The Worst Finance Minister Ever, Labour's Grant Robertson, and now the new one who is competing for that title, Nicola Willis, have jointly created a fiscal crisis in NZ. We currently have one of the worst primary fiscal deficits in the developed world (which is government spending minus tax revenues, excluding interest costs).
In the face of an ageing population, NZ's public debt will start rapidly increasing above its high post-pandemic levels, starting in 2030, as confirmed by the IMF. Fellow Blogger Michael Reddell compiled this graph:
Click to view
Our current Finance Minister has only one plan, which isn't a plan: cross her fingers & pray for economic growth to pick up. However, NZ is now one of the most stagnant economies in the world. And with high uncertainty regards tariffs, there is no bet that our economy will take off anytime soon.
Click to view
Our current Finance Minister has only one plan, which isn't a plan: cross her fingers & pray for economic growth to pick up. However, NZ is now one of the most stagnant economies in the world. And with high uncertainty regards tariffs, there is no bet that our economy will take off anytime soon.
To solve NZ's fiscal, health-care & retirement problems, I have a plan. My sidekick, who's good with numbers and doing government budgets, since he wrote five in his time, Sir Roger Douglas, Finance Minister from 1984 to 1988, has done the math. (He won't like me describing him in those terms, since thinks of himself more as my boss). There are no holes in our budget, unlike the ones of Former Finance Minister Robertson and the current one, Willis. Whatever your views about ours, it works & makes Kiwis better off.
There may be parts with which you disagree with - but its a plan - and neither Labour nor National have one of their own. It is forthcoming in our domestic journal, NZ Economic Papers:
Professor Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. He has previously worked at the Reserve Bank, Oxford University, and the London School of Economics. He runs the blog Down to Earth Kiwi from where this article was sourced.
Professor Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. He has previously worked at the Reserve Bank, Oxford University, and the London School of Economics. He runs the blog Down to Earth Kiwi from where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
The budget announcements are thus far lacking creativity, expertise, and the necessary revolution to address the Ardern disaster..
If Dr Shane Reti was replaced because he didn't have the skill set required, why is Willis still finance minister?
How and why has Fonterra given us Todd Muller and Willis? It could explain why Fonterra has failed to add value to milk powder despite being the world's largest milk powder exporter.
Is Luxons judgement being clouded by the need to have women at the top table?
Wouldn't it be great if Luxon could find women with the intellect and skill set of Pam Bondi and Caroline Levett. Those two ladies were obviously promoted on merit.
Erica Stanford isn't in the same league as her American counter parts but she is doing an exceptional job in education.
Don't blame the politicians. Blame the voters who put them in a position to do harm. Once in a generation they might get it right, as Douglas demonstrated, but that was all a big accident and might never have happened if Marilyn Waring had not stood up to Muldoon and unwittingly forced a snap election.
Why is the pdf link forbidden?
Follow the link to kiwi blog- you can open it there.
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