Lies and Fearmongering

David Parker manages both with this press release.

The National Government has given its clearest signal yet that superannuation entitlements will be cut in the future, Labour Associate Finance spokesman David Parker says.

Fearmonger No 1

A reminder. John Key has said he will resign his seat in Parliament if he cuts superannuation entitlements. But not even that will stop Labour trying to prey on the insecurity of retired or near retired persons.

“The pensions of tomorrow need to be protected today. National said before and during the election they would continue with payments to the Super Fund, but have now resiled from this.”

And if Parker reads the announcement from Michael Cullen, when the Fund was established, he will see that Cullen explicitly said that contributions are funded out of surpluses and would be suspended temporarily when there is no surplus.

Not even Dr Cullen was foolish enough to advocate borrowing money to save money.

“Mr English argues that he’s not prepared to borrow to fund the investment in the Super Fund, but he’s already done that to pay for his tax cuts – an astounding third of which go to the top three per cent of income earners,” David Parker says.

Then we have the lie – the claimed borrowing for tax cuts. The extra tax cuts by National were fully paid for by reduced expeniture on KiwiSaver. This is a fact. Parker knows this. He just hopes if you repeat a lie enough times, people will believe it.

“Those tax cuts were not just unfair, but they are a substantial cause of the structural deficit New Zealand now faces and are behind the Government’s plan to now cut investment in the Super Fund.

And he lies again. National’s tax cuts are considerably less foregone revenue that the reduction in KiwSaver subsidisies. The structural deficit would be worse, not better, if National tax cuts and KiwiSaver changes had not been made. This is indisputable. The quantum of each is known and the foregone revenue from tax cuts is les than the reduction in KiwiSaver subsidies.

Everytime you hear Labour talk about borrowing for tax cuts – they are lying. They are desperate to have people beleive it, but it is not true, as National reduced expenditure by a greater amount than the tax cuts to pay for it.

If Labour were honest they would campaign on how National reduced KiwiSaver subsidies for tax cuts, and debate the merits of that. Of course they don’t want to, as anyone economically literate now concedes the KiwiSaver subsidies were far too generous.