Originally Posted by
elZorro
Another way of looking at it, FP and MVT, is that the cards are stacked well in favour of of the rich already. They are the ones who have lobbyists at the Beehive. NZ is following the path of corporate America, where entitlements of the working middle class are severely eroded over time. Over a period of about 30 years, the USA has become hollowed out, pensions taken, taxes for the rich greatly reduced, lower wages being paid to workers, and hugely bigger benefits for those at the top. Outsourcing has increased corporate profits and created major unemployment in the US. On top of this, virtually all the major corporates pay very little income by utilising tax havens. Funds in the order of trillions of dollars are held offshore, and the corporates will only bring it back to the US, they say, if no tax is applied. From this point, they'll simply start the cycle of sending money offshore again. Those at the top are determined to pay minimal tax, the opposite of what was the situation just after WWII, when the economy boomed. Even IT jobs in the US are under risk, outsourcing of a huge number of jobs is on the cards.
Is this the future of NZ? Empty buildings that once housed proud manufacturers and their staff, a promise of decreasing real incomes, and no direction from govt save "let the market show the way". Yes they'll do that all right, and only a very few will receive the benefits.