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The weird similarities between the Trump and the Willis budgets

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, May 27th, 2025 - 25 comments
Categories: budget 2025, Donald Trump, national, nicola willis, same old national - Tags:

I was writing a long involved post about the recent budget that I may put up in the next few days.

But in writing it up what struck me was the weird similarities between this Government’s budget which has just passed and Donald Trump’s budget which is in the process of being passed. And that attention on this should be highlighted.

Over in the US conservatives are getting ready to pass the so called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. That is the name they have chosen for it.

It is chock full of Atlas advocated policies like cuts to schemes that help ordinary people and tax cuts for the wealthiest.

According to the Republicans the new bill will “reduce spending and permanently lower taxes for families and job creators” and ultimately “make government work more efficiently and effectively for all Americans”

Man that is so familiar. I had a look at National’s fiscal plan for the last election and they promised to “[s]top … wasteful spending and getting the books back in order” and they would “ease cost of living pressures for New Zealanders by letting them keep more of what they earn each fortnight”.

Swap out Americans for New Zealanders and I am sure you will get the message.

The actual consequences are, perhaps not suprisingly, similar.

In the US of A Corporate tax rates will be reduced via tax cuts.

To pay for this there will be savage cuts to Medicaid. Clean Energy tax credits will end and national debt will increase.

Well colour me surprised.

Over in Aotearoa there is a big corporate tax cut for local companies but also for multinationals. A big as Oil Rig, the worst thing we could be installing during a climate crisis, will net its owner a really good tax cut.

To pay for this there will be savage cuts to pay parity. Environmental spending is being cut and Net Core Crown debt will increase.

Both budgets are supported by the same over the top right wing rhetoric. Both budgets tilt resources to the wealthy at the cost of ordinary people. Neither budget stands up as being a good thing to do if you want to analyse them dispassionately and have the plight of ordinary people and the environment as important considerations.

It is almost as if both Governments use the same far right Atlas advisors to design their policies.

After 40 years of neoliberalism failing continuously the right think that all we need is more neoliberalism. The beatings will definitely stop when morale improves.

Elsewhere throughout the Western World right wing parties that get too close to Trumpian policies have been punished at elections. I expect the same thing to happen to National.

25 comments on “The weird similarities between the Trump and the Willis budgets ”

  1. Res Publica 1
    27 May 2025 at 8:39 am

    It’s striking how resilient neoliberalism has been, even after the shocks of the GFC and COVID: crises that so clearly exposed its failures, moral bankruptcy, and inability to address entrenched structural issues like inequality, wage stagnation, and the concentration of productivity gains in the hands of a tiny billionaire elite.

    Despite this, it continues to survive.

    Not because it works, but because it’s too useful a tool for rent-seekers, corporates, and their political enablers to abandon. It offers just enough rhetorical sleight of hand to pass as “commonsense” to many voters, even as it entrenches injustice and accelerates decline.

    Now, having made a rod for their own backs, the only move left for the global right is to double down. More cuts, more tax breaks for the wealthy, more hand-wringing about “waste.” And more suffering for everyone else.

    Elsewhere throughout the Western World right wing parties that get too close to Trumpian policies have been punished at elections. I expect the same thing to happen to National.

    But I’d be cautious about drawing a straight line between Trumpian policy and automatic victory for left-leaning parties. While there’s a case to be made, recent elections in places like Australia and Canada could just as easily reflect a broader desire for stability and a sort of political flight to safety.

    In uncertain times, voters often opt for incumbents who, while imperfect, still appear to be playing by the rules of the democratic game. It’s not always about ideology; sometimes, it’s just about trust and predictability.

    Reply
    • Incognito 1.1
      27 May 2025 at 10:25 am

      Neoliberalism is, of course, a human construct and the present austerity politics in the US and NZ are akin an immature person with twisted psychology. The clinical psychologist and psychoanalytical expert Paul Verhaeghe stated that when the old (patriarchal) system of accepted authority crumbles it shifts to wielding of power that can slide down further to use of violence & oppression (aka fascism). The neo-authoritarian Coalition with its anti-democratic actions & decisions is on the downward slippery slope. Neoliberals have an engrained dogmatic aversion to any form of collective authority, especially state-authority.

      Neoliberalism is a myth that prioritises and celebrates autonomous entrepreneurs and the market is the sacred authority with its supposedly rational order. Those selfish and self-made battlers see themselves as heroes and inevitably ascribe their success to self-reliance and a narrow-minded focus on productivity (aka hard work).

      Austerity politics feeds on our fears of scarcity and unpredictable chaos (vs. abundance and stability/safety). It imposes upon us control and suppression but not at a collective level – it throws it back on us as individuals. We must accept the logic & wisdom of the market, and its high-priests, of course, and better & bulwark ourselves against future shocks – study harder, work harder, make the Right choices, etcetera. We become calculating drones [no names necessary] in a subjective competition for primacy and one-upmanship. In turn, this creates and exacerbates inequity and breeds social anxiety & isolation and causes many conflicts between various interest groups. Does this ring a bell?

