Denying the truth no way to run a country

Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, December 10th, 2014 - 16 comments
Categories: accountability, bill english, class war, economy, spin - Tags: , , ,

This National government actively closes its eyes to the truths that it doesn’t want to hear. All manner of evidence on education, social welfare, the environment, climate change, dirty politics, is regularly denigrated or denied. Bill English is the latest. The truth that he wishes to deny comes from the OECD, here as reported by RNZ:

NZ gap between rich and poor growing

New Zealand has had one of the fastest growing rates of income inequality among the world’s richest countries, according to analysis by a leading economic think-tank.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report says the countries with the biggest increases in income gaps are New Zealand, Finland, Israel, Sweden, and America.

Its analysis shows inequality has a significant impact on a country’s growth, and suggests New Zealand has lost 10 percentage points of economic growth as a result.

The report says policymakers need to be concerned about the bottom 40 percent of the population, and taxes and benefits are the best way to redistribute income. OECD economist and report co-author Michael Förster said the long-held belief that there was an automatic trickle-down effect of wealth has proven not to be true. “There needs to be more of a focus on the immediate redistributive effects which is basically taxes and transfers.”

As usual right-wing ideology is contradicted by the facts, so the facts must be denied:

Finance Minister Bill English disputes an OECD report that says the growing gap between rich and poor in New Zealand is leading to lower overall economic growth.

Dispute it he does, but he provides no evidence, just the usual lies and platitudes.

Right-wingers recently got all hot and bothered about the idea of “recall elections”. Perhaps we do need them, not for the scandal of a Mayor having a bathroom, but for governments that systematically and cynically deny the truth, to the detriment of us all.

16 comments on “Denying the truth no way to run a country ”

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  1. ghostwhowalksnz 1
    10 December 2014 at 1:03 pm

    The US ‘recall’ only makes sense in the powers given to elected officials.

    A US governor ( and mayor) has substantial executive powers ( it varies from state to state) which they dont have here.

    A major city US mayor gets to appoint The Police Commissioner, and other important city officials. While Len Brown cant even sack most of the appointed Council heads of CCO.
    As for the heads of departments in Council he has no control whatsoever.

    The state governors are usually modelled on US president so have enormous powers that even John Key doesnt have.
    They are literally the Chief Executive
    (Yes Key is not a good example has he doesnt want to do any work he should be doing).

    Whaeoil is just a jumped up former computer operator- security guard who hasnt a clue for local body politics.

  2. Tom Gould 2
    10 December 2014 at 1:06 pm

    The media has enough power to control and influence elections now without handing them the weapon of the recall election.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1
      10 December 2014 at 6:19 pm

      +1

      Not to mention the funding imbalance. Of course the Tea Party likes recall elections – they can afford them.

  3. aerobubble 3
    10 December 2014 at 1:15 pm

    Wikileaks exposed US spies. Snowden exposed state power abuses. Dunne was dumped from the intelligence oversight committee. So what are we to do with a PM that gives a staffer in his party access to minutes of the leader of the oppositions private secret briefing minutes. That he then passed on to the press.

    Why is Key still PM? Can he not see the abuse? He hires political staff as National party leader, to tell reporters to film him sitti g talking to Banks, tells them that recording is not allowed (sic lipreading) and makes himself into a victim when his staffer fails to clear te table of microphones. And he says, no, a small bomb could have been sitting on the table. Just like a staffer two doors down in the beehive could be selling secrets of our intelligence agencies not just giving them away to Slater…

    Why is Key still PM?

    • Wayne 3.1
      12 December 2014 at 5:22 pm

      It was all out there on the Monday prior to the election. And for a significant number it was enough for them to decide. Just not in the way you wanted.

