Economy Nose Dives

Written By: - Date published: 6:42 pm, November 28th, 2024 - 24 comments
Categories: benefits, Christopher Luxon, economy, Economy, nicola willis, treasury, winston peters - Tags:

The economy is spluttering and Winston Peters blames National.

Here’s what we are looking at:

I wish someone had warned Nicola.

If only someone told her that austerity budgets deteriorate economic performance and harm the country.

If only economists had told her her fiscal policy was deepening and extending the recession

If only there was anyone in the room to plead that she should respond to facts before she borrowed $12b more for $15b of tax cuts

If only somone had the courage to call austerity austerity and speak to its social impacts.

If only, if only, if only.

Except we know that many did stand in front of Nicola and tell her what the inevitable path would be.

Source: Geoff Bertram of The Conversation

Even if she she could not fully comprehend detailed policy documents, Willis only had to look over to the UK to see the undeniable: crippling, systemic, entrenched and long term effects of austerity.

Source: ABC Australia

All of National’s policies will need to be paid back in the future for our country’s prosperity and well-being.

As Willis admitted in May on Jack Tame’s Q&A program, future generations will pay – either through increased taxes or more cuts in services.

It may have taken $10 to try to remediate once, but after austerity, it will take ten fold to recover.

That is the hidden explosive in what may appear to be budget cuts masked as ‘efficiency’ and ‘value for money’.

i.e. The unquantifiable, hidden cost includes e.g. the indomitable value of top talent and our best and brightest.

Talent and quality is often unquantifiable but anyone who has worked with, or hired, a motivated, passionate, thoughtful and competent worker versus those who are not – will know the truth of which I speak.

Inflation is another factor. It now costs ~40% more to build a bridge, and 30% more to build water or sewage systems in just three years.

And if, as National appear to be doing, they make decisions in silos e.g. build tunnels without considering the interconnections with public transport, local planning, and other routes – all this does is seed new, much larger problems into the future.

Ditto to their shameful climate change and environmental approach.

Earlier in the year, Louise Upton acknowledged her government’s policies would lead to brain drain, but concluded it was all just Labour’s fault.

That shows a drastic dereliction of duty at every level.

Is this the government that we voted for?

Who knew that cutting your own revenue base (taxes), losing our best and brightest overseas, and demolishing investments in health, infrastructure, climate change, science, technology, people, public services, education and anything outside of roads and doing businesses favours, would hurt this country?

But none of this is new.

National, Christoper Luxon and Nicola Willis were warned from the very outset – including from Treasury

The government’s plan is to use private money, sell off national assets where it can, and try to present “favourable” KPI results and budget numbers by the time the next election meaningfully rolls around.

So long as they have enough aligned commentators and media interests, they believe they will win.

But it’s a shell game, and one in which – outside of wealthy vested interests – no-one will be a winner.

VIDEO SUMMARY:

This article is a partial except from Economy Nose Dives: Mountain Tui

24 comments on “Economy Nose Dives ”

  1. Adrian 1
    28 November 2024 at 8:15 pm

    How long do you give the bastards? I have never heard of partner parties criticising the main party’s leadership in such a blatant manner since the dawn of MMP, a wheel or two must fall off soon.

    Reply
  2. Kat 2
    28 November 2024 at 8:23 pm

    The reason we have this inept govt is a direct response to Covid, initially love, and then drummed up hatred, for our then PM Jacinda Ardern. The massive voter support levels in 2020 dropping to in a couple of years an almost complete reversal.

    It's the voters that put this ill equipped bunch of amateurs in charge. It's almost unbelievable that the fickle voter can sway from one side to the other but it happens and it could likely happen again in 2026….or before if there is an early election.

    Labour has to quickly counter the imminent Covid response report as it will be used as a distraction and means to focus blame for the current economic situation on the Ardern govt.

    Reply
  3. Ad 3
    28 November 2024 at 8:57 pm

    So we're in two full electoral terms of stagnation. Neither form of government has turned it around. Despite massive state interventions and $$$ billions of state subsidy. And theres no way out; secular stagnation.

    Has a remarkably similar appearance to "power down" and other fantasies.

    And it is ruinous for citizen, family, community, company, and state altogether.

    Reply
  4. Barfly 4
    28 November 2024 at 10:42 pm

    NAct1 screaming their lungs the ecomony is bad bad bad, sacking people everywhere, cancelling piles of infrastructure projects, pushing racial hatred, promoting gun lobbyists and tobacco shills. Well they crashed the economy -10 points you muppets.

    The only thing they want to build are fukking toll roads presumably so pencil neck Simeon Brown can go vroom vroom in his Ford Raptor.

