Polish that turd, John

Written By: - Date published: 2:05 pm, November 17th, 2012 - 16 comments
Categories: Economy, jobs, john key - Tags:

John Key knows his economic failures are coming out in to the open, so he came to The Nation this morning expecting a fight. And he knew his lines well and it all sounded good. If you didn’t think about it. Basically, he said the solution to the fact unemployment has risen by 80% under his failed economic policies was… wait for it … his failed economic policies.

He opened by claiming that it’s all the rest of the world’s fault that the economy is in the shitter. He never did explain why – if it’s the rest of the world dragging us down – we have the 2nd largest current account deficit in the OECD; why our unemployment rate that has grown by 50% more than the OECD average; that only countries like Greece, Spain, and Portugal have had a similar increase in unemployment to ours in it pat year; why our unemployment rate has gone from 6th lowest in the OECD to 15th; or why our growth rate in the last year has been in the bottom third of the OECD.

And then he claimed there is no crisis. Because you’re counted as unemployed if you’re looking for at least one hour’s work a week, Key argues that all the unemployed are just schoolkids looking for paper runs. Quite why the number of kids looking for paper-runs has boomed by 78,000 under his watch isn’t explained. And why 136,000 of these wannabe paper-boys are actually adults aged 20+, he didn’t explain either.

Finally, he made another contradictory claim – that the stats are wrong. At least, that’s what he seems to be implying when he says that last time the unemployment rate was 7.3% there were 150,000 people on the dole and today there are 50,000. I guess he’s saying since the dole numbers aren’t as high, unemployment can’t really be that high. Which is rubbish.

Successive governments have tightened the rules on getting the dole so much that its bloody hard to get for the genuinely unemployed. Not to mention that you’ll typically wait 8 weeks from becoming unemployed to getting a meeting with WINZ to getting a dole payment because they’re so slow and under-staffed – given that the median duration of unemployment is 3 months, many people simply don’t get what they’re entitled to over their period of unemployment.

When Key skites that there are as much unemployed but only a third as many on the dole, I wonder how the over two-thirds are scrapping by.

Rachel Smalley asked if he would change track given this track was clearly failing. His reaction was to deny the failure. It’s clear we’re never going to get a new idea out of this guy.

But credit where it’s due, he knew his bullshit lines and he didn’t waver from them. He sounded like he believed in what he said, not because he does but because he believes in the goals his government is working towards – a bigger slice of the shrinking pie for the elite.

National’s failing economically but what we’re lacking is a Labour leader who can make the case for change as convincingly as Key can deny his failure.

16 comments on “Polish that turd, John ”

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  1. TheContrarian 1
    17 November 2012 at 2:24 pm

    I watched The Nation this morning and the last 10 minutes or so of Key’s interview was a brilliant battle between Smalley and Key. It is rare to see an interviewer rattle Key like that. Good TV.

    • Pascal's bookie 1.1
      17 November 2012 at 4:39 pm

      Yeah. Smalley let him bytrack the DotCom stuff into a conversation about extradition, which isn’t the controversial aspect, but yeah, it was good stoush.

  2. aerobubble 2
    17 November 2012 at 2:33 pm

    Shearer, Shearer, Shearer. Oh, wait, Shearers in the news again. Its bad for Labour that Shearer this or Shearer that. Sorry, but really, you don’t get the hype of Shearer. The listen to what he has to say meme, its important, it may break or make Labour. Even Key spends huge amounts of time trying to distract from his incompetent government by pushing the Shearer brand, if Key is worried about the Labour leadership surely he’d want a lite weight leader not a unknown quantity…

  3. CnrJoe 3
    17 November 2012 at 3:51 pm

    We are the turd and this Worst Government Ever has its hands all over us.

  4. fustercluck 4
    17 November 2012 at 4:20 pm

    You can’t polish a turd (unless it is frozen) but you can roll it in glitter.

    Key is the master turd freezer and glitter applier!

    It is still a piece of shit, however.

