Chucking up a post up on TikTok or waving a banner at a protest won't cut it.
Productivity (that’s how much we get out for what we put in) is crap. It's been getting worse or flat-lining for decades.
Australia’s is better. Wages are 30% higher.
We’re smaller, we have to be smarter.
And that means doing what the banner wavers of the world hate most - getting roadblocks and innovation-killers like government out of the way.
Doing business needs to be as cheap and easy as possible. Let smart people be smart people and do what they do best: invent, optimise, invest, grow, thrive.
We did this post-Muldoon with agriculture - subsidies and deregulation.
We’re now the most productive in world. It's proof.
There of course are those who reckon the solution is to have a politician sign a piece of paper and artificially increase the minimum wage, or write a blank cheque to teachers, the question is: who's going to pay for it when our best and brightest are leaving NZ and businesses are closing?
Who can afford that?
Show me a democracy that got rich by increasing the size and influence of the government and I’ll give you a million bucks.
And not one of those Scandinavian ones that did it off the back of massive mineral deposits - which we're not allowed to touch, remember?
We’ve fallen so far behind we can’t be 'managing' a 2% GDP economy. This country needs 7% for at least three years.
New Zealand needs a growth spurt. We’ve fallen too far behind.
Please don’t be fooled by the false prophets, waving their banners and posting their nonsense, they have no idea what they’re talking about.
Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.
5 comments:
NZ is run by bureaucrats. People who don’t know what “Let’s make this work” means. They thrive on the power to make things as difficult as possible. Until we change that we are destined to sink further. Talented people simply say “too hard” and do their business somewhere else
So why is NZs economy and productivity so poor?
1. House prices. Houses don't earn nz money farms, machines and people do. So why have successive governments (up to but not including Luxon) encouraged house price growth? It's easy politics. Make people feel rich so they borrow and spend like they're rich. Let the next lot of politicians sort out the mess.
2. Big Business price collusion. Banks, electricity, supermarkets, insurance companies, plumbers and electricians, fuel companies, joinery companies, etc. make world beating profits in NZ because there are only a few competitors colluding on price.
Nicola Willis isn't fixing new supermarkets ability to competitively access nz wholesale food markets, a requirement stipulated by comcom in 2022 to break nzs duopoly. Willis also proudly announced Aussie based, cost plus, Aldi and Lidl (who would lower food prices and dominate nzs supermarket industry if there was a level playing field) didnt participate in Willis 2 year study (which predictably didnt uncover anything previous studies hadn't uncovered).
Perhaps Willis is preparing for NZ consumers and taxpayers to fund her 2 year USA holiday as well.
3. Councils raise rates with impunity so where is all the extra money going? Ratepayers certainly haven't seen an improvement in council services so who got our money and why?
4. $66b spent on the most expensive covid response in the world. The current auditor general investigated the world's most expensive covid response and "couldn't find specific investment criteria to help agencies identify appropriate projects for funding, and agencies were asked to provide investment options in "extremely tight timeframes", so ministers had too little information to ensure value for money."
But unbelieveably the auditor general hasn't audited the covid spend to discover who got our money.... WHY NOT?
Let's hope Luxon remembers his criticism of NZ city Councils and big business rorts and TAKES STEPS to fix them, in time to win the election.
STEP 1. Appoint an intelligent finance minister who possesses integrity.
STEP 2. Appoint an intelligent covid inquiry minister who possesses integrity.
STEP 3.
Appoint an intelligent auditor general who possesses integrity.
Luxon is our only hope.
So please Mr Luxon.... remember your morals and sort the NZ problems you have articulated in the past,. I know, you know how to fix them
Unlike Willis, H Clark, and Ardern, you were wealthy when you entered politics so you don't need taxpayers to fund your 2 year USA holiday!
But you do need us to advocate and vote for you!
Don't forget the bone-idle population who have deluded themselves into thinking "she'll be right" and "number 8 wire" are principles to live by, and that being able to play sport is something to be proud of.
NZ has a large and fast expanding section of the population which commenced exit from the stone age later than others. Apart from spreading a hobby langusge and dance there is limited suited their ability.
In 1795 Adam Smith published his Wealth of Nations book & proclaimed that all any country needs to be wealthy are 3 things.
Small Govt. Low Taxes. Rule of Law (which is Property Rights in effect).
THATS IT. Human Self Interest/ our desire to get ahead, will do the rest.
See places like Singapore who have zero natural resources but endless Human Capital.
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