      • aerobubble 3.1.1
        13 December 2014 at 2:11 pm

        I disagree. We know there is little churn in people in our system of government, harder for the left to get another job. We hear that dirty politics targets those who step out of line, like Goff did having the temerity to run for PM. Of course voters, dumped under a flood of dotcom and hager nonsense, are going to read into the soft peddling of the press and the opposition, that there is no undercurrent of loathing for Key.
        Voters merely said to themselves d it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and has not drowned yet, and everyone likes ducks.

        Duck season starts soon as the subsidies run out for the richest, property and farming sectors

  4. TheContrarian 4
    10 December 2014 at 2:19 pm

    Interestingly the far right tea party in the states have been floating the idea of recall for awhile.

  5. minarch 5
    10 December 2014 at 3:29 pm

    Did somebody say Class War ?

    wake me up when the action ACTUALLY starts…

    (eat the rich,
    feed the poor,
    just one solution,
    its class war )

  6. repateet 6
    10 December 2014 at 5:37 pm

    Any item of six lines (including the title) that is about National, and uses the word “truth” three times has got to be of interest!

  7. NZJester 7
    10 December 2014 at 6:16 pm

    Well according to John Key it is the Greens fault for the widening gap. Despite them never having been in power it is somehow their fault?
    I thought I had heard some crackpot statements, but this has to be up there as one of John Key’s top 10 stupidest statements!
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/261370/pm-blames-greens-for-widening-gap

  8. peterlepaysan 8
    10 December 2014 at 7:54 pm

    Closing one’s eyes so as not to hear something is somewhat baffling.

    It does ,somehow , seem appropriate to describe the national party .

    If you actually meant to write that opening sentence Antony you should start writing Haiku.

    Love it!

  9. Murray Rawshark 9
    10 December 2014 at 9:46 pm

    Growing inequality is only the view of that OECD. NAct can find other OECDs with different views. Maybe they’ll commission an expensive report from the Taxpayers’ Union.

    • North 9.1
      10 December 2014 at 10:35 pm

      Ha ! There’s hope for young wonder-boy Jordy Williams yet ! Fuck that tongue must be disgusting !

  10. North 10
    10 December 2014 at 10:08 pm

    Key’s latest sound bite “Inequality etc etc was more pronounced under Labour ([suggestive] ‘…..was deliberate, I’m the peoples’ friend’)…….” or words to that effect.

    Not to doubt the OECD report but can someone with a serious grip on the facts and figures (there are plenty of you gifted ones out there) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE come forth with the facts and figures. My guts and my street level observations of ever advancing poverty and its pillion passengers wits-end and ugly desperation tell me this latest prime ministerial mouthing is shit but I don’t personally KNOW it to be so. Yeah looks lazy of me but there is the grey-matter aspect. Be kind.

    Just seems very sus’ that this gauche, faux man whom on any other day denies it’s an issue at all should come out with that assertion. Offering nothing more in respect of the OECD report than “I reject it” and “blah blah blah Labour”.

    Maybe he borrowed the last bit from Susie-Ferguson-Is-Risible on RNZ Morning Report today. Truly, that was her. Bloody ‘ell , lacerated meself shaving. Like Susie the report doesn’t matter ?

    Andrew Little very powerful today in the House putting it on Key to identify exactly WHAT it is in the report that makes it unreliable and deserving of such summary dismissal. Deliciously short and sharp he was.

    The emperor looks ‘nakeder’ every day (sorry to fuck the language folks – JK will understand). The indicator is the way increasingly what’re meant to pass for answers in “Cut The Crap” moments are directed exclusively to the cargo-cult goons and wannabes on his middle/back bench.

    Cue – Nod/Guffaw/Giggle/Adore. Optional/Slap/Unlovely/Thigh.

    “Under Pressure…dada-dada-dada…Under Pressure !” ? I reckon. Looks a real punk.

  11. Red delusion 11
    11 December 2014 at 8:42 am

    Anthony how do you get up in the morning, man what a depressing outlook, you give government far to much credit on what they achieve and consequently do not achieve.

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