Joe Trinder Mana News Editor

Yesterday the Herald published another article we live in a  rock star  economy despite increasing poverty a housing crisis and government debt exceeding $60 Billion. The media has a responsibility to tell its readers the truth about the economy not pretend it is better than ever while kiwi families struggle. Of course you run the risk of talking the economy into a recession but the reality is we are in a recession no economic policy has improved our standard of living since 2008.

The solutions to resolve the multiple crisis facing New Zealand are really simple

• Stop  borrowing reduce debt
• Homes are for families not investors
• Stop all foreign property speculation
• Stop tax evasion for the wealthy
• Legislate a Living wage 
• Develop non-agricultural economies

The Finance minister has borrowed beyond our means by increasing government debt in excess of $60 billion from 2008 when government debt was $10 Billion. Treasury can’t produce a surplus budget because we are servicing our debt. The finance minister has  produced seven budgets all in deficit. The price Milk solids have dropped in price dramatically since National permitted privately owned Chinese company Yashili to build their own milk factory at Pokeno. China will no longer be our customer if they produce their own milk powder in our country, why sell the most lucrative part of the economy to your best customer what was the point of a free trade deal. Anyone critical of selling New Zealand land to foreign companies is quickly labelled as Xenophobic from the same crowd that have a low tolerance towards treaty settlements the genuine xenophobia afflicting New Zealand.

Property speculation needs to cease one investor doesn’t need to own five houses and landlords aren’t doing the public a service because they are preventing families from buying their own homes at affordable prices. If a landlord doesn’t live in New Zealand they shouldn’t own land in New Zealand. We are one of the few countries’ that permits foreign land ownership to the same countries that prevent New Zealanders buying their own land.

Too stimulate the New Zealand economy money needs to be circulated through the economy. This is done by raising unemployment benefits and accept it’s not the unemployed’s fault there aren’t enough jobs that is the government’s failure. Benefits are so wafer thin the poorest Kiwi’s are living a third world existence in caravan parks that are filled to the brim. Wealth distribution can be achieved by raising benefits to a reasonable amount and building more state housing. Another way to stimulate the economy is offer a living wage by coupling the minimum wage to 66% of the average wage. The constant excuses we get from minister’s sympathetic to senior managers that don’t want to lose their 500k yearly bonus. We desperately need legislation where companies pay their employees a fair wage.

Tax evasion is out of control in New Zealand the gap between the rich and the poor has grown so far you would think a super rich derivatives trader was running the country. The 1% of the super wealthy  don’t need tax breaks they need to pay their way. I know of two multi-millionaires that complained they don’t pay enough in taxes.

We aren’t all farmers the economy can’t put all its eggs into one basket in case we have a seasonal agricultural failure. The economy needs to be robust with other forms of income the economy should be building data farms not dairy farms. The Finance minister is a farmer and its unlikely alternate economies will ever be developed.

Aotearoa New Zealand has unfortunately become a ruthless society where we blame the poor and claim they are lazy . The kiwi attitude of an equal society from  our greatest generation during world war two has been abolished since the introduction of the neo-liberal policies  of rogernomics and ruthanasia. The economy has been severely mismanaged  below many latin american economies and will continue to decline until government takes these issues seriously.