If National wins ...

[POSSUM THE CAT]

Fungus Pudding What Polls the same ones that said that National was going to get 55% of the vote & would not need coalition partners

[elZorro]

If he needed to he'd just call a snap election. He'd bolt back in and Act would bring in several seats. So no need to worry.

Cripes, you're not an ACT voter are you FP?

[fungus pudding]

Cripes, you're not an ACT voter are you FP?

Should be. They certainly have the most sensible policies.

[elZorro]

Should be. They certainly have the most sensible policies.

Ha Ha, you're pulling my leg right FP? I had to have a look at the ACT website for a couple of minutes to find these barely-thought-out policies. Have a quick look at them and they might make sense, if you'd had a couple of beers and were about to nod off.

ACT will keep working for a stronger economy. A Party Vote for ACT is a vote to:

• Push the next government to reduce wasteful spending. In 2005, Labour was spending 29 per cent of the national income. Today, the same figure is 35 per cent. ACT would push the next government to return spending to the level it was at in 2005 by repealing the “election bribe” spending of the past two elections with a view toward getting the top personal tax rate down to 25% and the company tax rate to 12.5%;
• Push the next government to lock in lower taxes by passing ACT’s Spending Cap Bill into law. The Bill would require government spending to increase only by the level of inflation and population growth. By reducing government spending and taxes, it would increase the rewards for wealth creation;
• Push the next government to pass ACT’s Regulatory Standards Bill. The Bill would test all new regulations for unnecessary red tape, making it easier to do business;
• Sell state assets such as power generation companies; the overwhelming evidence is that such valuable assets produce more wealth when managed privately;
• Allow more mining when the economic benefits outweigh the environmental costs.

There must be plenty of others, in the vein of trickle-down theory, look after business owners, forget the environment, dismantle the public sector, etc.

If you have high income, the public sector is just a nuisance. But if you've been let go by a business, say, that sees continued profits at all costs as its only reason for existence, then the social policies that Labour brought in all those years ago, are the backstop. To pay for those, we need taxes (or inflation). I think we can have all of these positive outcomes, including profitable businesses employing lots of people, if taxes are only reduced in areas that foster positive actions. In other areas, they should be brought in to stop negative activity. As a relative pointed out to me yesterday, a CGT would make business owners more likely to hold out for better prices, making sales to overseas investors more profitable for the country as a whole. A CGT is also likely to encourage investment away from property, and into more lucrative business areas, because the annual returns from a half-way decent business will more than match a hopeful (taxed) capital gain from property down the track.

[Major von Tempsky]

All very sensible policies designed to ramp up the productive part of the economy and incentivise productive effort.
Only thing missing is cutting down on existing red tape such as the Resources Management Act.

If you want to catch up with Australia and attract and keep more entrpreneurs here its the way to go.

[elZorro]

All very sensible policies designed to ramp up the productive part of the economy and incentivise productive effort.
Only thing missing is cutting down on existing red tape such as the Resources Management Act.

If you want to catch up with Australia and attract and keep more entrpreneurs here its the way to go.

Not another ACT voter, this is too much.. OK, Major, the RMA, which is designed to make people think twice before bulldozing themselves a jetty into a river or draining a swamp, lowering a lake, as well as numerous other sabotage that we've all heard about, including taking more than your share of water. The RMA is there for a reason. Sure, regional councils get a fair bit of their income from it. But if it didn't come from those wanting to work on infrastructure, every ratepayer would have to pay more. And most of us aren't doing a lot most of the time. So I'm sick of farmers etc moaning about the bloody RMA. Get over it?

The research shows that trickle down theory doesn't work, it's a lie, it works the other way to pull profits into the top sector only. So unless the policies are suitable for smaller businesses who are just starting out, they won't help most of us at all. More tax reductions at the top end won't help, either. Unless you're already well off, and then I guess ACT is a great party, just for you.

[Lego_Man]

As a relative pointed out to me yesterday, a CGT would make business owners more likely to hold out for better prices, making sales to overseas investors more profitable for the country as a whole. A CGT is also likely to encourage investment away from property, and into more lucrative business areas, because the annual returns from a half-way decent business will more than match a hopeful (taxed) capital gain from property down the track.

Sounds like inefficient capital allocation to me.

[fungus pudding]

Fungus Pudding What Polls the same ones that said that National was going to get 55% of the vote & would not need coalition partners

With so many parties around now, it's almost impossible than any will ever get over 50% - in spite of any polls. MMP is designed to provide coalition govts., and it certainly does that.

[fungus pudding]

As a relative pointed out to me yesterday, a CGT would make business owners more likely to hold out for better prices, making sales to overseas investors more profitable for the country as a whole. A CGT is also likely to encourage investment away from property, and into more lucrative business areas, because the annual returns from a half-way decent business will more than match a hopeful (taxed) capital gain from property down the track.

We can pick our friends, but we're all stuck with our relatives. Don't beat yourself up over it.

[Major von Tempsky]

And for the anti-assets sales flock of parrots (hint No 1, you never succeed with a negative message, you need a positive message) , you will of course have noted that (a) the OECD recently advised the NZ Govt that it needed to make some asset sales to improve the economy and (b) that Julia Gillard's Labour Government is now moving towards power company sales in Australia.