Christchurch needs a John A Lee

The funding crisis being faced by the Christchurch City Council would be solved in a heartbeat if John A Lee was still in parliament, Chris Leitch, Democrats for Social Credit finance spokesman said today.

Responsible for housing in the first Labour government of 1935, he used the Reserve Bank to fund the building of thousands of state houses, a move based on his understanding of what was possible using social credit economic theory.

The 1949 report of the Ministry of Works says: “The sums advanced by the Reserve Bank were not subscribed or underwritten by other financial institutions. This action showed the Government’s intention to demonstrate that it was possible for the State to use the country’s credit in creating new assets for the country”.

The 2012 report of the International Monetary Fund states : “allowing the Government to issue money directly at zero interest, rather than borrowing that same money from banks at interest, would lead to a reduction in the interest burden on government finances and to a dramatic reduction of (net) government debt, given that irredeemable government-issued money represents equity in the common wealth rather than debt.”

The report recommends the use of such measures.

The use of social credit ideas contributed to New Zealand coming out of the crisis that was the great depression long before most other countries.

Christchurch is facing a similar crisis, and Reserve Bank funding is the only sensible way to solve it.

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