Last Updated: Mar 25th, 2013 - 16:46:15 Newsletters : 2007 Newsletters : 25 May 2007 Thought for the Day Another budget - another nail in the economic coffin. In 1999 Helen proudly proclaimed her ambition to raise our economy to the top half of the OECD by 2010. By 2003 my friends and I were convinced that their policies would have the opposite effect and reduce our well-being relative to other nations. We have tried to explain to the government by various means and using many examples from around the world of how other countries were making much better progress than New Zealand. Far from being a high wage wealthy country we have progressed further down the slippery slope to poverty. Seven years ago we had economic growth rates around 4% or 5%. Now the effects of this Labour Government's policies are coming to fruition. Economic growth dropped to -0.1% in the second half of 2005 and is now around 1% or 2%. Not only that but the latest bombshell is that our position in the wealth table for OECD countries has dropped from number 20 to number 22. All the trends are down. Muldoon's ambition was to leave New Zealand no worse off than when he found it. He failed in even this mediocre ambition. Labour is failing in their ambition. How long will it take them to reach the same level of disaster that Muldoon achieved? "Command and Control" economies just go into terminal decline. Have a look at our "Politics for the New Century" diagram on the web site. It doesn't matter whether our leaders are from the "old left" or the "old right" - if they insist in trying to "Command and Control" the economy they will go down to increased poverty rather than up to greater wealth for all citizens. It is well past time for some serious thinking. May 25, 2007, 10:34 Newsletters : 2007 Newsletters : 25 May 2007 The Business of Government I have long held the view that governments do not solve our problem, governments ARE the problem. Imagine if we let government run our food supply here in New Zealand. Imagine if they ran it like they run our Health system; When the queue for food becomes too large just send 10,000 people home without anything to eat. That will solve the queue problem and ensure that our queue statistics look good to the powers that be in the UN. I am serious about this. We have examples all over the world where private enterprise provides amply for customers' needs and governments just seem unable to cope. The reason is that private enterprise depends on its customers WANTING to buy their services and being able to afford them. They have a vested interest in having wealthy customers. Henry Ford stated to Congress that he wanted to pay his workers as much as he could then they would all be wealthy enough to buy his cars! And he DID pay at the top end of the scale. And they DID buy his cars. Do-gooders just don't seem to get it. Without their interference we would be much better off. You try and sell the concept of having the government run our food supply and consider how ridiculous you will seem. Have a read of what Murray Rothbard has to say - he is somewhat more lucid than I . . . May 24, 2007, 12:44 Newsletters : 2007 Newsletters : 25 May 2007 Spain Risks Crisis Over Vanishing FX and Gold Reserves The Spanish apparently think they have the worst current account deficit in the western world - can it possibly be worse than ours? They also seem to be suffering a property boom and the Government is "doing something about it". The future looks bleak. We used to have a "Command and Control" economy under Muldoon and that was a disaster. With this recent budget our government is developing the same "Command and Control" attitudes. They will eventually distort the economy to such an extent that we will again suffer the fate of all "Command and Control" economies - booms and busts. Enjoy the boom times my friends. Read what the Spanish are doing . . . May 22, 2007, 15:25 Newsletters : 2007 Newsletters : 25 May 2007 The Silver Bridge Real money instead of paper? Here is a guy with an idea and seemingly the ear of the powers that be in Mexico - home of many very rich silver mines. How to replace fiat currency with gold and silver money. This is a question that has exercised minds since Gresham's Law postulated that "bad" money always drives out "good" money. Have a look at the web site . . . [ Visit Website ] May 21, 2007, 10:00