John’s cheese

Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, October 12th, 2008 - 16 comments
Categories: john key, tax - Tags:

For the many of you who won’t know, Tory boys David Farrar and Cameron Slater have been driving around the country interviewing MPs and youtubing the results. They did John Key in Rotorua the other day and the result is telling:

What particularly interested me was Key’s response to DPF’s question (at 1’45”) about what he’s done with Labour’s tax cut.

His answer was he’s bought a block of cheese.

Funny thing is, when you run Key’s opposition leader’s salary through the tax cut calculator you find out he gets $28 extra a week running up to $55 extra a week in 2011. Even with today’s inflated dairy costs, that’s a hell of a big block of cheese.

But I guess he’s talking in comparison to his tax plan which would see him get an extra $65 a week above Labour’s package (to a total of nearly $120). In fact seeing as he’d be the PM under that circumstance his total tax cut would be more like $166.

By comparison a couple on a single wage of $40,000 per year with two young kids (and there’s a lot of Kiwi’s that fall into that group) would, under National, be paying an extra $5 a week in 2011 than they would under Labour. Presumably the tax hike for all those low income workers and their families would be to pay the difference for Key’s tax cut and the tax cuts of anyone else who is lucky enough to be in the top 1% of New Zealand’s earners.

I’m sure all those low income earners and their kids would appreciate the block of cheese John so hilariously claims is rotting in his fridge.

And to think National are claiming it’s Labour that are arrogant and out of touch.

[Update: A friend of mine who works in Parnell says Key was in the shop a week or so ago and bought one of these. AYB]

16 comments on “John’s cheese ”

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  1. jaymam 1
    12 October 2008 at 9:23 am

    What organisation is the cost of Farrar & Slater’s campervan being charged to as an election expense? Donated items still have to be valued at the actual cost.

  2. IrishBill 2
    12 October 2008 at 9:29 am

    jaymam, considering they have so far caught JK on tape boasting about cheese and John Hayes boasting about supporting the springbok tour, I suspect they should probably be attributing their costs to the Labour Party.

  3. 08wire 3
    12 October 2008 at 9:49 am

    Nice post. I’m amused that John is still running lines about blocks of cheese when his tax package will take some of the colby away from ordinary taxpayers, turning it into aged stilton for himself.

    But you’ve underestimated the effect of National’s package on John’s own income. Most of his income comes from interest on his $50m nest egg, not from his parliamentary salary. At an average return of 5% that is $2.5m annually. The tax savings on that income for Key, compared with Labour’s package, are enormous. If he implements his stated goal of a 33c top tax rate, it works out as a tax cut for Key of $3,000 a week! With the definite policy rolled out so far, it is only a paltry $1,000 a week savings. Poor fella.

  4. IrishBill 4
    12 October 2008 at 9:57 am

    Thanks 08, but I couldn’t have done it without David and Cameron’s help so credit where credit is due.

    I did consider talking about Key’s total income but I figured he has most of it wrapped up in trusts or offset in some clever financial way and I couldn’t be bothered putting my researcher/accountant’s hat on on such a nice sunny Sunday morning. If you do assume $2.5m then he only gets the same $55 extra in 2011 under labour as he would at $250k because they used threshold changes rather than rate changes.

    While I don’t agree with tax cuts in general, the way Labour has done it seems to be the best way it could be done.

  5. Robinsod 5
    12 October 2008 at 10:07 am

    What an arrogant prick! – I’m wondering if Key knew this was going public or if he was just too relaxed around his lapdog bloggers because this really looks like the tories having a quiet chat amongst themselves down the club!

    Shit! Perhaps Davey and Whale were the secret tapers!!!

  6. Killinginginthenameof 6
    12 October 2008 at 10:18 am

    What organisation is the cost of Farrar & Slater’s campervan being charged to as an election expense? Donated items still have to be valued at the actual cost.

    It depends if they go over $12000 dollars I guess? There is some considerations to make, They are bloggers, who have an exemption, but its streaching it weather they are blogging. Items do have to be valued at thier market cost (though the liars and thieves party really does love playing with this one, partly I imagine is because they break so much tax law that if they were to have things shown thier proper price then things woudl start looking a bit interesting, money going out compared to in wise.

    It does appear how ever to be electioneering, especially with things like DPF’s rather wishful “goff vs cunliffe” question and such.