      My preferred solution is to poke holes in the ideological framework of neoliberalism, or any ideological framework, for that matter, and point to the many logical fallacies & inconsistencies. Also, I like to point to the ignoring & neglecting of our needs (and desires!) as social beings and the support & assistance we receive from our communities and the collective (society at large), especially during a (personal) crisis – some need our help & assistance more and more often than others but we all have our turns, sooner or later.

      Reply
      • SPC 1.1.1
        27 May 2025 at 8:07 pm

        Neoliberals have an engrained dogmatic aversion to any form of collective authority, especially state-authority.

        More likely to any concept of the state representing the collective and working for all of society. Neo-liberals are averse to the well to do being a tax revenue source for a social democratic state.

        They do not mind the state having power, they need it to manage the failure of capitalism, especially after the success of installing a neo-liberal Regulatory Order to prevent government action to mitigate this. That leads to fast following the American model of Project 2025 (here it would involve Hobson's Pledge).

        Reply
  2. Phillip ure 2
    27 May 2025 at 8:51 am

    A cartoon illustration could help define our trumpets ..

    The cocs all standing there pointing at trump… saying: 'we're with him..!'

    Reply
    • Phillip ure 2.1
      27 May 2025 at 3:59 pm

      If I was to ask ai to give me a cartoon image of the above…is that my publishable creation…or does it belong to AI..?

      And is that a valid form of creation…having the idea…and asking AI to make it..?

      Has the overtons window on creation been thrown wide open..?

      Reply
  3. Patricia Bremner 3
    27 May 2025 at 9:06 am

    The screaming silence on all these issues is of concern. Perhaps explained by the treatment of the heckler by his employer and Winston Peters.

    Winston Peters put journalists on notice by his manner towards Jack Tame.

    So many people have lost their jobs, it helps silence protest, as the rest wonder "who will be next ?"

    Atlas and the far right are weeds in our political landscape, and their persistence, through iterations such as think tanks funded by the self interested, need the cleansing treatment of daylight.

    Thank you Mihirangi Forbes. Your documentary on You Tube about the rise of David Seymour and his Canadian Atlas links and views is revealing.

    Why this has not been picked up and exposed more, is perhaps our problem. Government cuts and attitudes to such journalism was exposed by David Seymour calling her work "Crack pot" and "conspiracy theories".He added and “Funded by NZ on Air.”

    After having to answer her questions when surrounded by journalists, he finally walked off as she exposed some surprising links. So I for one am not surprised Trumps (Atlas) ideas align with Willis/ Luxon and the clipped on two other parties Budget.

    To say as they do, "Cost pressures called for the Budget format," is moot when Willis has spent more more in her time than Ardern did in 5+ years. Yet most people believe the opposite is true. Their think tanks here using business donations push the "Tax and Spend" mantra about Labour is seeded in the lexicon every day in every way.

    Mountain Tui does amazing research and shows these links clearly, as does Mihirangi Forbes. Thanks Micky you are correct. There are links.

    Reply
  4. Ad 4
    27 May 2025 at 9:51 am

    Honestly I was more surprised that the Willis budget wasn't harsher.

    No Departmental mergers, no QUANGO eradication.

    No eradication of any of the huge social welfare programmes Ardern put in.

    No questioning of the huge line of NZSuper payments other than a minor earlier drawdown.

    No big charge increases in ACC or Fire Insurance or EQC.

    And the changes they were making were to means testing a few items like Kiwisaver and Best Start, which Labour should have brought in anyway.

    I think most of New Zealand got off lightly.

    Trump's budget is just a great soggy mess that's quite unreconciled to any potential income the state will get from tariffs – a proper catastrophe.

    Reply
    • Patricia Bremner 4.1
      27 May 2025 at 1:10 pm

      "We got off lightly".

      Pay equality for women!!!

      I don't think the53% increase in Auckland Homelessness is that.

      Nor the Boot Camps

      Nor the collapsing New Market Shops, along with Queen Street.

      The failure to fund pest eradication.

      The open ended 20% for local and foreign business

      The loss of 191 people a day.

      The crash of building as money for schools and hospitals is cut to the bone.

      and and… others can put up the rest!!!

      Reply
      • Chris 4.1.1
        27 May 2025 at 3:11 pm

        Abusing the legislative process to enflame culture wars knowing the fallout furthers the interests of the wealthy.

        Reply
    • Drowsy M. Kram 4.2
      27 May 2025 at 2:02 pm

      I think most of New Zealand got off lightly.

      I think the sorted got off very lightly, and will continue to do so – time will tell.

