Restart of the economy after Covid 19
Covid 19 came and the government spent in the vicinity of $54 billion dollars to keep New Zealand afloat.
Now the time has to put in place policies to take New Zealand forward. The major parties and bureaucrats are thinking tax and more tax. We are already taxed and controlled to the point where it is inhibiting growth.
What we need is fresh thinking of ways to drive our economy to become more productive so we can enjoy the standard of living that we as New Zealander’s could have.
One of the things that the government is thinking of is shovel ready projects which appear great in the short term but in the long term they peter out because they are for a one off projects.
The only forward (or more backward thinking) government has thought of is putting in a new tax rate of 39cents for people on $180,000 dollars to pay for the costs of Covid 19. With the tax system we have I see the people in the middle tax bracket paying the most and will continue too. They say the new tax will bring in an extra 563,000,000 dollars a year extra but what they haven’t factored in is the extra unemployed that there will be when the wage subsidies come off and the tax rate will go down.
What we need is a tax system the is inflation proofed so disposable income remains constant so inflation adjusted tax brackets to stop inflation pushing your tax bill higher every year and it gives the lower paid people more money to be able not only to afford the basics but a little luxury too?
We need to look who has tax exemptions like charities, churches, trusts who are tax exempt or pay little tax. Some of these are very wealthy and have huge expectations that others should pay and they get rewards too from the tax payer. These need to pay the right amount of tax along with the rest of us?
The government, local government, RMA, Health and Safety needs to be reformed, at the moment about 50% of people are employed in these sectors were in 1900 only about 20% were employed, so what has happened since then more bureaucracy and bureaucrats which are making rules and policies either to keep themselves employed or to tell businesses and people how to either behave or to do things.
We need people who are brave enough to say how do we make our jobs redundant because we have achieved the results required and only need to be monitored but we see, they only say how can I make my job more permanent?
Why don’t the parties get together what is needed and workout shovel ready projects like Roading , rail both passenger and freight, energy, etc that will last 20-30years? They did this when they built the dams on the Waikato River, the workers moved on to the next dam after they finished the one they were on and we never lost the expertise that had and they had a job.
We also need these shovel ready projects to be upgrading and building infrastructure the likes of hospitals, universities, schools, waste water systems, water systems, irrigation systems. These shovel ready projects can be funded by quantitative easing, this is happening in other countries they use quantitative easing to fund their projects going forward over years so why can’t New Zealand do this to achieve a very productive economy to pay for the costs associated with Covid 19?
The government is using this quantitative easing to pay for the costs so far for Covid 19 but there’s nothing there on how they will take us forward to be a more productive country?
Like setting environmental standards we see the government setting the standards and then telling the industry how and when to apply the products. Tell the industries what standard you want and let them work out how to meet that standard. New Zealand isn’t the same across the whole of it and is different so one standard/rule doesn’t do the job.
The more we can let of these policies that hinder and go with the right policies and rules the more that allow for a more productive sectors that meets standards and qualities and turn out the right people with the skills needed to take this country forward
We need to do the basics right and when we do the basics right then we have a country that will go forward and give the people strength to take control of their own lives to be better citizens. We need a government and leaders to make some bold decisions to allow New Zealand to come out of this Covid 19 pandemic better than we have now.
Andy Loader
Co-Chairman P.L.U.G.