Is the inference the gent in the photo is on the wrong side of the tracks?
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Is the inference the gent in the photo is on the wrong side of the tracks?
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2210/S00004/on-why-new-zealand-isnt-heavily-taxed.htm
We also happen to be living in an era of right wing populism. Having an integrated persona and a coherent policy platform is not seen as much of a political priority. So long as the candidate can regularly land somewhere along the spectrum of existing grievances confirmed by focus group research, the inconsistency between those landing points won’t be much of a disqualifying factor.
The problem for the rest of us with the micro-targeting of grievances by National and ACT, is that this strategy to get elected does not include sustainable alternatives.
That’s the problem with populism. It is all about pandering to grievances, not solutions. It fosters division, not unity.
Tax rates only tell half of the story. For eg in Australia and Canada both have a personal exemption limit before income taxes kick in, so you really just can't use the lowest or highest marginal tax figure. You really need to question why so many of the skilled have (and continue) to leave NZ for Australia? I left Canada for NZ because at the time, the political environment in Canada was toxic (much like what we are seeing now in NZ) ; in addition NZ having more habitable climate so I can enjoy my cars year round (vs Canada's extreme cold winters which would make using classic and sports cars maybe 4 months of the year).
True - Labours policies have been as populist and useless as NZF's / ACT's and Nationals policies are now. Question is just - what do we gain by replacing one useless populist with another useless populist? Maybe we should throw the whole lot out of parliament :) ;