Happy Birthday KiwiSaver
John Key’s government celebrated KiwiSaver’s 4th birthday on July 1 with cuts to your entitlements. (Zet mentioned this here, but this is my take…)
Economy
kiwisaver
Happy Kiwisaver Cuts Day
From today, the government’s contribution to your Kiwisaver has been cut in half. ‘What?’, you say, ‘Didn’t they say that would only come in if they got re-elected?’ Yeah, nah. They were lying to you. From today on, the government contribution is a maximum of $10 a week. Remember, this was the central plank of National’s savings budget.
Encouraging savings the National way
Amongst the many vacuous claims made in relation to the last budget, the claim that cuts to KiwiSaver would encourage savings always struck me as the dumbest. Now the facts are in, and guess what…
So much for seeking a mandate
Remember when John Key was promising that he would seek a mandate from the people at the election before starting to sell public assets and cutting Kiwisaver. It was only a week ago. And he’s breaking his promises already: the Kiwisaver cuts actually kick in on July 1, and the privatisation process is underway.
Key’s dodgy scheming
*Key says that we will get to vote on his Kiwisaver cuts in the election. Truth is, they passed the law last week and the tax credits are cut from July 1. *What’s up with the dodgy Kiwibank numbers? Plans for sale? *The govt is importing World Cup workers while 270K are jobless. *Key’s jokes falling flat with pissed off voters.
National reforms Kiwisaver – again
John Key has announced National’s third reform of Kiwisaver in 3 years, saying the government’s contribution will be cut and made up with higher minimum contributions from members and their employers. It’s an embarrassing flip-flop from the government that cut default contribution rates and shows no plan for the future.
They cut, we pay
The Nats have run this country into the ground and say there’s no option but to slash Kiwisaver. The actual cuts they announce will be less than foreshadowed, and we will then be expected to be grateful. It’s the Nats’ old trick. But the reality is there’s no need for Kiwisaver cuts at all. Not while the rich keep the tax cuts National gave them.
Taking from Kiwisavers & giving to the rich
John Key has confirmed he intends to slash Kiwisaver to the bone by cutting the up to $1040 a year government contribution you get as a member. Of course, this is the savings budget according to National’s spin. They’re going to ‘encourage’ savings by taking that money from Kiwisaver and giving it to rich individual savers. It’s just more class war.
The Shock Doctrine
I’m really pissed off that politics has come into the Christchurch earthquake so quickly. But make no mistake, the Nats are pursuing a strongly ideological agenda. They’re using the quake as cover for radically cutting important policies and making other extreme decisions, while preserving the tax cuts for the rich. It’s called the Shock Doctrine.
Brethren taking subsidies for illegal discrimination
Another great piece of work from I/S at No Right Turn: “the Exclusive Brethren have set up their own KiwiSaver scheme… The scheme will only be offered to members of the cult. This is, of course, illegal.” They’re trying to take taxpayer money for a business that illegally discriminates on the grounds of religion. It must be stopped.
Killing the golden geese
National is developing an agenda for privatisation. It’s crazy. State owned assets are generating some rare bright spots in an otherwise dismal sea of poor economic news. So why would any rational government sell ACC (or other state owned assets)? Why would any rational government be cutting back on the Cullen Fund? Why are the Nats determined to kill the golden geese?
Compulsory super savings welcome but…
Odd to see in the Sunday-Star Times that the Government is looking at introducing compulsory superannuation savings. After all, this is the same government that gutted Kiwisaver and the Cullen Fund just a year ago. Hmm, have they seen the light? Somehow I doubt it. The Nats see compulsory super savings as a replacement for the universal superannuation we have now.
KiwiBank boss wants leadership from National party
KiwiBank boss, Sam Knowles wants the Government to step up to the plate and improve NZs saving rate, through making KiwiSaver compulsory.
Don Brash, Rogernomics, and Huljich
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Exchange rates, Kiwisaver, breaking promises, & the art of doing nothing
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Brash and Banks try to profit off vulnerable
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What National’s Kiwisaver cuts mean for you
The Council of Trade Unions has done some research showing a worker with a Kiwisaver account will stand to lose as much as […]
Kiwisaver changes
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‘Become a nation of savers’
That’s Finance Minister Bill English’s message to Kiwis. So, that would be why he is cutting our Kiwisaver nesteggs in half to pay […]
Unions offer better option for Kiwisaver changes
The unions have proposed an alternative to National’s plan to slash Kiwisaver in half. If Kiwisaver has to be cut, and with National/Act […]
Ripping the stuffing out
The CTU has released a second great youtube vid. Well worth a watch and emailing around.
The Standard line: Kiwisaver
So, you’re talking with someone about politics and they say something really dumb and wrong and you know it’s wrong but you don’t […]
John vs John
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Confident or foolish?
So, you’re one of the 900,000 Kiwis who have so far signed up to Kiwisaver. You know that you get $1000 on signing […]
Trickle-down
A few thoughts from today’s Agenda: Questioned about why National would introduce another tax rebate, having endlessly criticised Working for Families because of […]
Getting it right matters
I don’t want this post to be taken as overly critical; it’s just meant to offer some constructive advice. John Armstrong’s piece in […]
What happens if Nats gut Kiwisaver?
I was going to write about the economic effects of taking money out of Kiwisaver and spending it on tax cuts but this […]
Small change
That was going to be the title of my first post on National’s tax-cut plan but then it turned out National’s plan would […]
Reviews of Nats’ tax cut/Kiwisaver cut/R&D cut policy
Just a quick note at the start for our press gallery friends who live in central Wellington on high incomes. 50% of New […]
Farce
It was with wry amusement I read Bill Ralston’s revisionist history of New Zealand superannuation today. According to Bill it was Muldoon who […]