Blame it on the Opposition!
April 29th, 2007 at 11:19 am by David FarrarI am finding it amusing how the Government is trying to blame its lack of responses to the high exchange rate on opposition parties. Fran O’Sullivan gives Mallard a serve on this.
However NZ First, the Greens and National have said they are willing to co-operate to find a solution.
But the SST reports it is Helen refusing to get around the table.
So Labour’s left hand isn’t even co-ordinating with its far left hand. One Minister is attacking the other parties for not being willing to co-operate, and another is spurning such co-operation.
Indeed the mojo is gone.
Related posts:
- Opposition performance statistics Q2 2012
- Labour to blame for delay
- A godsend for Helen
- The Blame Game
April 29th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Who were the pair of retards who meet privately with the Reserve Bank governor and Treasury Secretary over possible changes to monetary policy and then for political advantage went back on their consideration of other options than just interest rates movements.
NZ Herald..
At that gathering Dr Cullen, Trevor Mallard, Mr Key and Mr English discussed monetary policy tools with Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard and Treasury boss John Whitehead.
Talk of a levy on home mortgages arose, and Dr Cullen claims that all of those present agreed to investigate the idea further.
The Finance Minister was then incensed when National attacked him for saying in an interview last Friday that he wanted closer investigation of a levy.
Vote:April 29th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Yes, I have to say that I’m becomming increasingly annoyed at the government over this issue. Their strategies clearly aren’t working at the moment and they don’t seem to be willing to make any meaningful changes. Having said that, I don’t see National making any proposals that would have a significant impact on the current problem. The Greens on the other hand have some decisive and practicable solutions, solutions that they’ve been advancing for at least 2 years now.
1) Introduce a capital gains tax on properties other than the family home to deflate the housing boom and give the Reserve Bank the flexibility to drop the OCR.
2) Tighten foreign investment laws to limit property speculation and priorities productive investment.
Vote:April 29th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
I would have thought the present situation fits the Liabour agenda ideally. 700 mainly National voters leaving weekly, a similar number of 3rd world arrivals with dependents. Workers losing jobs will look to Liabour to either employ them on the state payroll, or provide dependency positions as sickness, invalids, or as a last resort un-employed. Most of the top scholars in our schools seem to be Chinese or other Eastern people and the high tech area seems to attract mainly Indian immigrants so I can’t see the new age technology being the silver chalice for the average Kiwi Joker….As for Mallard the Finance heir apparent, with his history of supervising the Wananga, and his brilliant initiative on the waterfront stadium, doesn’t exactly appeal as the Nation’s Saviour does he.
Vote:April 29th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Selma. You believe Cullen’s version of events?
There there sweety, I have some bad news for you about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny too.
Vote:April 29th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
It must be about time to give Dr. Cullen some good economics lessons. Lets start with some basic logic and then work the more complex theories from there.
Basic logic: If taxing high earners more enables the Labour Govt to provide extra money to low income earners and that causes inflation… then it’s pretty obvious that the money wasn’t being spent by the high earners. They were saving it… now they are not, it’s being spent pushing up inflation… Labour policies created the need now Labour policies have the solution – enter Kiwisaver….
Intervention creates more issues requiring more intervention, attempts to maintain something as complex as a space shuttle with a tool as coarse as a chainsaw will always end in tears. And the tears are also comming from Labour heart land….
Vote:April 29th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Selma,
I don’t care what anyone says – I think you had a future with Sideshow Bob. Sure a homicidal maniac but beggars surely cannot be choosers.
Kisses,
Vote:April 29th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
I wonder what mayhem the senior ministers have planned for the next time the PM is away.
They must be pretty pissed that they have had to pay out their own money to support the past marketing of the PM.
I smell a coup. Labour will deny it as much as they denied that Taito Field did anything more than “make a few errors of judgment”.
Interesting times when a once cohesive party dismounts.
Vote:April 29th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Why the paranoia by Clarke about taxing capital gains. They are already meant to be taxed but the law is almost impossible to enforce. Section CD 2(a) of the Income Tax Act 1994 says that gross income includes:
Any amount derived from the sale or other disposition of any land if the land was acquired for the purpose or intention, or for purposes or intentions including the purpose or intention, of selling or otherwise disposing of it.
All those people claiming tax losses on their investment properties must surely intend to sell them at some stage as lossing money doesn’t make sense. Of course it is not necessarily a cashflow loss but the real sweetener is the prospect of tax free capital gains on sale!
Vote:April 30th, 2007 at 2:13 am
In their latest economic report the OECD talks about two possible tax fixes for housing:
1. Stop landlords from claiming their rental losses against their income from other sources (tax tip for homeowners who haven‘t figured it out yet, here’s an easy way to reduce your income tax: find a friend and rent your houses to each other).
