How much has money printing led New Zealand into recession? Photo / Getty Images
Buying into a recession
There has been much talk that printing money and spending has caused the recession. Nothing could be more wrong. If no one spends then no one works and the economy collapses. John Maynard Keynes propounded in the 1930s that if the private sector reduces its spending in hard times then government spending should increase, even if it creates a deficit and has to borrow. That spending sustains employment, which in turn eventually increases spending. At the time, the theory was revolutionary but it has repeatedly worked. Roosevelt’s “New Deal " in the USA was based on it, as was the New Zealand Labour Party’s economic recovery in the late 1930s. This strategy has worked twice in the past 20 years - the Global Financial Meltdown and Covid, and is explained in Keynes’ book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.
Tony Sullivan, St Heliers.
Otherwise, fine
One of the biggest flaws in the Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ Herald, June 20) is its name. Not only does the word “scheme” imply fraud, but the very fact of “trading” implies long-term acceptance of a financially profitable project. It creates the impression that emissions are an accepted part of life and are expected to continue. If we really want to discourage emitters, we should be charging them fines.
Jeanette Grant, Mt Eden.
Open entry
I agree with Mathew Hooton’s contention (NZ Herald, June 16) that National seems set to “open the floodgates to immigrants”, that is, grow the population for the GDP sugar rush and - as with the Key Government - create a corresponding infrastructure deficit. As far as National is concerned, growing the population has three-fold benefits. It creates structural unemployment and depresses wages; it means the party can campaign on the Opposition not being able to fix said infrastructure deficit; and it gets domestic property inflation back on track. One wonders how National will manage their conflicts of interest with their own property portfolios vis-a-vis their policies. Conservative politicians used to have a clear vision of the sort of society they sought to conserve, now it seems it is all about the self-interest.
Andrew Moyle, Kerikeri.
Societal factors
It has been patently obvious during the past years that uptake of vaccination facilities has been greatly limited, particularly by Māori and Pasifika groups. Their choice. Not the fault of our health system. Similarly, people living in remote paradises like Tokomaru Bay are restricted in their ready access to health facilities. Surely an organised shuttle system would be more effective than a wholesale re-jig of the health system? The major failing in this ethnic prioritising is the lack of investigation into the causes of inferior access outcomes for particular groups of people. Many of those causes are no doubt brought about by similar societal factors to those fuelling our current crime wave. We can only assume that if the heralded reform of our health system is to be a series of knee-jerk regulations rather than a much-needed detailed investigation, we can say goodbye to timely elective surgery programmes.
John Riley, Edgecumbe.
Such language
The article (NZ Herald, June 19) about Māori and Pasifika being prioritised on surgery waiting lists was disturbing. Te Whatu Ora business support manager Daniel Hayes wrote to his staff; “Hi team”, “heads up”, “going forward”, and “putting this on your radar”. Is that drivel the normal standard of managerial communication in the hospital?
P. Harlen, Mount Maunganui.
Integrity unquestioned
Do European or other ethnic people honestly believe they will not be treated if they present at the hospital for help? We will all be treated by the severity of our symptoms, I am sure, as I have the utmost faith in the integrity of our medical staff. There are certain ailments Māori and Pasifika are prone to and I am sure these will be dealt with in an efficient manner as they are warranted.
Sue Gallahar, Māngere East.
Can of worms
Shane Jones’ columns are always worthy of the few minutes time it takes to analyse. His style of writing is certainly one infused with humour, intelligence and common sense reasoning. Coming from a part-Māori person in particular, and someone who truly understands the inner mechanisms of politics (in New Zealand at least), he has the guts to point out how skewed the system has gradually become. The sad thing about Shane Jones is, that when he was in Parliament, albeit in coalition form, he did not see this accelerated transition from throwing existing values out and replacing them with often dysfunctional meaningless interpretations of what - arguably - a select few feel important to impose on us all. Gradually becoming bilingual would be fine, if it would assist our wellbeing, productivity and if it ultimately could give us the sense of pride to showcase a wider cultural passion. But will it? Thank you, Shane, for opening a can of worms that would seem almost certainly purely designed to confuse and distract us. We are now so out of touch and distracted about what normal life would be like that we need more ex-politicians to demonstrate to us the ridiculous hypocrisy that we are now buying into.
René Blezer, Taupō
Gang crackdown
I feel very uncomfortable with the latest policy move announced by the leader of the Opposition to crack down on gangs. I do not know anyone who likes the idea of gangs operating in their town and their recent actions in Ōpōtiki were way over the top. However, it seems to me that the punitive measures advocated will take away the civil rights of a group of people who are not liked or understood by many of us. The police already have the right to stop vehicles to check on whether or not they are safe to drive. The police can then check to see if the vehicles have a valid warrant of fitness and current registration. The police are also empowered to stop people who are intoxicated or else showing signs of having taken drugs. So how many more powers do the police need? This latest initiative is just an appeal to the rednecks and the far-right elements to support National in the upcoming election. New Zealand needs responsible politicians.