  5. AmaKiwi 5
    17 November 2012 at 5:07 pm

    I have just returned from the Labour conference with an enormous appreciation for how accurately The Standard accurately articulates what others out there are feeling and thinking.

    I think the outrage we speak here is widely shared.

    Example: Who would have imaged Gareth Vaughan, the CEO of the BNZ, would be so damning of Key. (see below)

    http://www.interest.co.nz/kiwisaver/62066/bnzs-andrew-thorburn-hits-out-fundamental-anomalies-tax-system-favour-residential-pr

  6. KJT 6
    17 November 2012 at 7:19 pm

    We had the same unprecedented rise in commodity export prices as Australia.

    And thanks to the RW blogger who pointed that out to me.

    But, Unlike Australia, National still managed to keep us in recession.

    Remind you of the Richardson Government, anyone!

  7. mike e 7
    17 November 2012 at 8:35 pm

    Kjt it reminds me of what shipley and english did last time they fuck the economy

  8. Norman Fan 8
    18 November 2012 at 12:05 am

    I couldn’t watch that smug prick on tele today. I was screaming at the TV. He said that if you have a good job, you’ll be in a reasonably secure position. He really is an out of touch in the closet tory. Come out of the closet John!

  9. David H 9
    18 November 2012 at 8:55 am

    Yep a snake oil salesman of the first water. BUT knowing that he is lying makes it funny listening to him defending the indefensible. At the end of the day John you and your bunch of thieving mates you call a government, are just that Legal thieves, you have stolen from us the dignity of having a life, a life that is not filled with battles to pay the bills, and to put food in the cupboard. And not to be demeaned by WINZ. or any other department. But Winz and Acc are the worst.

    I had to go to a family funeral yesterday. The visit to Winz to ask for help, was so demeaning, because all I got from the person there was this sort of thing, “Oh that’s high” on ALL my expenses, and “I have 5 kids and they didn’t get that” And so on and so forth for an hour. I was almost waiting for the ‘why don’t you sell….’ but it didn’t happen. All I wanted was some help for petrol, and minor expenses involved in moving a family for a day. I don’t own a car so I had to borrow one. And then the “but you got this much yesterday, what did you do with it? After explaining and almost having to list what we spent our money on item by fucking ITEM! The guy at the next desk looked appalled, as he could overhear her, and she made no attempt to keep her voice down. But when I left, (my partner walked out halfway through, biting her tongue. (I will revisit that visit later, after I OIA my paper work, and see what she wrote. )) I was just left feeling sick, at the treatment I had just had to endure to get to a funeral.

  10. Rusty Shackleford 10
    18 November 2012 at 10:16 am

    Why do you blame political forces for low economic indicators during a world wide down turn? Would you attribute high economic markers to The National party during an economic upswing?

    • KJT 10.1
      18 November 2012 at 10:21 am

      You are funny Rusty.

      National managed to keep us in recession when Australia wasn’t.

      They managed to avoid the recession because of high prices for commodity exports to China.

      We had the same high prices from China for our commodity exports at the same time. However we, unlike Australia, went into recession.

      Geddit.

      • Rusty Shackleford 10.1.1
        18 November 2012 at 10:24 am

        Link? ie. prove it.

        What do we even sell to China other than milk? Aus probably has a dozen commodities that equal our export of milk to China.

        • KJT 10.1.1.1
          18 November 2012 at 10:26 am

          We have had the best balance of trade ever.

          Thanks to the right wing blogger who pointed that out.

          Squandered by National.

        • bfloyd 10.1.1.2
          18 November 2012 at 1:09 pm

          Prove it??? have a break from plotting to take over the world, and look around you… with both eyes open…..New Zealand is actually in a more fragile state, economically, and socially, than after 9 years of the Bolger/shipley debacle……

          We’re actually back to 1984 levels of risk to our ability to do more than find a secure bunker to defend yourself from the gangs of starving people…..

          Prove it!!! What a dork!!