I want you both to be brutally honest with me. I know enough to realise that we're kind of in the shit, and if we carry on down the path we're on it will just get worse. That means I don't want tax cuts or tax free thresholds if we can't afford them (and I don't think we can). If I want more money, rather than you give it to me as I tax cut, I'd rather go and earn it, so I want you to look after the small and medium businesses ahead of the global corporations because they make up 99% of all businesses in NZ. Or I want you to make it easier to get new skills that actually mean something so I can get a better paid job. In fact, if it meant that it got us out of the shit I wouldn't mind a small tax increase. Like I said, if I need more money I'll go and earn it myself.
And please don't cut services Mr Key. I know you think that's a great way to improve our economy, but it's not. All you do is increase the number of unemployed or encourage the best to leave for overseas - if you cut funding and make sweeping changes to a government department, who do you think is going to go? The most skilled and employable, or the "dead wood" who can't find work anywhere else? No, don't try and cut costs any more, focus instead on helping us to earn more money.
A better way to improve the economy is to increase our earnings. We live a long way from anywhere and have a well educated and skilled workforce, so I'd be really impressed if you focussed on building the high tech sector. They contribute $2bn to our economy compared to dairy's $3.6bn and they have a fraction of the impact on our fragile environment. How about keeping our power companies and helping them to develop cleantech energy solutions we can sell for a fortune?
And most importantly, look beyond the next election. You need to encourage sustainable business practices. Worldwide CEOs are realising that sustainable business is essential for survival, yet in this area we're a million miles behind our major trading partners and competitors - compare Wesfarmers with CRT or Kathmandu with Patagonia. The wealthier middle classes in Europe, the USA and even in China are making assessment of the sustainable business practices of suppliers an increasingly important part of the decision making process, so if we want them to buy our stuff, we need to have sustainable businesses. And all the evidence is that sustainability is not just essential for the planet's survival and for long term business viability, it makes sound economic sense in the short and medium term. Mr Key, you're an accountant - do the maths.
Mr Key and Mr Goff, one of you will be the PM this November. Please let it be the one with the honesty, courage and vision to actually lead us into the future, not mire us down in the past.
Bookmarks