I have not paid much attention to the “Pre-Budget” leaks announced in recent days, nor, regardless of the allocation of government spending due to be announced later today, will I be particularly surprised.
Virtually every household in the country knows that to live within their means is to decide how best to spend each dollar, and where necessary, to make sacrifices. To spend on entertainment or holidays before covering rent, mortgage etc, is folly, and most get their priorities right, at least most of the time – unfortunately some do not. The reality is, an honest person can only spend a dollar once. Likewise Government has a “fixed income” (the tax take), and faces the conundrum of how to carve it up to best serve the needs of the people (by way of the budget). Inevitably, there are instances where, in order to pay for the bribes and false promises made to retain power, dishonest politicians commit to spending more than the Government “earns”, thereby transferring this debt to the tax payers of the future (our children and grandchildren). Every dollar spent on cynical “bribes” comes at the expense of something eminently more worthwhile – health, education, etc. Two fairly poignant examples are the multi-billion dollar slush fund provided to NZ First (and more specifically, the ex-Minister of Porn, Shane Jones) as the price of their allegiance, and the funding of first year university students (perhaps erstwhile acolytes of left leaning parties of the future). One wonders why this “caring and inclusive” Government would invest so much in first year university students, predominately the sons and daughters of the middle and well to do families, when our teachers so desperately deserve greater resources. Perhaps today’s budget will prove that cynicism, cronyism and corruption have been consigned to the past – I suspect not. Comments are closed.
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Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
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