16 August 2008

So you want a new Prime Minister?

Well New Zealand, after nearly nine years of Helen Clark telling you what to do, Michael Cullen spending a third of your money, buying back an airline that would've survived had he just let Singaporeans buy it, buying back a railway that would've survived (albeit smaller) had he just let it be, and pouring a fortune into growing the bureaucracy and improving health care (noticed that?), you want a new team.

Clark has been getting support from Mr. Anderton, and on and off the Greens, United Future and NZ First. So really you wont want to be giving any of that lot a chance will you?

So now that you've come looking you need to say what you want in a new Prime Minister. You know he (unlikely to be a she this time round) will bring a whole new team on board, which other than the word "new" isn't saying much until you judge what they will do. So what do you want to change?

Oh. You're just "fed up with the current lot"? You want to "give the other lot a go"? Yes I understand you don't like Labour and Clark (besides that third of you who either notice all the money that Labour took from others to give to you, or don't trust anyone else), but what do you want to change?

Too much tax? Well that John Key fellow says he'll cut that, don't ask how much, he's not saying yet.

You don't like the government wasting money? Well John Key wont shut down any departments, he says he'll be more prudent, but he doesn't really want to do much different at all.

You don't think health care is getting better? Well John Key wont do much different either, he's still running it all bureaucratically, making everyone pay the same whether they look after themselves or not.

You don't really know WHAT you want do you? You don't seem to want less government, you don't seem to want more government, you don't want to make your own decisions about education, healthcare and retirement.

You just want different people, same policies right? That must be why you're choosing National.

Because if you wanted to go to the left, the Greens would be doing well.
If you wanted to have less government ACT and the Libertarianz would be doing well.

Funny lot you are really - and what's the bet that after three more years you'll be complaining that things aren't any better. However, I guess TVNZ and TV3 news pander to your rather banal view of the world - you're convinced governments can "fix things" rather than being the cause of the problem, you're convinced you can't be trusted to choose the schools for your kids and for the funding to follow the kids, you're convinced that you're better off letting politicians and bureaucrats sort out health care rather than buy your own insurance, and you like being made to own power companies, accident insurance, postal company, banks, airline, railway and covering the losses of any of them.

Not only that you seem to want the government to take more taxes to spend on building a telecommunications network you might not use, even though elsewhere in the world the private sector seems happy to finance and do it themselves. You want the railway that you almost never use to have more money spent on it than it is worth, because you want to subsidise moving coal, milk, logs and containers. You want to pay for an emissions trading scheme that wont make a jot of difference to so-called climate change.

So you're not voting for change are you really? You just want new faces.

5 comments:

Andy said...

excellent summary Scott. My thoughts exactly.

OECD rank 22 kiwi said...

John Key is aiming for MEDIOCRE GOVERNMENT in his first term. What if he misses and ends up with a LAME GOVERNMENT instead?

That outcome is easily achievable given the fact National has all but adopted all of Labour's disastrous economic policies of the last nine years. Anything to get into power, right John Key?

Admittedly National would probably still get a second term with a lame government. It would have to be a freaking disastrous government, demonstrating incompetence beyond the pale of that achieved by Labour over the last nine years to be booted out of office after one term.

The only way National can save itself from mediocre government is if it forms a formal coalition with a sizable ACT party. ACT party MP's would also have to be cabinet ministers in serious economic portfolios. Roger Douglas for Finance Minister would be a good start.

What are the odds of the sheeple of New Zealand voting this outcome?

Anonymous said...

The only certain way to get rid of this wasteful, corrupt government is by having a sizable Nat vote. Unfortunately I can't see the died in wool red or green voters changing their views and backing Act. In fact I can't see Act or Libz ever getting enough votes to ensure that we do get rid of Clarke.
So voting Act will only weaken the Nats and hand the election to Labour. And that I'm not prepared to do.

Libertyscott said...

Voting for the Nats delivers, by and large, Labour policies - so you'll get a new wasteful and likely to be corrupt government.

Well done.

Anonymous said...

Here is the way I view it. When Labour first came into office in 1999, they came in with mostly moderate policies that were palatable to the populace at large - they also were essentially me toos. It was not until their second term that you started seeing their social engineering agenda and their blatant socialism.

I hope that National is similar in that they come into office on a me too policy base, allow the Labour Party to destroy themselves (as will happen if Clark is booted out of the leadership), and then come in their second term with a far more traditional National policies. It would certainly be far easier to promote things such as privatisation without Clark or Cullen on the scene.