It’s a Liars’ Budget

In what has already been dubbed by commentators “the most important Budget of our generation,” Bill English and John Key have already signalled they aren’t up to the job.
In a time of near desperate straits, when every productive New Zealanders desperately need every dollar of working capital they can lay their hands on to keep themselves and their employees above water and to begin the recovery that is so desperately needed, this pair  of thieves are about to announce  that they’re unable to get their ship properly in order; that as a consequence their profligate borrowing will further weigh down productive NZers; and that the very election promise which offered a glimmer of hope – the promise of tax cuts on which they were elected – is now about to be shamefully broken with the excuse from this pair of weasels that “we never saw it coming.”
If they never saw the world economic collapse coming, they are incompetent.
And since the slump had already begun when the promises of tax cuts were made, and re-pledged, they are liars.  As Brian Rudman pointed out just yesterday, “Key and English knew about the global crisis as they pledged tax cuts at last year’s election,” and they sailed blithely ahead making promises they never intended to deliver.  In fact, given that New Zealand’s economy went into the slump before the world slump began, it’s even more imperative that the engine of NZ’s economy be given back the fuel it needs to kickstart a genuine recovery. 
Instead that engine is to be starved of fuel so this government can instead stoke the flames of “entitlement spending” and feel-good bullshit.  Not only are we not to get the tax cuts promised, there is even talk of new taxes on the horizon, including perhaps the Capital Gains Tax that even Michael Cullen resisted.
In the most important budget for a generation then, we are this afternoon to be delivered a Liars’ Budget by incompetent fools.  It is not even just tax-and-spend: it is borrow and tax and spend like all hell, in the mistaken belief that pouring taxpayers’ money down the black hole of government and the multi-billion-dollar mirage of “infrastructure” will somehow inspire a recovery somewhere down the drain – just like it’s never done anywhere ever before.
And my colleague, Libertarianz finance co-spokesman and Auckland economist Mr Darby warns that the billions of dollars of red ink, funded by borrowing, will have implications for the youngest in society: the children who will have to pay this government’s debt.

     "An unbalanced budget has to be funded, and if this is funded by additional borrowing, then future generations will bear the burden of paying off the debt. This is 'fiscal child abuse',” says Darby. “A responsible political party and government would, at the very least, balance the budget."
    However, in its first budget, the National/ACT government appears to be about to fund a series of deficits by borrowing, thereby mortgaging the lives of future generations. "While this demonstrates that they are irresponsible, what is outrageous is that they are about to renege on their promise of tax cuts, a promise which formed a central part of their election campaign,” noted Darby. “To blame the recession for breaking this promise is no excuse, for the effects of the recession were well known to everyone when this promise was made. They are either incompetent, or they wilfully lied in order to get onto the Treasury benches," continued Darby.
    The Libertarianz support tax reductions in all their forms. In fact, tax cuts are more important than ever so that money is returned to the productive members of society; for it is they who create wealth and jobs. It follows, therefore, that breaking the promise of tax cuts would hinder any recovery of New Zealand's economy.
    Darby pointed out, however, that tax cuts must be accompanied by equivalent reductions in government spending. "It is essential that government spending is slashed. “Line-by-line” spending reviews are nowhere near enough – many government departments and programmes can easily be eliminated saving significant sums of money and allowing the promised tax cuts to proceed. And yet," highlights Darby, "this government has shown no interest in effecting any meaningful cuts to spending. On the contrary, they are about to embark on a multi-billion dollar programme of spending on infrastructure and home insulation."
    Finally, Darby issued a warning. "This government is about to engage in fiscal child abuse by mortgaging the lives of future generations. They do this while breaking their central election promise of tax cuts and while creating significant spending programmes which will also hinder any economic recovery. Muldoon is alive and well in Wellington."

Frankly, I doubt even Muldoon was as cynical as this present pair of liars.