    On the face of it I’d say its probably best to err on the side of caution and have the electrol commission look into it, but theres 2 things.

    First I sure as hell woudln’t want my name on anything to do with it, I’d really rarther not have that fat pervert stalking me over the internet, and have his junior side kick, also fat, possibly a pervert, outside my house taking photos.

    Secondly, is it really worth giving them the oxygen? they have been doing nerumerous things all year to try and be martyrs for the EFA. Consdiering how ineffective and how small thier audiance is, is it really worth risking they might be a spot on tv or something? We also dont have the Greens or Labours, bursting at the seams, way to much to spend in an electrol year bank account to pay for out challanges or defences like they have nationals.

    I’d say its probably best let them be, and have people judge them on the merit of what they say and the manner in which they say it, which honestly, considering the filth they write is probably a far better thing to do than bringing the electrol law into it.

    Do you even think they woudl comply with any rulings, I honestly doubt it.

    Yet another reason why there needs to be wide spread use of custodial sentances in the EFA, just creates a 2 rate system, your first x number of dollars for those x dollars, from ther any additional is y dollars plus your fine.

  7. Warriors 09 7
    12 October 2008 at 10:46 am

    ‘I’d really rarther not have that fat pervert stalking me over the internet, and have his junior side kick, also fat, possibly a pervert, outside my house taking photos.’

    I’m thinking that you are taking things a little too seriously. You sound somewhat paranoid…in fact you sound like a right twat.

  8. Killinginginthenameof 8
    12 October 2008 at 11:00 am

    Cause they would never do something like that…. (the side kick being eddie rather than Farrar)

  9. Warriors 09 9
    12 October 2008 at 11:11 am

    Evidence is not really required in proving Farrar is fat (it is quite clear he does not suffer from malnutrition), however evidence of him being a pervert might be needed, in order to substantiate such vile remarks. Those personal attacks don’t exactly contribute to your lack of humor or intelligence anyway.

  10. Steve Pierson 10
    12 October 2008 at 11:20 am

    warriors – i think Killinginthenameof is referring to whaleoil as the pervert and eddie the sidekick – it’s whaleoil who is famous for stalking people, not farrar.

  11. Quoth the Raven 11
    12 October 2008 at 12:13 pm

    What’s a matter Warriors 09, is he not being PC enough for you?

  12. randal 12
    12 October 2008 at 12:27 pm

    SP…hmmmmm…yes there is something about those eyes!

  13. Warriors 09 13
    12 October 2008 at 12:29 pm

    ‘What’s a matter Warriors 09, is he not being PC enough for you?’

    oh how ironic.

    EFA
    Anti-Smacking Bill
    Shower restrictions

    Don’t get me started on who is PC

  14. Pascal's bookie 14
    12 October 2008 at 12:44 pm

    Warriors, are you using some strange new definition of PC?

    What exactly is PC about the things you list? Be specific please. You might have got something right by accident, so I’d like to ‘see your work’ as it were, just to make sure you are not using ‘PC’ to mean “Things I disagree with’.

    I suppose that is what PC means for reactionary tools though. OOh I don’t like that! Must be PC-goon-mard, PC-goon-maaaard.

    Saves making an argument I guess.

  15. Killinginthenameof 15
    12 October 2008 at 10:27 pm

    Its best we don’t let this shower thing get out of hand, can we please have a guest post from a plumber, explaining the difference between flow rate and pressure. Or at least can you lot go out and test your showers before you come whining about the new rules.

  16. travellerev 16
    13 October 2008 at 8:38 am

    Hey thanks Iprent,

    For stating above the comment box which XHTML code you can use.

    To all of youse,

    I reckon John Key smiles because as yet he has not been called to answer for his role in the financial Armageddon that is causing the NZ citizens to have cough up $150 billion of taxpayers money to guarantee international banks that are not ours to begin with and that got into this mess because of greedy private Wall street bankers selling everybody and an old dog junk.

    In other words we are guaranteeing the likes of John Key that they don’t have to face bankruptcy as a result of their own action and that they can continue to buy condo’s in Hawaii instead of letting them collapse and finally Nationalise all our banks and start a policy of interest free Social Credit to rebuild this country from scratch.

    If I were John Key I’d be laughing too. In fact like him I would be laughing all the way to the bank. We’re the suckers in this and about to vote one of the scheisters who has caused all this in to help us out of the mess.