pn904. The Budget: 'Timid, Conservative and not very Transformational'

Billy Bragg, English song-writer
and left-wing activist

Political Roundup: Grant Robertson’s “sweet moderation” 

by Bryce Edwards

Grant Robertson is a big fan of British socialist folk-punk singer Billy Bragg. The finance minister even wrote an opinion column last year that started and ended with lyrics from Bragg’s iconic song “Between the Wars”, with its key line “Sweet moderation; Heart of this nation”. Robertson titled his column, “We can be a nation of sweet moderation – but only if we keep working at it”.

The Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister appropriated Bragg’s “sweet moderation” line as a justification in the face of criticisms that his government had become moderate rather than “transformational”. In fact, his column sought to paint rising political discontent and anger as being dangerous and something for all to condemn. In contrast to radicalism, he claimed that his type of “sweet moderation” was all about “giving everyone a fair suck of the sav” – i.e. a very down-to-earth way of signalling a vague sense of egalitarianism.

pn903. The Budget, with links, from Stuff's Politically Correct

 

Hi Crosbie, Grant Robertson called it “balanced”, the National Party called it a “backwards Budget” and the Act Party called it a “brain drain Budget”. Te Pāti Māori said it was a vanilla cake Budget with chocolate sprinkles on top. It was perhaps, the bromide Budget - one with statements and measures to soothe or placate around cost-of-living pressures, while getting on with the long-term changes that Labour committed to making last year. It was essentially the same Budget that was indicated last December with what looks like a last minute cost-of-living payment thrown in. Stuff attended the Budget lock up and produced an array of stories and video covering it. You can read Henry Cooke’s cheat sheet on the Budget here, while my take on it was that it was trying to thread a political needle and balance acute political pressures while also acting on Labour’s longer term reforms in health and climate. The payment of $350 over three months for people earning under $70,001 a year was carefully calibrated to take the wind out of National’s sails while giving targeted relief. Given how much costs have risen, it is unlikely to do so. Henry Cooke again did an excellent analysis on how much of the cost of living increase the changes might cover. Hint: if you’ve got a mortgage, children or run two cars, the answer is likely to be very little. Our Auckland political reporter down for the lock up, Glenn McConnell, reported on what was in the Budget for Māori and also produced this nice little story about five representative families and what it might mean for them. Meanwhile, our gallery health expert Bridie Witton reported on the massive $13.8b spend-up in health on rejigging the sector as it gets centralized, paying off the DHB deficits and splashing more money into Pharmac. She also wrote a great analysis here about how the money will help, but it is a long way off doing anything about entrenched inequities in the health system. Thomas Manch reported on the opposition’s reaction to the Budget - that it was a ‘band aid’ according to the National Party, and has a fine summary of the major measures here. I’d also recommend you check out our Budget in five charts. Tom Pullar-Strecker reported on how, although there were no tax changes, the existing tax net will rake in billions more. Now the Government goes on its sales pitch to spruik what it will be doing, but the economic outlook is grim. One particular canary in the coalmine is the small but now steady stream of builders starting to go under as supply shortages become acute. Inflation continues to be the economic indicator that rules them all. Whether this Budget did enough to stop people blaming the Government, or ensure they think that Grant Robertson feels their pain, is another question. Sorry about the day-later-than-usual note - I was pretty busy yesterday! Have a great weekend. Luke Malpass Political Editor Enjoying this email? Check out Stuff's other daily and weekly newsletters. You can read Henry Cooke’s cheat sheet on the Budget here, while my take on it was that it was trying to thread a political needle and balance acute political pressures while also acting on Labour’s longer term reforms in health and climate. The payment of $350 over three months for people earning under $70,001 a year was carefully calibrated to take the wind out of National’s sails while giving targeted relief. Given how much costs have risen, it is unlikely to do so. Henry Cooke again did an excellent analysis on how much of the cost of living increase the changes might cover. Hint: if you’ve got a mortgage, children or run two cars, the answer is likely to be very little. Our Auckland political reporter down for the lock up, Glenn McConnell, reported on what was in the Budget for Māori and also produced this nice little story about five representative families and what it might mean for them. Meanwhile, our gallery health expert Bridie Witton reported on the massive $13.8b spend-up in health on rejigging the sector as it gets centralized, paying off the DHB deficits and splashing more money into Pharmac. She also wrote a great analysis here about how the money will help, but it is a long way off doing anything about entrenched inequities in the health system. Thomas Manch reported on the opposition’s reaction to the Budget - that it was a ‘band aid’ according to the National Party, and has a fine summary of the major measures here. I’d also recommend you check out our Budget in five charts. Tom Pullar-Strecker reported on how, although there were no tax changes, the existing tax net will rake in billions more. Now the Government goes on its sales pitch to spruik what it will be doing, but the economic outlook is grim. One particular canary in the coalmine is the small but now steady stream of builders starting to go under as supply shortages become acute. Inflation continues to be the economic indicator that rules them all. Whether this Budget did enough to stop people blaming the Government, or ensure they think that Grant Robertson feels their pain, is another question. Sorry about the day-later-than-usual note - I was pretty busy yesterday! Have a great weekend.