    God help us angry

    Reply
  5. Mike the Lefty 5
    29 November 2024 at 6:21 am

    Plus you get the report from the Royal Commission on COVID saying that NZ is pretty much unprepared for the next big pandemic, not IF it comes but WHEN it comes. Who in this country thinks that National will have the health system in a strong position when it hits, seeing as it is presently disintegrating before our eyes right now? And who in this country thinks the CoC will value lives over profits?

    Nobody.

    Reply
  6. Jack 6
    29 November 2024 at 6:49 am

    Ms Willis, it would seem, acts like a bookkeeper unaware of economics

    Reply
    • georgecom 6.1
      29 November 2024 at 6:20 pm

      that's catually a pretty fair assessment of her. not acting like an accountant, nor an economist, but a book keeper. the nicola willis ponzi scheme, borrow to give you a tax cut, keep borrowing to give you another, eventually some poor sods are going to find nothing there for them but debt. Nicola ponzi scheme Willis

      Reply
  7. Kay 7
    29 November 2024 at 7:42 am

    I continue to have zero sympathy for anyone who voted for this mob, or chose not to vote, and are now finding themselves affected negatively by austerity measures. It's self-inflicted, and they are 100% to blame for the suffering of everyone else.

    Reply
  8. Patricia Bremner 8
    29 November 2024 at 10:35 am

    But "the Government is working hard to get us back on track"

    They have sacked scientists, unfunded almost all education science training, workshops and competitions. They are concentrating on structured literacy and new maths with less money.

    That is a pattern of what is happening. We are wrecking all systems, placing less money into the spared parts and expecting improvements. As a past Treasury Minister, Winston Peters has caught up after his lengthy trips, and he is not impressed.

    This is clearly a one term government, even if some who voted for them have put their heads down.

    Our big problem is the tightened fiscal situation always hits the left harder than the right. We then have less to give our left voices and political arms. But take a leaf out of the Maori Party, rally and join. $5 to $10 a week can make a huge difference, as can feet on the ground. Use the internet to share things.

    Luxon said "Get to know me" Well he does not improve .

    Willis has limited fiscal ability, and is following blind doctrine. Seeing going concerns folding for lack of circulating money in the community, is sad and even silly, as the then unemployed become tax needy not tax payers. It is now out of their control.

    Why every fifteen or so years do we do this to ourselves?

    It is the amount of money the right pour into their election scams. If it sounds too good to be true it probably isn't true. (Half the tax cut and 3 times the rates insurance and tolls) Legislation that rewards the wealthy and penalises the poor, legislation designed to divide on racial lines and take away right to water and land. Meantime we get a Tik Tok PM.

    Reply
  9. Reality 9
    29 November 2024 at 11:40 am

    Yes Patricia, Luxon is a Tik Tok PM – shallow, superficial, smug, and lacks empathy for those who are not "A listers".

    Reply
  10. roblogic 10
    29 November 2024 at 12:39 pm

    Our ghost PM is making airbrushed public statements about how great everything is and all this economic destruction is just trimming waste and making the public sector more efficient.

    While half of our nursing graduates will have to head overseas for work. What a waste

    While throwing a billion dollars into the sea from spite against the IREX ferry project.

    While killing the construction sector and destroying the real economy in a puerile attempt to expand the NZ housing bubble.

    I think their plan for re-election was bread and circuses and higher house prices (and trying a bit of racism for a lark). But they have fucked up everything so terribly I don't even know if they will last the next 2 years.

    Reply
    • Muttonbird 10.1
      29 November 2024 at 12:53 pm

      Their only concept seems to be rampant house price inflation and the only level they pull is the official cash rate. They engineered a hard landing to get interest rates down as early as possible in their term. The damage done to the economy through public sector cuts and halting infrastructure projects is reckless, calculated and to them, insignificant collateral.

      House prices are where their votes come from. They don't care about where their votes do not come from.

      Reply
  11. thinker 11
    29 November 2024 at 6:24 pm
    1. Anything that can be massaged into good news is a credit to the coalition

    2. Anything that is an obvious flopout is the fault of the government that last governed the country 14 months ago (nearly half the political term, do you 'get that'?)

    3. Luxon is the sort of guy who's not afraid to be held accountable for his actions but please don't ask him to be accountable just yet – maybe in a year.

    4. Luxon's 'mini-me' Mitchell, is also happy to be held accountable. He said he would resign if people didn't feel safer by now. And he would. Except that the people who say they don't feel safer are wrong. They actually do.

    5. National has distanced itself from the (reduction of) treaty principles bill. The party is very much committed to the partnership gains made in NZ. Except that the Waitangi Tribunal is wrong to think that that partnership should extend to consultation over the disestablishment of a Maori-focussed health authority. Maori had their chance during the election campaign, along with the majority of non-Maori voters.

    Reply

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