On the economy and tax cut bribes

Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, December 18th, 2014 - 9 comments
Categories: bill english, debt / deficit, economy, national - Tags: , , ,

Yesterday’s anonymous editorial in The Herald was a real mixed bag:

Governments should never be given credit for a surplus until it is in the bank.

True, though The Herald happily gave the Nats credit for a surplus all through the election campaign.

The ability to budget for a return to surplus seven years after the global financial crisis has helped give the economy “rock star” status in recent years.

Oh please, let’s retire that rock star nonsense. We would have been in surplus long ago without the Nats tax cuts for the rich election bribe. National are not responsible for the eventual recovery, they are responsible for delaying it.

Tax cuts that year might be irresistible to a third term Government seeking re-election but they would be an act of fiscal irresponsibility, an admission its time was up.

A bit of unexpected honesty, and a quote to remember for 2017 when The Herald duly celebrates the next round of tax cut bribes.

The Government has brought the country through an international crisis better than most, thanks to the low debt it inherited, a dairy boom and an injection of earthquake insurance that matches the state outlays for Christchurch’s repair.

More unexpected honesty! The three pillars of our economic recovery, and not one of them has anything to do with National.

On a personal note, barring unusual events, that’s me for the year. Back around Jan 5th probably. Be good to each other!

9 comments on “On the economy and tax cut bribes ”

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  1. westiechick 1
    18 December 2014 at 10:01 am

    Yes, and Key crowing about record level low interests rates during the campaign as if the global forces that produced these had anything to do with him. They have done a good job of “owning” all the good luck that has come their way and disowning the rest. The Herald has done a good job of mindlessly (or cynically) cheerleading all this non achievement, saying “rock star” enough times for it to enter the lexicon when anyone with a basic level of common sense can see that it is all a crock of sh#t/house of cards.

    • aerobubble 1.1
      18 December 2014 at 2:43 pm

      Its the job of a politician, who inevitably inherits their legacy fromthe times they live in, to get out in front of the prevailing winds and claim them. Key needed to make dairy his success, it was going to boom, much like Thatcher who claimed inevitable growth from the gush of thirty years of cheap high dense middle east oil. So how did Key get the rivers running with cow pooh? Enter the giant tax cut for investers to build farm conversions. Now, for more investment, lower standards for foreigners, aka dotcom first in the door. It was and always has been a dirty trick to get the lower and middle income earners to pay more of the tax share to keep Key viable even if that meant them losing govt services, contributing more, having to pay more out to fund the new found avarice of govt for debt. Labour lost faith, liked Key and his tax cuts too much, to hold the govt over the barrel. And voters have made them pay.

  2. ianmac 2
    18 December 2014 at 10:31 am

    Thanks for your inputs Anthony. Look forward to more next year.

    I guess Editorial writers can afford a brief dash of honesty at Christmas but sadly will return to partisanship with a vengeance next year.

  3. miravox 3
    18 December 2014 at 11:04 am

    Happy holidays r0b, so pleased you’re back! I’m looking forward to more wise words in the new year.

  4. ghostwhowalksnz 4
    18 December 2014 at 11:22 am

    Claire Trevett in the Herald, awards English :

    “One Michelin Star for cooking the books”

  5. Sanctuary 5
    18 December 2014 at 2:29 pm

    If Bill English has borrowed a ton of cheap US dollars – and he and our treasury are stupid enough to have done so – then we might be sunk.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/11300454/Fed-calls-time-on-5.7-trillion-of-emerging-market-dollar-debt.html

  6. Heather Grimwood 6
    18 December 2014 at 4:19 pm

    Thanks too from me Anthony….your columns in particular have helped me keep above the slough of despond that descended on election day…. wise, insightful and pragmatic whatever the subject. Heather

  7. Sable 7
    18 December 2014 at 4:39 pm

    No doubt true. Indeed this economic depression unlike the 1929 crash has not hurt the rich its made them richer…

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