If National wins ...

[elZorro]

Almost there on the shortening of posts EZ...one less word ( you can leave the full stops if you like..that way we'll know its you) and we have achieved perfection.

Apart from having a go at other posters, can you ever provide a counter argument or offer anything concrete BB? Put aside your pub-talk comments that have no substance, and most of you right-wingers don't have clue about what's really going on.

Who's leading the country really? Because it's not John Key. Maybe no-one is leading it, that's why we're sliding further into an imbalance.

Maybe David Shearer isn't a statesman yet, but he at least has a chance to develop into one.

[Major von Tempsky]

"we're sliding further into an imbalance."

Is that why tax revenue was reported as half a billion more than expected today for the first 7 months of the year and significantly closed the Budget deficit... ;-)

[elZorro]

"we're sliding further into an imbalance."

Is that why tax revenue was reported as half a billion more than expected today for the first 7 months of the year and significantly closed the Budget deficit... ;-)

And the full story is: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/politi...-than-forecast

The deficit is $600 mill less than they thought. So we're still going backwards, right? Most economists don't think National has a hope in getting it back into balance by 2015. Doesn't matter, they'll pretend it's going to happen, until just after the next election. Fairy dust.

Meanwhile the drought that is all too obvious out here in the provinces is going to clobber about a billion off farm incomes, so far. So there's some expected prov tax and terminal tax that the govt won't be getting, for sure.

[Major von Tempsky]

But all those statements you have just made are directly applicable to the Labour Government in Australia! :-0

[iceman]

And the full story is: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/politi...-than-forecast

The deficit is $600 mill less than they thought. So we're still going backwards, right? Most economists don't think National has a hope in getting it back into balance by 2015. Doesn't matter, they'll pretend it's going to happen, until just after the next election. Fairy dust.

Meanwhile the drought that is all too obvious out here in the provinces is going to clobber about a billion off farm incomes, so far. So there's some expected prov tax and terminal tax that the govt won't be getting, for sure.

I think you may be right EZ that it will be very difficult for the Government to get back to surplus 2014/2015 and the drought will make that ambitious goal even more difficult. But life will go on even if we miss it a little, our credit rating is unlikely to be further reduced thanks to responsible management of Government finances. After all it is not easy to wind back the ridiculous and unnecessary expenditure Clark & Cullen had made almost structural in Government spending before NZ wised up and sacked them. Core Government expenditure rose 60% during their tenure so it does take a while to steer the ship on the right course again. John Key is achieving it slowly despite a World recession and a huge natural disaster. No need to be as negative about NZs prospects as you and your Leftie mates are. That includes Labour, the Greens and the Winston Peters First party. That negativity about everything the Government does will make sure Kiwis won't vote for them. For Shearer to become the statesman you want him to be, he needs to come up with positive and believable policies to drive NZ forward. So far he hasn't.

[craic]

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
(and thats my last word for several days as I am off to enjoy the delights of Onehunga and I am not taking anything as sophisticated as my laptop into that place)
Maybe David Shearer isn't a statesman yet, but he at least has a chance to develop into one.[/QUOTE]

[iceman]

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
(and thats my last word for several days as I am off to enjoy the delights of Onehunga and I am not taking anything as sophisticated as my laptop into that place)
.

[/QUOTE]

LOL. Enjoy it Craig. I am off to Argentina on Tuesday so will leave countering and debating EZ and PTC to you, MVT and BB for a few weeks

[elZorro]

I think you may be right EZ that it will be very difficult for the Government to get back to surplus 2014/2015 and the drought will make that ambitious goal even more difficult. But life will go on even if we miss it a little, our credit rating is unlikely to be further reduced thanks to responsible management of Government finances. After all it is not easy to wind back the ridiculous and unnecessary expenditure Clark & Cullen had made almost structural in Government spending before NZ wised up and sacked them. Core Government expenditure rose 60% during their tenure so it does take a while to steer the ship on the right course again. John Key is achieving it slowly despite a World recession and a huge natural disaster. No need to be as negative about NZs prospects as you and your Leftie mates are. That includes Labour, the Greens and the Winston Peters First party. That negativity about everything the Government does will make sure Kiwis won't vote for them. For Shearer to become the statesman you want him to be, he needs to come up with positive and believable policies to drive NZ forward. So far he hasn't.

Thanks for the reply Iceman. I'm not negative about NZ's prospects at all, I'm just more ambitious than National are. You were saying that core govt expenditure rose 60% under Labour's tenure. Without checking that, I'll go along with the figure, and it would have been Labour's reaction to the last govt sector culling under National. But you are only looking at one metric.

In the middle of this is a chart showing the extra spend, yes it's about 60% above inflation, over 9 years.
http://www.policyprogress.org.nz/tag...ur-government/

The increased employment reduced some social benefit costs, yet increased taxes and cash turnover in the economy. As govt gets back at least 50% of every dollar it expends on wages and salaries (and 50% of everything an employer spends on wages and salaries), the net increase in real costs would have been only 30% over the tenure, or less. Of course the tax take went up really well, resulting in a surplus in the budget for several years. Anyone with commercial buildings and retail enterprises did better also. That meant they had to pay more taxes, and employed more staff.

National's policy of screwing back the core govt expenditure only adds to the net budget deficit most likely, because of downstream effects. So that is not the reason for reducing costs there. It's a policy that helps to justify lower taxes for the small high-income section of NZ. But it also restricts growth in the economy, the dead opposite of what National is saying they are working on.

David Shearer is quickly getting better at fronting the camera, perhaps the only way most of us will judge him.

Anyway the next week will be interesting but less challenging, as the leftie fringe on ST (and you forgot to include the venerable Fred114 I think) battle it out with a shallow BB and the outspoken MVT, who I suspect has more than one foot in the past. A bit about Aussie Labor's comparatively small deficit.

[iceman]

National's policy of screwing back the core govt expenditure only adds to the net budget deficit most likely, because of downstream effects. So that is not the reason for reducing costs there. It's a policy that helps to justify lower taxes for the small high-income section of NZ. But it also restricts growth in the economy, the dead opposite of what National is saying they are working on.

National has reduced income taxes for all workers in NZ during the last 5 years EZ. After tax wages in NZ have risen close to 20% during that time. So your claim is not supported by fact.

[elZorro]

Steven Joyce was interviewed at length on Q&A by a ruthless Corin Dann, this morning. John Key wouldn't have stood up so well, but there were holes in Mr Joyce's arguments nevertheless.

Callaghan Innovation has started annoucements on previously decided grants for big business. $25mill spread amongst just a few firms.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/n...ectid=10869669

A board member's firm snaffled some of it. That firm looks to be an establishing competitor for Gallagher Group's PEC.

http://www.callaghaninnovation.govt....ents-announced

Tru-Test also features for nearly $4mill of R&D part grants over 2-3 years, which is curious as they've also bought out a business recently, happy enough to pay over $60mill in goodwill.

Two non-scientific positions available at Callaghan. As the scientists predicted, the effort is going into desk jobs at this stage, and there has been no talk of the doubling in funding that will be needed to keep all the current staff. https://careers.callaghaninnovation....aspx?Coid=2034