The Govt is telling us 'there's no money left' + 'Health NZ has 'blown its budget'. That's based on a false idea Govt is like a business/household. It's not. It can tax. It creates & spends NZ$, then mops it up via taxes/bonds. Households can't do either 3/3 thekaka.substack.com/p/funds-cut-...

Funds cut for social housing with 3 days notice

Councillor says Govt cuts $6m of subsidies for Haumaru Housing with 3 days notice, forcing homes to stay empty without renovations; MBIE warns of big power price hikes next year; Epic climate warning

A full-blown government + economics series with you and Craig Renney would be a fine thing. Where we are, how we got here, and the options available. And you could wear your new jacket.

Weird how the previous govt managed to create money/spending to keep the country flourishing during a global pandemic, but this one can't even find spare change

Households certainly can't hold debt for nearly 300 years either (some of the bonds the UK govt finally repaid in 2015 were first issued in 1720!) www.theguardian.com/business/201...

UK bonds that financed first world war to be redeemed 100 years later

Treasury’s redemption scheme stretches all the way back to Napoleonic and Crimean wars and Irish potato famine

It’s simple give tax cuts from excess cash not before & now they are underfunding services because of the tax cut. If the system couldn’t afford tax cuts - don’t do it. Nats self made cluster fuck by intention or ineptitude If intended - we didn’t vote for this - lying Luxon

Thank you @bernardchickey.bsky.social for writing this. I had just started a mental draft along the same lines. A government should determine what services it will provide, then have experts determine the cost of providing those services, and then work out how to fund those costs (taxes, /1

It seems to me that the 'false idea Govt is like a business / household' is the lie central to policies of austerity. Without it there seems to be no way of 'justifying' those policies. 'The govt. is broke, so we have to cut.' #NZPOL

I can't get on board with the theory Levy spouted this morning that we have spent all we can on nurses and drs, so we must have enough. Thats complete bullshit. And the health outcomes this coalition nightmare claim they're here for is a myth. People are at risk because $ before care is the mantra

There is money left. I heard that last night at dinner from a reliable source.