If National wins ...

[craic]

More and more people are asking how? We all know about the Education system, the Rivers, the Roads and Rail, Housing, Immigration and all the rest but the current government is attempting to work on some or most of these things with little success because we simply do not have the financial resources to make much progress. No amount of taxation will help - taxation simply takes money from one place and moves it to another. And when you take it from the person who earned it and give it to someone who didn't earn it, then you are in real trouble. Ahern is currently standing in front of the orchestra with a baton in her hand telling the audience about the wonderful music they are about to play. But she has yet to turn around and demonstrate her ability to conduct and even if she is good, a couple of dogs in the orchestra can ruin the whole performance.

[couta1]

More and more people are asking how? We all know about the Education system, the Rivers, the Roads and Rail, Housing, Immigration and all the rest but the current government is attempting to work on some or most of these things with little success because we simply do not have the financial resources to make much progress. No amount of taxation will help - taxation simply takes money from one place and moves it to another. And when you take it from the person who earned it and give it to someone who didn't earn it, then you are in real trouble. Ahern is currently standing in front of the orchestra with a baton in her hand telling the audience about the wonderful music they are about to play. But she has yet to turn around and demonstrate her ability to conduct and even if she is good, a couple of dogs in the orchestra can ruin the whole performance.

Excellent post Craic, especially the bit about tax simply moving money around and giving it to the have nots, don't won't to work brigade.

[Joshuatree]

Still very close in reality. Colmar Brunton is the most accurate unbiased poll and thats to come

RNZ Poll of Polls mini-update

RNZ's updated polling averages - taking into account tonight's Newshub-Reid Research poll and the Bauer Media Insights IQ poll - has the two major parties neck and neck.
National is ahead on 41.3 percent while Labour is on 40.5 percent.
New Zealand First is on 7.5 percent, the Greens are on 5.5 percent, the Māori Party is on 1.4 percent, the Opportunities Party is on 1.9 percent and ACT is on 0.6 percent.
On these numbers, National would win 51 seats, Labour would get 50, New Zealand First 9, the Greens 7, the Māori Party 2, and one for ACT.
The last full Poll of Polls - from Friday - has Labour on 41.8 percent, fractionally ahead of National's 41.1 percent

Centre bet similar ;close.Odds $1.85 labour $1.90 national

[blackcap]

Centre bet are the same Odds $1.85 labour $1.90 national

That is spin. The odds yesterday were Labour 1.68 and National 2.10 or thereabouts, I should know, I am a Centrebet customer and frequent the site often enough. Labour have moved out in the market and National have shortened.

But the real market is Betfair where Labour were odds on two days ago at 1.50, now they are closer to 2.00

[dobby41]

Excellent post Craic, especially the bit about tax simply moving money around and giving it to the have nots, don't won't to work brigade.

Unfortunately a lot of the tax goes to schools and health care - both of which I am keen on.
A fair bit goes to propping up the income of those who don't get paid enough - Working for Families. A form of corporate welfare.
The idea that it is no hopers and bludgers that get all the money is very old. Sure some goes that way and, to an extent, it may save them from having to burgle your house (though it may give them more free time to do so for a 'topup').

Tax is always unfair to someone. As someone in the group who pay 24% of the taxes I feel that.
The best way to to grow the pot (not grow pot) but we haven't done a lot of that in the past 9 years. Most growth has been just adding people (immigration) and look where that has gotten Auckland. We need productivity increases and the current Govt doesn't seem to have a plan. They seem to be working on it now that they have a fight but it isn't in the nature of National to come up with new ideas - steady as she goes Bill.

[jonu]

Unfortunately a lot of the tax goes to schools and health care - both of which I am keen on.
A fair bit goes to propping up the income of those who don't get paid enough - Working for Families. A form of corporate welfare.
The idea that it is no hopers and bludgers that get all the money is very old. Sure some goes that way and, to an extent, it may save them from having to burgle your house (though it may give them more free time to do so for a 'topup').

Tax is always unfair to someone. As someone in the group who pay 24% of the taxes I feel that.
The best way to to grow the pot (not grow pot) but we haven't done a lot of that in the past 9 years. Most growth has been just adding people (immigration) and look where that has gotten Auckland. We need productivity increases and the current Govt doesn't seem to have a plan. They seem to be working on it now that they have a fight but it isn't in the nature of National to come up with new ideas - steady as she goes Bill.

I agree with most of what you say. I wish National had done better. I was not a fan of John Key who I consider a moral jellyfish. Bill however has a strong social conscience and I think he is genuine in working for a "social dividend" as he terms it.

The trouble is...despite my frustrations with National...Labour sure as hell aren't an alternative.

[Joshuatree]

Correct they are not an alternative; they are the solution.

[Joshuatree]

Housing crisis documentary pulls no punches on eve of election
This insightful documentary explains it all re lack of productivity etc dobby etc.amazing to think that from the 30's to the 60's anyone could get a 5% deposit together and a 3% mortgage from the state for 40 years!

From 1960 to now wages went up 59%
Houseprices went up 280%!

In 1979 a schoolteacher earning $13,000 a year could easily buy the average house costing $26,000.!
Now it would take the ENTIRE teachers salary for 11 years to buy an auckland house.

In 1979 a teacher earning $17,360 .A backbencher MP earning $18,000. Now the teacher gets$78,000, the MP $160,000!

Now people are earning less then their parents and houses are way more expensive.

The postoffice was where we diligently saved money.With banking deregulation and foreign banks coming in with an endless supply of money,its now where we spend our money.

[777]

"From 1960 to now wages went up 59%"

Fake news or at least a typo.

[Joshuatree]

3rd to bottom line 777
""My dad was a postman and my mum was a factory worker, and yet they were able to build a brand-new house in Christchurch with next-to-no money. All a family like mine had to do back then was to get a five per cent deposit together and then the Government lent them the rest of the money (a State Advances Loan) at three per cent for 40 years."
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Back then, housing was seen as essential infrastructure, with home ownership being "the key to a healthy society and a stable democracy".
So what happened? Watch this documentary and you have to think we should have seen this coming. All the signs were there, starting way back in the 1980s and '90s, when we switched from a regulated economy to a market-driven one.
Today, we have a low-wage economy. Since the 1960s wages have increased 59 per cent, but housing has gone up a massive 280 per cent. As Bruce says: "Our market-driven economic system has created huge income inequalities that didn't exist 30 years ago."