Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Brash & Peters on property

How these two will ever get on I don't know. Their divergent views are no better illustrated than this.

Peters will never realise (or at least admit publicly) that markets go up and down. It is simply fallacious for him to say that it is getting easier for foreigners to buy property here. The OIC is not an easy system to go through. Even when you make it through, the Resource Management Act has to be overcome. Ask Shania Twain.

Peters' reasoning on rising property values is similarly misguided. Sure, immigration has been a factor. But subsidies to Kiwis won't ever help this. The best thing we can do is to cut taxes, or as Dr Don says here 'reform' them.

Winston is very sure that the answer is big government, big spending and big taxes. His first action after becoming Treasurer was to cancel the “Birch tax cuts”. He opposed Ruth Richardson not just ideologically but pragmatically. Peters believes, (and there is evidence to support him), that NZ’ers like government doing things for them. As Treasurer, Peters began a massive $5 billion spend up. He still believes but for the Asian crisis and Shipley firing him, he would have spent his way to victory.

He also believes in trade barriers and "import substitution". NZ First's economy policy is a massive throwback. In key respects, it's *way* to the left of Labour.

I still expect him to plump for National given the chance. Being Winston isn't about making sense.

This article emphasises that quite clearly. Let's hope Dr Don doesn't find this out.

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