Johann Nordberg, Paeroa.
Change needed
For what seems like years, the majority of New Zealanders have been asking for something to be done about the growing gang problem, and the increasing violence and lawlessness in New Zealand. Both Christopher Luxon and David Seymour have given us an insight into how they will go about tackling the problems, and straight away the naysayers pounce, saying that won’t work. What we do know is what we have now certainly isn’t working so something different has to be put in place.
Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
Ending hatred
Pat Robertson, an American televangelist with a net worth of $100 million, recently passed away. In 1960, he founded the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), which grew into a prominent Christian media company. Robertson expressed controversial views, such as regarding homosexuality as a sickness and drawing parallels between gay individuals and Nazis. He also claimed that gay men spread HIV through special rings. Regrettably, similar evangelists in Aotearoa attributed LGBTQI people to disasters like the Christchurch earthquakes. In 2017, a pastor in West Auckland advocated shooting gay men in the head for showing affection. Unfortunately, no laws were in place to address this hateful speech inciting violence. To this day, there remains a lack of legal recourse against such statements. There is also no united religious voice that confronts such hate against rainbow peoples. Fortunately, dedicated lawyers and solicitors are providing pro bono assistance in a significant legal case progressing to Aotearoa’s Court of Appeal to enhance legal response. This case aims to challenge discriminatory laws and establish more inclusive legislation against excessive public speech that incites violence. The goal is to protect the rights and dignity of all individuals against such speech, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Russell Hoban, Ponsonby.
Pain, no gain
To the letter writers (NZ Herald, June 19) who criticise MPs who own property, I have no problem with there being a Capital Gains Tax on property, shares, etc, but it has to be realised that in other countries, you have to sell the asset before having a taxable capital gain. If an asset is retained, then no Capital Gains Tax is assessed. This is quite different from what the Green Party wants to impose. It wants to have some sort of valuation with any gain being taxed irrespective of whether the taxpayer is able to pay the tax. At that stage, the increase in valuation is only on paper but the tax assessed has to be paid. The other issue is that regarding property, any capital gain is not just the difference between what was paid and the sale price. There might have been tens of thousands of dollars spent on improvements after the property was purchased, thereby increasing its value. It is unlikely this expenditure is captured by Quotable Value Limited so there will have to be a mechanism for people to retain records of what they have spent for major improvements to their property, as these need to be taken into account in calculating any capital gain.
Barry Towers, Morrinsville.
Taxing effort
Last Sunday, I visited my mate at a retirement centre. Almost 89, he tells me he commenced a carpentry apprenticeship in London at fourpence an hour in 1949. Emigrating, there are five Kiwi offspring, then a nice home at Pāpāmoa, now sold and supporting his retirement with excess investment drawing 5 per cent. His wife passed away in 2013. That we have candidates needing to ultra-tax such grafters is my absolute proof that Western politics is a disgusting business, requiring a major overhaul.
Gerry O’Meeghan, Pāpāmoa.
On justice
Justice might be better served if those lucky enough to be born into comfort and privilege were not given lighter penalties because of it. Andrea Dawe, Sandringham.
On science
Dr Andrew Rogers, head of chemistry, St Peters College, completely encapsulates (NZH, June 19) my very real concerns about the inequality of education in NZ. Parents should be worried, very worried. Heather Mackay, Kerikeri.
I wholeheartedly agree with Andrew Rogers on science education. I made an inquiry regarding nitric acid at the local chemist. He needed to search for availability - then asked me how was it spelled. Brian Morrell, Whitianga.
On support
I wonder if those who are complaining about Government spending accepted the Covid assistance money or turned it down. Ken Taylor, Māngere.
On surgery
The only criterion for surgery is urgency. Derek Paterson, Sunnyhills.
Statistics show Māori have always been disadvantaged in the health system. It is time for the pendulum to swing the other way. Frances Dallas, Mount Maunganui.
Proposal to reduce forestry offsets in Emissions Trading Scheme
A dead duck. Scrap this ideological failure. Andrew R.
The Unintended-Consequences Party strikes again. Chuck S.
Yes, the National Party is certainly the biggest advocate of using carbon offsets for now and waiting on a miracle cure to arrive by 2049. Mark W.
It’s Labour who turned it into a big international business - at the cost of local communities and prime NZ food-growing land. Potter O.
The penny is dropping. Trading emissions are just smoke and mirrors. Why bother with the expense of actually changing production when you can just plant a few trees? Trading in emissions is like paying me to give up alcohol on your behalf. I pocket the money and you continue drinking. Anna S.
The ETS is obviously not fit for purpose. Such a shame that the carbon tax proposed in 2002 by Helen Clark’s Government wasn’t introduced. Of course, vested interests were against it as it would have been more difficult to game the system. Valerie W.
Te Whatu Ora team supports whānau post-suicide, focusing on trust and community needs.