Budget 2010

Well for the first year in about 8 I haven't had any inside gossip before the big day.

It might be that this year was kept even more secure, it might be that all the big stuff was already announced, or it might be that the governments voluntary redundancies got rid of the blabber mouths. which ever way it is, I don't mind as I'm not supposed to know before hand anyway.

So after all the noise and silly games, ridiculous posturing and name calling in Parliament, was it worth it?
Well yes I think it was. For the first time in 11 years we have a government that is intent on growing the pie instead of cutting it and sharing it around. It's tax cuts are a positive sign that we are not having a government of envy, but a government of aspiration.

As a government worker, I'm not going to be too happy about the minimal increases or funding freezes. It makes it harder to get a pay rise, and so I'm torn by self interest and what I believe is best for the country. But sadly so many people especially unions and greenies have such a limited understanding of economics. In the long run, the best bet is a healthy economy which means we can ultimately fund a better public service.

Now in about another 4 years we might get another left wing government and I'll probably have a big jump in my wages again. Sounds good, but we are seriously steering down the barrel of being another Greece if the socialists get in power again before 7 years.
They seem to think that a tax cut to the rich is taking money away from the poor. It's actually taking less away from those who make our nation function. Hopefully not anyway.

And to summarise my overall opinion of this budget? I'll give it a 8.5 out of 10. They could do more if we weren't in the financial crapper so I've given credit for what they could do.( Lets not forget that NZ went into recession 15 months before the rest of the world under Labour).
Well done JK and Bill English.

Budget week this week.

Now before anyone gets the wrong idea, I don't have any inside goss on anything........well so far anyway. (I've always found out something good that hadn't been released before.)

But the media and politicians have lead us to believe that GST will move to 15% from the 12.5% (a price rise of 2.2% on prices not a 2.5%, as reported by muppet MSM )we have currently and there will be corresponding income tax cuts.
Now the National lead government has said that no one will be worse off after these changes, so the increase in GST revenue must equal the loss of income tax revenue and cover the cost increases of Grasshopper benefits and retired people.

Now as much as I would like to believe that, I don't think National will just give us minor income tax cuts. Already the public service is getting a hard squeeze on costs so that will help balance the budget,but I don't think that and the increased GST will cover all the costs.
National want to be perceived as good responsible government, and credit where credit's due, they are not the pack of carpet munchers and backdoor boys that the last lot are.
We're not likely to see the bribes with our own money that Labour did last electoral term, but I also think when we're borrowing $240 million a week for a nation of just over 4 million people, I don't think they will want to borrow more to pay for the tax cuts..
It's an interesting situation and once Bill English rolls out his budget hopefully we will see how it's going to pay for the cuts.

On another matter, it was interesting to see the Prime minister answered some questions put to him. John Key is not someone who is infallible, and like all politicians I don't trust 100%.
Number 14 is interesting. I find it interesting because the actual physical evidence of anthropological global warming is actually pretty flimsy. I have yet to meet a person who has denied climate change, and increasingly it's becoming apparent that the world isn'tv in fact heading to $hit in a handbag anytime soon.
In fact apart from what is known as Urban island heat effect or something like that, the evidence of global man made warming is nil. We've had an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but since 1998 we've had nil average temperature increases over the planet.
So why is John Key and the National lead coalition still heading to introduce a carbon tax later this year??? Remember this is a government which has as a fundimental basis, low taxation at heart..


The only conclusion I've can come to is that the ETS is going to be used to raise money to help pay for the income tax cuts. And now I will just have to wait and see. Happy Budget day everybody. Hope your dreams and wishes come true and that my little bit of government gets a little bit extra.

The DomPost test

People outside Wellington may not have heard of the Dom-Post test. For those not in the know, The Dominion Post (or Dom Post) is the daily paper made from the merge of the daily Wellington papers the Dominion and the Evening Post.
When I first heard of the DomPost test, it was known as the Dominion test since the Dominion was the then morning daily. (That's quite a few years ago now...I think I'm showing my age..).

Anyway, the Dom-Post test is basically what ever actions one is doing, we should ask our selves, "what would this look like on the front page of the Dom Post in the morning?".
Nothing is more likely to give grief to a government ministry or department more than having some scandal on the front page of the DomPost in the morning. It'll set the tone of the day from the minister down to the lowest level clerk.

ACC and CYFS seem to be the two favourite that springs to mind, but Housing, IRD, capital coast health have all been front page headlines too. Nothing makes my thoughts go "f^$k" when I see the governmental area where I work on the front page, with yet another scandal.

