Tricky politics in new zealand

[soylentgreen]

The new zealand government every year at this time announces its yearly budget on how and on what tax money will be spent on. This year they managed to throw in a nice trick. In that the budget this year gives about 80% of new zealanders. Mostly middle and poor class people get a cash assistance to help get through this time of inflation. ( Link with details if you wish to look)
https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/05/20/...iggest-lift-in-a-generation-finance-minister/

However what this has also done is a tricky bit of politics. In that the opposition party which is the right wing government are put in a position of either support the budget go against it and then end up looking like the party that supports the minority wealthy.

We have yet to see how the opposition will react.

 

[Juks]

We have yet to see how the opposition will react.

Keep me updated...

 

[SkyChief]

Creating money out of thin air (helicopter-money) and distributing it is a classic sign of an economy on the ropes - an economy destined for failure.

The U.S. made this mistake with the "stimulus" hand-out checks last year. The economy was already "hot" with all the jobs created from the lock-down phase.

Then president Biden stupidly injected another $2 Trillion of helicopter money into the economy. Naturally, the result was out-of-control inflation.

New Zealand will suffer the same calamity, of course. Any time large sums of money are dumped into an economy, inflation happens. This is simple Econ 101 stuff we learned in 10th grade. It's funny tragic that today's leaders so easily ignore the most fundamental economic principles. It's almost as if they never understood economics to begin with.

 

[soylentgreen]

Creating money out of thin air (helicopter-money) and distributing it is a classic sign of an economy on the ropes - an economy destined for failure.

The U.S. made this mistake with the "stimulus" hand-out checks last year. The economy was already "hot" with all the jobs created from the lock-down phase.

Then president Biden stupidly injected another $2 Trillion of helicopter money into the economy. Naturally, the result was out-of-control inflation.

New Zealand will suffer the same calamity, of course. Any time large sums of money are dumped into an economy, inflation happens. This is simple Econ 101 stuff we learned in 10th grade. It's funny tragic that today's leaders so easily ignore the most fundamental economic principles. It's almost as if they never understood economics to begin with.

Where the **** did you get the idea they are creating money out of thin air?

The budget projection with the left wing is nz will be back in the black within a few years. the right of course say that they can get the books balanced within a year.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/rat...ker-return-surplus-lower-net-debt-2021-12-15/

WELLINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - New Zealand will return to budget surplus sooner than expected and will take on lesser debt as the economy has been more resilient than previously forecasted, the government said on Wednesday.

The treasury department forecasted that deficit will widen to NZ$20.8 billion ($14.01 billion) in the current year but the books will return to a surplus in 2023/24, about 2 years ahead of previous forecasts.

If anything nz demonstrated that shutting the country down due to pandemic does not result in the fear that you just expressed.

Unlike amerca, nz has an open government. they have to reveal what income they will make through taxation, other sources such as borrowing. and how they will spend it. Where as america simply just keeps printing money and trying to hide just how and where they spend their money.

 

[SkyChief]

. . . Unlike amerca, nz has an open government. they have to reveal what income they will make through taxation, other sources such as borrowing. and how they will spend it. Where as america simply just keeps printing money and trying to hide just how and where they spend their money.

I stand corrected. The "cash assistance" handouts will actually be transfers of wealth derived from tax funding - not borrowed money as I suggested.

Yes, the U.S. government is very secretive when it comes to tax revenues and borrowing. Many elected officials on Capitol Hill (our seat of federal government) are corrupt to the bone.

In fact, the Representative for California district 43 (where my family lives) was voted Most Corrupt Member of Congress by a Washington D.C. watchdog group (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington), during the years of 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011.

 

[soylentgreen]

I stand corrected. The "cash assistance" handouts will actually be transfers of wealth derived from tax funding - not borrowed money as I suggested.

Yes, the U.S. government is very secretive when it comes to tax revenues and borrowing. Many elected officials on Capitol Hill (our seat of federal government) are corrupt to the bone.

In fact, the Representative for California district 43 (where my family lives) was voted Most Corrupt Member of Congress by a Washington D.C. watchdog group (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington), during the years of 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011.

Being the greatest nation on earth is a poison chalice.

 

[Ishm]

I stand corrected. The "cash assistance" handouts will actually be transfers of wealth derived from tax funding - not borrowed money as I suggested.

Yes, the U.S. government is very secretive when it comes to tax revenues and borrowing. Many elected officials on Capitol Hill (our seat of federal government) are corrupt to the bone.

In fact, the Representative for California district 43 (where my family lives) was voted Most Corrupt Member of Congress by a Washington D.C. watchdog group (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington), during the years of 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011.

If you follow NZ politics, one thing you quickly realise is that elections are 95% about the economy. The level of economic detail the parties have to produce to win votes is something many Americans can only dream of. The level of public scrutiny and debate is also much, much higher.

Subjects like abortion, guns, and to a lessor extent even immigration are mostly sideshows at election time. They are also not locked into left vs right as each side may change their policies on these types of topics depending on the current circumstances. Plus, there is often no party dictated stance and votes are distributed cross party, or a national referendum is held.

Elections are all about who will run the economy better. Turning up to an election with an economic policy that doesn't forecast debt reduction within a reasonable time frame won't get you elected. It's a really different environment. NZer's watching US candidates running around with their AR15's etc on display truly wonder how crazy the US is going to get. Watching Trump almost win the last election with no stated economic policy would be like watching an election on Mars.