Free Press, ACT’s regular bulletin
Free Press
ACT’s regular bulletin
Slosh Slosh
The
Government went into the election with an $18 billion dollar
surplus (over four years). The new government will spend it
all and then some. Their promises mean they mostly have
already. Balancing a budget without tax increases after free
tertiary education, inevitable public sector pay increases
following on from the care worker settlements, Winston
Peters $1 billion per annum regional slush fund, and a $2
billion dollar per annum health spending promise will be
very challenging for Labour come May.
It’s Unwise
Across the
ditch our cousins face problems foreign to New Zealanders in
recent times. Structural deficits, budget cuts (which are
driving the cut backs on services for New Zealanders in
Australia among other things) and five Prime Minsters in ten
years as a result. After record terms of trade under the
Howard Government, the things Australians sell lost their
value and their entitlement culture took the hit. New
Zealand’s terms of trade have risen almost constantly for
the last decade, but what goes up must come down.
It’s Unwise
If taxing and
spending could solve all problems, Government would be easy.
But taxing and spending makes Governments lazy (On TV this
morning, Prime Minister Ardern couldn't even guess what her
promiese add up to). The real problems, a construction
sector wrapped in red tape, a one-size-fits-all state
monopoly in education, outrageous reoffending rates from
released prisoners, and corrupt incentives in welfare all
require courage and ingenuity more than other peoples'
money.
The Most Pernicious Policy of
All
We don't know what Labour's free
tertiary education will cost the taxpayer yet, but we can
guess it will be the most pernicious policy of all. Not only
is it unfair on a whole generation who have paid or are
paying their student loans, not only will it contribute to a
fiscal blow out, the biggest victims will be the recipients.
(Most of them don't know it yet).
Sandwich Generation
Anyone
born after 1972 paid for part of their own education. The
same people paying for Super they won't get themselves will
now shout free tertiary education for those who came after.
Just over a million New Zealanders fit this category, and
they're approaching the age where they'll all vote.
Betraying Their Roots
Labour
is supposed to be the party of the working people, but
that's not who benefits from free tertiary education. The
most expensive courses are University, but only 14 per cent
of decile one students left school with University Entrance
last year compared with 72 per cent of decile ten students.
University graduates earn on average $1.6 million dollars
more through their life time, and now they get even more
subsidy from the taxpayer.
The Biggest
Losers
Ironically the biggest losers will
still be those who think they're benefiting. If 100 per cent
of a University's funding comes from the Government, what
can it do to raise course quality? If it wants a new lab or
smaller classes or better lecturers it has to go cap in hand
to the Education Minister, but what happens when there's a
fiscal crunch?
Already
Sliding
Vice Chancellors already complain
that our Universities are sliding down the world rankings.
They can't compete with much better funded universities
across the ditch. Going overseas is becoming de rigeur for
high end private high school students. Back home, there'll
be degrees for everyone but state funded tertiary education
might as well be three more years of High School.
Catch 22
The proposition for
school leavers is dismal. If you have the academic
qualifications you might as well study. Everyone else is
doing it and you're going to pay your taxes anyway. A
generation will spend three years of their life going
through the motions. It is a cruel joke on the kids who
think they are benefiting.
Worst of all
Worlds
Labour has a policy that will
contribute to a fiscal blow out while destroying the quality
of tertiary education and wasting a whole lot of kids' time,
but still leave the poorest New Zealanders out in the cold.
It's difficult to imagine how a Government could screw up
worse, but this is what we've got.
Cheer
Up
This country survived two world wars, the
Great Depression, and the great Marmite Crisis of 2012. We
will prevail. Let's get through this.
A
Curious Question for Auckland
Council
Auckland ratepayers will be shocked
by stories splashed across the Herald that they
employ 234 spin doctors at a cost of $45 million per annum.
The bigger shock is how such a large and expensive team
could fail to suppress or spin such a negative story for the
Council. Now we know Aucklanders aren’t even getting value
for
money.
ends