Mana News editor Joe Trinder

The Minister of finance Bill English has claimed he created a rockstar economy even today the Herald reported a rockstar economy. That New Zealand is outperforming the developed world and OECD Nations, economist Paul Bloxham gives credit to the Canterbury rebuild and low interest rates.  Economists Shamubeel Yakub is more realistic about the New Zealand economy “For me the rebuild in Canterbury is not something you can count as a normal part of the economy – we’re replacing something that was lost”.

Recently Jessie Colombo an American independent analyst and Forbes.com columnist warned that New Zealand’s economy was a bubble set to burst MP Steven Joyce was quick to refute this claim  and a compliant media undermine Colombo’s credibility to help keep New Zealanders head in the sand. Colombo predicted the US housing bubble and  he offers 12 reasons why the New Zealand economy is not a rockstar but a bubble set to burst.

1) Interest rates have been at all-time lows for almost a half-decade

2) Property prices have doubled since 2004

3) New Zealand has the world’s third most overvalued property market

4) New Zealand’s mortgage bubble grew by 165% since 2002

5) Nearly half of mortgages have floating interest rates

6) Mortgages account for 60% of banks’ loan portfolios

7) Finance, not agriculture, is New Zealand’s largest industry

8) New Zealand’s banks are exposed to Australia’s bubble

9) Australian and Chinese buyers are inflating the property bubble

10) New Zealand has a household debt problem

11) Government overseas debt has nearly tripled since 2008

12) The New Zealand dollar is overvalued

Everywhere we are being told about this rockstar economy but are still wondering why it isn’t translating into our standard of living and money in our wallets. We have All Blacks claiming that the National government is moving the economy forward. In reality the Canterbury rebuild is borrowed from a government debt now exceeding $60 Billion dollars, when National took control of the Beehive in 2008, debt was just over $10b. Borrowing billions of dollars and then spending it frivolously is not economic boom its government debt causing a deficit. Government debt is costing the economy $27 million a day. The Finance minister has failed seven times to deliver a surplus budget because treasury is paying off the interests from debt. Every New Zealander owes $13,000 in government debt.

To explain how much money Bill English has borrowed $60 Billion dollars could buy Six Nimitz class super carriers each with a flight of carrier aircraft and New Zealand become a superpower. It could fund an Apollo programme and put a New Zealander on the Moon. We should be able to see something tangible for this loan not just headlines we live in a rockstar economy. This generation wont pay off this government debt National has accumulated,  this debt will be the responsibility of our grandchildren as taxpayers. They will be wondering what our generation spent the money on and why didn’t they feed the kids they had enough money.