Double credit downgrade a double blow for NZ economy

04 Oct 2011 10:33a.m.

William wrote:

Contrary to what Bill English is saying the facts are as follows.Our overseas debt in June was 83% of GDP or $253 billion of which $40.8 billion was government debt. Underlying the Private Sector debt is the governments increase on GST to 15%,increase in ACC Charges,Increase in motor vehicle registration,imposition of Emissions trading, Road User,and GST charges on petrol, and third world wage levels. With an increase in the cost of living of 5.6%, an increase in wage levels of 0.1% and a household indebtedness of 150% small wonder there are low levels of savings and consumer discretionary spending.The nett result is an 0.1% GDP growth and increasing offshore borrowing by companies struggling to stay afloat. If this is not bad enough power increases can be expected from this governments proposed sale of the assets to offset some of its fiscal mismanagement. Indeed together with its $16 billion deficit to fund tax cuts,and its unworkable and unsustainable policies a continuation of this government for a further term could well see this country facing a Greek style bankruptcy.

02 Oct 2011 07:11p.m.

Blister wrote:

This is yet another blame game episode. Jeez, everyone knows that both Labour and National are to blame for the current NZ financial crisis. To blame overseas is crap. It started in 1984 and has proceded - introduction of the free movement of capital, asset sales, minimum wage, employment contracts... the list can go on. So now, we have no real state assets left, wages are supressed, workers rights are stuffed, real production (you know, of cars, buses, trains, machines etc.) has all but vanished, and parliament has turned into a rubber-stamping mechanism for a cloistered political elite within Cabinet. Ha, all those years the commies were telling us that capitalism would collapse... did we listen? No, we laughed at them. Maybe a good dose of state control and protectionism would serve the kiwi people more in the long run that the free-market, trickle-down economics that have so appallingly led to this unfolding catastrophe.

01 Oct 2011 03:01p.m.

TWE wrote:

Idiot English, you want us to save more but keep increasing the cost of living through excise taxes and GST and the ETS and ACC and everything else you have jacked up, all on top of inflation. People can't save because they don't have anything left to save. Plus a lot of the food we buy is systematically having its packaging reduced in size by small increments over time while they keep the price the same (or even increase it). Am I the only one who has noticed this? Cereal companies are the biggest offenders.