Labour squandered the surplus before Covid

Stuff reports:

Goldsmith said he wanted to remind listeners that the Labour government had “squandered” within two years the surpluses it inherited from the National government.

“The previous National government, we had to borrow a lot of money to get us through the Global Financial Crisis, and the Canterbury earthquakes – we had to borrow $50 billion,” Goldsmith said.

“And then with good economic management, and careful spending and an absolute focus on growth, we got on top of that and restored New Zealand’s prosperity to the extent that in 2017 when we left government, we left an inheritance of massive government surpluses, a rapidly growing economy, and jobs being created – 10,000 jobs a month.

“And within two short years, before the Covid-19 crisis, this government had taken that inheritance and squandered that entire surpluses and were projecting a budget deficit before the Covid-19 situation occurred,” he said.

This is a key message.

Labour out the country into recession even before the GFC in 2008 and National inherited a projected decade of deficits. Strong economic management saw those deficits become surpluses and debt repaid.

Labour squandered the surpluses within two years, before Covid-19. And once again we are facing a decade or more of deficits. The only solution Labour will have is massive tax increases.