pn823. NZ's 2022 Budget: Big spending on Health Reforms and Climate Change obligations

Based on Luke Malpass in Stuff. Read the full article here. 

In the Budget Policy Statement, a document outlining next year’s budget priorities released on Wednesday, Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced new spending, particularly on health and climate change  

He said that the Government’s overall goals for Budget 2022 will be keeping New Zealand safe from Covid-19, accelerating the recovery and rebuild from Covid-19, and laying the foundations for the future including climate change, housing affordability and child poverty.

An extra $6 billion will be spent on health reform and meeting climate goals.

pn730. If there's a lower and a middle, there's also an upper NZ

Yesterday I was talking with my son-in-law's brother who is a fireman and part-time builder's assistant. He complained about the Budget, saying it gave nothing to hard-working middle NZ, and most to beneficiaries many of whom would spend the extra money on booze.

Have you noticed how we often choose worst-case scenarios to support our arguments?  I don't think most or even many beneficiaries —but I have no idea how many— will spend their extra dollars on booze.  Food is the most likely expenditure.

Here's another argument. 

If, in terms of income, there's a lower and middle NZ, there's also an upper NZ  that's very well off. Have you noticed how rarely we complain that they have too much?  And yet this is where most dollars go, not to beneficiaries who at least spend their money which circulates in the economy, helping our retailers and helping growth. The very rich, by comparison, invest most of their money often in non-productive enterprises like company shares in NZ but more typically overseas. There is little to no benefit to NZ.

Take, for instance, the banks:

Gordon Campbell has an article in our local rag, "About time banks were called into line" noting that last week Government announced its intention to crack down on the fees banks charge our retailers when we use credit and debit cards.

For credit cards, they typically charge 1.6%. If you purchase something for $100, the retailer takes $98.40 and bank $1.60. This may not sound very much but when the spending of thousands of their customers is added up it's a small fortune.

When we use contactless debit cards the banks charge 1.2%, much more than in comparable countries. In the UK, for instance, banks charge 0.2%, and in Australia 0.6% — half of what they charge here.

All our major banks are Australian-owned. Their estimated $74 million profits from the cards, which comprises only part of their pofits,  are distributed among their shareholders in Australia. Think how much more the public and our retailers would save if the Australian-owned banks reduced their fees and if the money stayed in NZ.

Banks are only one example of how the very rich get richer at the expense of the poor and middle NZ. 

 I think it's time middle NZers focused more on them, and give the poor a break, or at least the benefit of doubt. They are not all boozers.

-- ACW

pn728. Reactions to the 2021 Budget

 

Reactions to the Budget tended to the positive with most criticism saying Government could have done more. Here are some opinions. For a list of articles on the Budget, see NZ Politics Daily.

"A budget inspired by Labour’s original economic and social principles. 

"The legacy Robertson and his colleagues have accepted from the past is not the legacy of Helen Clark and Michael Cullen, but of Norman Kirk and Bill Rowling. The torch which the Baby Boom Generation refused to accept, has been grasped by their children."-- Chris Trotter.