2. If landlords claim tax deductions for maintenance and interest payments, then take that as sufficient proof of intention to resell and apply the existing capital gains provisions. So landlords get to choose – claim and pay or don’t and don’t. To be fair, maybe you wouldn’t want to make it retro-active. Just let people choose when they’re filing their next tax claim.
Maybe both of these options should be looked at more closely?
By the way, if you actually read the OECD report, they didn’t call for any new capital gains taxes – so why did so many media outlets claim that they did?
Vote:April 30th, 2007 at 7:15 am
Burt,
Vote:I think you dead right about a coup. Labour can’t do much on these problems because they will be admitting the fundamentals of their philosphy doesn’t work. That means the discontent of the party has to find other areas to show itself.
April 30th, 2007 at 9:05 am
A very simple way to fix this problem once and for all.
Introduce special legislation that does the following: for all public sector workers (including individual and small direct , teachers, etc, but not doctors or the army or police or prison officers I guess) — and for all beneficiaries of all kinds.
1. take their current NZD salary/benefit figures.
2. multiple by say 0.4 – call this the “base rate”
3. pay them an amount in NZD the base rate / current USD exchange rate
that’s it. So when the exchange rate is somewhere sensible, say 0.4, people would earn what they earn now. But when it is crazy, like now, they’ll earn only half of what they get.
do that, and the exchange rate will correct overnight
(oh, and if you set the BASE rate at 0.3. you’d magically reduce the government spend too
Vote:April 30th, 2007 at 9:05 am
A very simple way to fix this problem once and for all.
Introduce special legislation that does the following: for all public sector workers (including individual and small direct , teachers, etc, but not doctors or the army or police or prison officers I guess) — and for all beneficiaries of all kinds.
1. take their current NZD salary/benefit figures.
2. multiple by say 0.4 – call this the “base rate”
3. pay them an amount in NZD the base rate / current USD exchange rate
that’s it. So when the exchange rate is somewhere sensible, say 0.4, people would earn what they earn now. But when it is crazy, like now, they’ll earn only half of what they get.
do that, and the exchange rate will correct overnight
(oh, and if you set the BASE rate at 0.3. you’d magically reduce the government spend too
Vote:April 30th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Can the LAQC,s.Thats the answer, very simple indeed. Umm, we already have a Capital Gains Tax so I dont know why people keep asking for one. The Greens just dont seem to understand this.
Vote:Foreign Investment in Residential Property is negligible and well controlled by the Commerce Commission.
April 30th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Anyone watch our “beloved” leader on TV answering questions about manufacturing jobs going overseas?
HC was out playing tram driver, and was asked about the job losses.
I was, to be quite frank, disgusted with her response. She was laughing as she said that whatever initiatives Labour proposed were being shouted down by public opinion. It was a really bad look, and a totaly inappropriate response. I’m sure those losing their jobs were really impressed at her grasp of the gravity of the situation.
These manufacturing jobs are part of the core of Labour’s support.
The truth is that Labour are hamstrung. They cannot take the hard decisions on the economy because they have squandered public support on things like the S59 repeal.
They cannot accept National’s offer of cross party help, because that would make them look irrelevent, and make National look more like the defacto government rather than government in waiting.
Key’s offer of cross party support to help the country avoid the approaching train wreck in the economy is another of his win win moves.
I honestly can’t see Labour winning the next election without some serious “reforms” to the electoral system.
For reforms you can substitute rigging/cheating or other similar descriptions.
Vote:April 30th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Those calling for CGT or ring fencing LAQCs fail to understand that any move that either stops house price increases or worse still causes a fall means ALL properties are effected. And that means an increase in the already increasing mortgagee sales and that means loss of votes or the Socialists.
All JK has to do is keep on offering to sit down and discuss this and other major issues. the more Helen pushes him away the more she looks like a loser and the more he looks like a PM in waiting.
Vote:April 30th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
I have it on good authority that even before the last election at least one Minister was concerned about the housing boom and wanted some changes to the tax system. Yes, we already have a capital gains tax as I pointed out above but it is impossible to enforce so needs some fixing up.
Anyway, it was no doubt Mr ‘no tax cuts’ Cullen who doesn’t think tax influences behaviour who refused to do anything. Who is looking silly now and calling for help? Although he still thinks it is monetary policy that is the problem!
Vote:April 30th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Foreign Investment in Residential Property is negligible and well controlled by the Commerce Commission
“Captain Crack” you moron: that is the exclusive province of the OVERSEAS INVESTMENT COMMISSION – but do carry on good chap. Don’t let the inconvenient facts get in your way.
Vote: