This post is too long to read. Its purpose is to serve as reference material, a “one stop” snapshot of where we are as a country. The mess that the new government inherits. The consequences of the nine long wasted years of National. The magnitude of the challenge ahead of us.
Weekend pundits agree that the Joyce / English brazen lie about Labour’s budget is a disaster for the Nats. Duncan Garner pronounces National’s death rattle.
Last night Bill English emphatically defended and agreed with Steven Joyce’s lie about a “hole” in Labour’s budget – specifically the disproved figure of $11.7 billion. Jacinda Ardern took him apart with one simple question. English has nothing left now.
Hopelessly compromised Steven Joyce is trying to shift the goalposts from his thoroughly exposed $11.7bn lie to Labour’s “zero budgets”. He’s clutching at straws…
Post John Key all National ever had going for it was an undeserved reputation for financial competence. Now that is gone too. It doesn’t get any worse than this 3 weeks out from an election.
The economists have spoken, and Steven Joyce’s claim that there is a $11.7bn “hole” in Labours’ fiscal plan shows him to be either a liar or a fool. Shame on Bill English for repeating it in the debate.
Expect plenty of Nat boasting on “the economy” in the election campaign. They’ll be desperate to hide the inconvenient fact that ordinary workers are going backwards.
I guess English can’t be too angry at Coleman – just last year he stuffed up his own numbers to the tune of $160m per year when “explaining” why he was vetoing an extension to paid parental leave.
We need new thinking on the economy – zero emissions, sustainable, a big redistribution from rich to poor. But the list of current economic woe shows that even on their own old conventional terms the Nats are useless economic managers.
Apparently the Nats can’t even run a lolly scramble.
Funny how the Nats can always find millions for vanity projects – and sweet FA for the homeless.
Though artificially boosted by high immigration and disaster rebuilds, the NZ economy is in the doldrums, and National are a failure even by their own goals and targets. I predict that National will soon abolish all targets, and that this will be “a sign of our success”.
Bill blames the blowout in emergency housing grants on the “hidden homeless”. Hidden only from those who will not see. Hidden only from a government that deliberately chooses for political reasons not to collect the relevant data.
This is what you get with a hasty, reactive, “top down” policy process.
Despite National’s fiddling the figures on the way unemployment is counted, the unemployment rate is on the rise again.
Brian Fallow in The Herald summarises the take-home messages from the latest Treasury report. National have us on track to disaster.
The closure of 19 mostly rural Westpac branches is indicative of the ongoing hollowing out the regions. Neglecting Northland cost the Nats the last by election. Neglecting regional NZ as a whole might cost them the next general.
Great news everyone! On The Nation this morning Nick Smith committed to raising average NZ wage to $250,000!
That’s three positions in 2 days. Stay tuned to see what these headless chooks come up with tomorrow!
If you’re an average worker the actions of the National government have reduced the value of your KiwiSaver fund at retirement by about $100K.
It’s basically flat-lining – only partially animated by immigration and a housing bubble.
Add it to our record debt, our record pollution, our record housing unaffordability, our rising inequality, our terrible carbon emissions…
Housing is very much in the news again. Short term profit and bugger the consequences!
Brighter Future. Cusp of Something Special. Tell it to the newly jobless.
A “$17 billion hole in the economy”. An estimated $18 billion lost because National stopped investing in the super fund. A record national debt. And we’re still talking about tax cuts? Lunacy!
Yesterday the Nats confirmed the closing of a failed Northland charter school. Turns out we’ll be paying an extra $400,000 for the first quarter of this year, even though the school will not open. Brilliant.
Record debt, a higher than expected deficit and a credit rating downgrade on our economic outlook. All thanks to National’s genius economic management!
“Less debt more jobs” says National’s billboard. Instead we good the opposite. With extra helpings of icing on this Cake of Fail.
Two pieces this week on how National’s mismanagement of the economy has left us in the doldrums.
Key: “The removal of the $1,000 kick-start contribution will not make a blind bit of difference to the number of people who join KiwiSaver.” Wrong. Completely and utterly wrong.
You’ll never guess!