      Budget 2025: Some lollies, some scramble, and some woke sushi
      [22 May 2025]
      Nicola Willis’s second budget delivers tax incentives for businesses, changes to KiwiSaver, and more cuts across the board.
      …
      Other spending cuts include:
      $18.4m from RNZ, a 7% reduction in annual funding.

      sad Maybe this CoC cut will 'help' RNZ meet the government's challenge “to improve audience reach, trust and transparency”.

      Mediawatch: How a Budget is covered [25 May 2025]
      "Government-funded media must deliver the same efficiency and value-for-money as the rest of the public sector. I expect RNZ to improve audience reach, trust and transparency … in a period of tightened fiscal constraint," media and communications minister Paul Goldsmith said in a stern statement.

      That was echoed by the finance minister.
      …
      "The media system in New Zealand is incredibly fragile – it doesn't make sense for RNZ to also be weak when the government has given us a mandate to be that strong cornerstone," he [Chief executive Paul Thompson] told the committee.

      "It doesn't make sense…" – careful now Paul.

      https://thestandard.org.nz/bhn-and-ctus-craig-renney-on-the-budget/#comment-2034533

      Reply
    • SPC 4.3
      27 May 2025 at 8:28 pm

      Most maybe, maybe not – this is a seriously large group of people

      1.a large number will have lower wages (lost of most of pay equity) and they have partners and children (and parents) also impacted.

      2.those unable to afford the 4% Kiwi Saver payment will still be at risk of lower pay settlements.

      3.those affording the 4% Kiwi Saver will be at risk of lower pay settlements.

      4.delay in pay parity is impacting on a range of non hospital services.

      5.the action as per the primary care access crisis is limited and faces staff supply problems.

      6.the action to stifle Kainga Ora may prevent it from buying into a rare flat property market to increase the amount of income related rent homes – to end homelessness and reduce the waiting list (not that costly when it reduces AS payments). So we finally have the number we should with an ageing population over 5M, not a younger one of 3M.
      7.despite the 20% discount to business investment, nothing to encourage more solar power in homes.

      Reply
  5. Drowsy M. Kram 5
    27 May 2025 at 3:27 pm

    Another beauty by Murdoch. On behalf of NZ's sorted ones, thank you Nicola No Boats, you social injustice warrior you.

    https://nickrockel.substack.com/p/just-a-girl

    A common cause of injustice is human selfishness.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injustice#Causes

    Reply
    • aj 5.1
      27 May 2025 at 3:45 pm

      From your link, this was amusing – and disturbing:

      With the hungry judge effect for example, studies have found that judges sitting on review boards are less likely to reach decisions favorable to applicants depending on how long since the judges had their last food break

      Reply
  6. ianmac 6
    27 May 2025 at 4:37 pm

    All so true Micky. Especially the ramming through unpleasant retro bills.

    Or Make America Great Again same as Back on Track.

    Maybe one of the answers is the sterling example set by the People's Select Committee.

    (I think that the Ancient Greeks organised something like that where a community of citizens were called when a serious issue needs discussion.)

    Reply
  7. Christopher Randal 7
    27 May 2025 at 4:42 pm

    My cognitive abilities, along with my concentration, are declining with age but was Liz Truss guilty of the same financial treason as those mentioned in the article?

    Reply
  8. Phillip ure 8
    27 May 2025 at 5:43 pm

    Comparisons to trumpism are entirely valid..

    ..and yes..they will wear that backlash..when it comes..

    ..but I think the cocs should look a bit closer to home..to see their ultimate fate ..

    In Aussie..the cocs ideological fellow traveller..was decimated in their recent election..

    And funny story..the lib promises to mine etc etc ..the same as the cocs…

    And not least of all…like the cocs here..the libs were/are an echo chamber for far-right looney tunes ideas/policies ..anti-woke..etc etc ..the crap that peters and the actoids spout ..

    You'd think the cocs would have taken note of how the Australian electorate told their cocs to just eff off..!

    Reply
    • Phillip ure 8.1
      27 May 2025 at 7:35 pm

      The cocs are on the wrong side of history..

      I am looking to the millennials to see them off ..

      Reply
  9. SPC 9
    27 May 2025 at 8:10 pm

    POTUS 47 and GOP claim the 2025 budget that provides tax cuts for the wealthy, also supports those with families, but it is notable that the one policy focused on this was also the one part of the 2017 tax cuts not continued with in 2025.

    That being an increase in tax credit per child going from $1000 to $2000. It is going back to $1000 in 2025 (Biden increased it to $3600 during COVID).

    So some families will be paying more in tax and facing the impact of tariffs on consumption of imports.

    Reply
  10. Champagne Socialist 10
    28 May 2025 at 9:21 am

    You can also look to Milei in Argentina and Rachel Reeves in the UK – all these governments are following an almost identical playbook – all about reducing the size of government in the economy using varying degrees of ruthlessness.

    Reply

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