Mind you, a lot of the time it's a media beat up. Like every time a child has been in contact with CYFS for something and their parent kills that child, yet it's as if it's CYFS fault since they are there to protect the children. That one bugs me since the blame should sit squarely on the killers shoulders.
Or when IRD supposedly drove a man to suicide and then the guys kid also killed himself.
Since many people declare bankruptcy and don't kill themselves, it had all the hall marks of a media beat up. Reading through the lines in the media report, you could see it was someone just looking to blame for the death of their husband. Tragic as it was, it's just someone playing the blame game and the media buy in as it'll sell their papers.

Which all brings me to the point of this post. I'm actually a PSA union delegate for my area, which is a little surprising since I object so much to the PSA leadership direction. Lately I've been assisting a member in a employment dispute. It's one of the code of conduct issue things and when they are brought up, it tends to be very serious.
If this person had just applied themselves to the DomPost test, they would still have a job, instead they finding employment in alternative industry.
Sad, as in as much that they are a nice person and have blown their career chances, but that is the effect of their actions.
What they did is confidential, and I'll respect that, but it still wouldn't have looked good on the front page of the DomPost.

PSA Muppets.

I've been a Public Service Association member almost as long as I've been working in the public Service.
I'm torn between the knowledge that it's in my best interests as an employee to be in the PSA, and the PSA pays only lip service to political neutrality.

The PSA has been so far up Labours Arse at times, I can almost hear Brenda Pilots voice when Labour spokesperson on Public Service Grant Robertson makes another end of the world announcement about the latest departmental or ministerial restructuring.
Mind you, the poof whines like a girl anyway.

But the March 2010 PSA journal has three articles about taxation and the Tax working group. Tax is something that we all have to pay, so it's one of those things I have in interest in.
Now having articles about what the goverment should do in the public service is pretty understandable, but read those articles for yourself (page 20 onwards) and please tell me the answers to the following questions;

1) WHAT THE FUCK DOES BEING SEVEN MALE ECONOMISTS & ACCOUNTANTS GOT TO DO WITH SENSIBLE SUGGESTIONS?
2) WHY IS INEQUALITY SUCH A BIG DEAL? I WORK HARD AND I'LL BE FUCKED IF I'LL BE HAPPY TO GIVE A BIG CHUNK OF MY MONEY TO A LAZY PILLOCK WHO DOESN"T.
3)WHY IS SUSAN ST JOHN STILL AN ASSOCIATE PROF AT AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY? IS IT BEACAUSE SHE IS TOO SHIT TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR?
(sorry for the caps rage).

I respect Don Brash. He is one of the most boring former public servants New Zealand has ever had, but he knows his stuff.
Susan St John wants me and everybody else to help raise other peoples children by giving them money taken from me by taxation. Somehow they will be better off and become better citizens. Maybe Susan, but maybe they might just be better welfare reciepients instead of independant economic contributers to the national good.

The last article was written by Brian Easton. He's the 2009 NZIER Economist of the year award winner. I know this since the article tells me that.
After reading some of the worst arguement, again alluding to the membership of high-income older men, I hope he does the decent thing and hand his award back.
Brian seems to belive that the Tax working group can magically report outside their brief. He also thinks that if higher income earners get a bigger tax break than lower income earners, that's bad. News for you Brian, It's something like the top 15% of income earners pay over 50% of the total Income tax take.
That's not fairness, that's the politics of envy, and that IS bad.

Now before I get accused of being in a position of benefiting by tax breaks and being on a high income, I'd like to state I don't pay the top tax rate as my income is not that much. I've never voted on who benefits me most by being in power and I've always thought that 39%+ ACC levies is too much tax even when I wasn't even paying 33%.
I've also been unemployed and when I was, I was getting a benefit. But while I was unemployed I looked everyday and applied for jobs. I appreciate the assistance, but I don't think the world owes me a living.

and ultimately that's the difference between my beliefs and those of the PSA article authors. I want to stand on my own two feet, and not have my fingers in someone elses pockets.

Hypocrites

For some time there have been rumours going around town about a certain senior Labour party official is having an affair with a member of the board or something from Sparc.
Normally I would say it's no one elses business, but this person was the main instigator in calling out Don Brash's extramarital affair in parliment some years ago.

If these rumours are true, then Mr Trevor Mallard is yet another example of the massive level of Hypocrisy that has eminated from the Labour MPs in recent years.
Politicians of all types are pretty bad, but those on the Left seem to be worse than the others.