Quote of the Week

Phil Goff was interviewed this week by his former colleague John Tamihere, and he was asked about how come he condemns policies he once advocated for and voted for. The response is priceless:

TAMIHERE: How do you say on one side of it, oh no, this is damn good and all that sort of stuff and then on the other side of it say, wow shucks, today I thought about it and what you’re doing John is wrong but when I did it, it was right?

PHIL GOFF: Well, it was right when we did it …

Priceless.

My position is that Labour reducing the top tax rate to 33% and company rate to 28% in the 1980s was a good thing (and I voted for them in 1987) and that National doing the same thing in 2010 is also a good thing.

I can respect that Michael Cullen thought reducing the tax rates in 1988 was a bad thing, and that National reducing them in 2010 is also a good bad thing. I disagree, but at least he is consistent.

But Phil tries to have it both ways, by arguing that it was only the right thing to do when Labour did it.

I wonder if there is anyone on the right who tries to argue the opposite to Phil – that National reducing the top tax rate to 33 was good but Labour reducing it to 33% was bad? I’ve yet to meet them.