Word of the day

30/05/2024

Plaint – compliant, protest; an accusation or charge; an official legal complaint against someone that is used in a court of law; lamentation; action or an act of plaining; audible expression of sorrow.


Sowell says

30/05/2024

 


Woman of the day

30/05/2024

 


Taking less not giving more

30/05/2024

Ever since National talked about helping us by allowing us to keep some of our own money, critics have been vociferous in opposition.

There are so many urgent needs in core public services – education, health, infrastructure, police . . . it’s not hard to understand why they think the government needs every cent it can get.

But the previous government has proven, over and over again, that the quantity of tax taken isn’t necessarily related to the quality of the spending and that more isn’t necessarily better.

The critics labour under the misapprehension that money governments take in taxes is theirs and they have a right, even a responsibility, to take more of ours.

They don’t understand that spending carefully and well is far, far better than spending more.

Too many think wealth is to be redistributed, they don’t understand it has to be created.

They want to punish success and encourage dependency.

We’ve got a government that understands that they have a responsibility to take only what is necessary and to spend it wisely, that good governments encourage wealth creation, they don’t handicap it and that money taken in taxes comes from people who earned it.

In doing that, they will show in today’s Budget that they recognise it’s our money, not theirs and contrary to what the critics say, they won’t be giving us more, they’ll just be taking a little bit less.