Sometimes cutting a tree right back helps it grow again.
And sometimes governments do need to trim waste, stop doing things that aren’t working and spend our money more carefully.
But people aren’t branches.
Who actually feels the cuts?
“Trimming the fat” may not sound too frightening when you have a regular, well-paid job, a warm house, food in the cupboard and enough tucked away to handle an unpleasant surprise.
Tightening the belt a notch might be uncomfortable, but it can feel rather responsible—even heroic.
But what if there is no fat left?
What if you are already choosing between food and power? What if the children need warm clothes, the rent is overdue and every visit to the supermarket requires advanced mathematics?
People in that position are too often spoken about as though they are “riff-raff”, “bottom feeders” or simply not trying hard enough.
Then the jobs disappear.
The services they rely upon are cut back.
And they are told the answer is to work harder and stand on their own feet—while the ground beneath those feet is being steadily dug away.
Government spending doesn’t simply disappear
National and ACT say lower government spending will help balance the books. Labour says investment in jobs, health, education, infrastructure and public services can help the economy grow.
Labour still needs to show us exactly how all its sums work. Granny will be checking.
But government spending does not always disappear into a great Wellington drain.
What helps an economy grow?
A person with a job spends money at local businesses.
A patient treated early may recover and return to work.
Reliable hospitals, schools, roads, power and public transport help people get to work and help businesses function.
When people have wages and a little money left after paying the bills, they spend it. Local businesses gain customers. Businesses can employ more people. More people pay tax, and fewer need government assistance.
Those things help nourish an economy.
So yes, let’s trim genuine waste.
But when people are already struggling to survive, further cuts do not encourage growth.
They starve it.
Because you cannot cut your way to prosperity if the people expected to create it are cold, hungry, sick or unable to find work.
Are we trimming waste—or starving the things that help New Zealand flourish?
Check Granny’s homework
I don’t expect you to take Granny’s word for it. These are the main sources behind the questions I’ve asked here.
Labour’s fiscal strategy — balancing the books while investing in growth
Labour’s own policy sets out its plans to return to surplus, reduce debt and maintain government spending and revenue at about 33% of GDP while investing in jobs, services and economic growth.
National’s Budget Responsibility Rules — lower spending and no new taxes
National’s own policy aims to reduce core Crown spending towards 30% of GDP, return to surplus through spending restraint and keep net core Crown debt below 40% over time.
ACT — a faster return to surplus without new taxes
ACT says it would balance the books faster by continuing to find savings and creating a smaller government rather than raising additional revenue.
Interest.co.nz — Labour’s strategy and National’s response
Independent reporting on Labour’s announcement, including its spending and revenue target, Reserve Bank proposal and Nicola Willis’s claim that the strategy would require substantially more government revenue.