   Lets see more of this
5. Kath 5

   24 May 2011 at 12:48 pm

   Go for it. You are the one I want to represent the Gulf Islands and Auckland Central. Tell it like it is. Good for you. Nannawai
   • the pink postman 5.1

     24 May 2011 at 1:30 pm

     Labour is full of talented people like Jacinda . Its time the media recognized
     and supported these people instead of propping up the tired old Tory hangers on !
     • Draco T Bastard 5.1.1

       24 May 2011 at 4:09 pm

       That’ll never happen as the MSM are owned by the old Tories.
6. Orc 6

   24 May 2011 at 1:42 pm

   Yay, someone around my age coming back from England, not going there.

   And waying in on the way we are getting screwed by this mob.
7. Oleolebiscuitbarrell 7

   24 May 2011 at 3:43 pm

   “Your answer though, to raise the age of entitlement [of superannuation]…”

   Which, incidentally was the Australians’ answer as well. Gillard has happily raised it by 6 months every two years from 2017 until it reaches 67. Key has completely ruled it out.

   Remind me which one is a social democrat?
   • wtl 7.1

     24 May 2011 at 6:07 pm

     Key is of the view that it can be someone else’s problem, not his.
     • Oleolebiscuitbarrell 7.1.1

       24 May 2011 at 6:51 pm

       Never quite understood how it is Key can both be doing nothing and pursuing an evil hard-right agenda (which, in this respect at least, is less hard-right that the Australian Labor party).
       • wtl 7.1.1.1

         24 May 2011 at 7:04 pm

         Doing nothing about superannuation simply because it won’t be a major problem until Key is no longer in politics is perfectly consistent with pursuing any agenda (apart from actually being a responsible leader, I guess). And what Rob said, below.
       • RobC 7.1.1.2

         24 May 2011 at 7:06 pm

         Doing nothing is a hard-right agenda. That is, the less Govt intervention, the better. What is there not to understand?
8. marsman 8

   24 May 2011 at 6:11 pm

   Great stuff Jacinda! You have brain,Brash is dust-ball.
9. Steve Wrathall 9

   24 May 2011 at 9:28 pm

   ” Paying young people less …”
   It is you Jacinda, who favour forcing unskilled young people to sit at home for $4.50 an hour, while it is ACT who would allow them to offer themselves for up to 14.99/p.a (something Labour would criminalise). Who really cares?
   • The Voice of Reason 9.1

     24 May 2011 at 9:58 pm

     “… while it is ACT who would allow them to offer themselves for up to 14.99/p.a”

     Some mistake, surely, Steve? Or is this ACT policy these days?
     • wtl 9.1.1

       24 May 2011 at 10:04 pm

       LOL. “up to 14.99/p.a.” is of course an upper limit, as well.
   • Colonial Viper 9.2

     24 May 2011 at 10:42 pm

     1) Jacinda is in Opposition. She can’t do squat from there, regardless of what you say.

     2) ACT is going to set the minimum wage at $14.99? Really?

     3) Lots of people care. 50% of full time workers earn less than $39,000 p.a. after all.
10. Herodotus 10

    24 May 2011 at 9:51 pm

    Let’s be honest though, if fiscal restraint was the only game in town, they would have pulled back on their almost $25billion in tax cuts, which is responsible for roughly $130 million a week worth of our borrowing.
    Is J.A. in a differnet place than I??
    Tax cuts costing NZ $130m p.a. = $8b p.a.
    yet David C (whom I trust his figures) states that the cuts cost $400m p.a. or the gross PAYE was $2.5b
    http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/2011/05/19/budget-faq-6-why-the-debt-hole/
    I do hope that J.A. tightens up her stuff. This is extremely poor from someone who should know better. Sure tell a lie enough times and people believe, NZ education standards are still strong enough to see thru this one. And it is not the 1st time J.A. has been caught out unable to calc simple maths.
11. jeremy anderson 11

    31 May 2011 at 7:41 pm

    If working families need other taxpayers to support them then they are working for insolvent businesses who cannot trade without the subsidy their workers give them by accepting low wages.

    Simple.

    The problem in this country, and has been for a long time, is that business, with every assistance that right wing economic theory could possibly have provided, are still paying low wages and earning fuck all.

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1. Gardening and copycats « Red Alert: posted on 24 May 2011 at 11:32 pm

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