Young on The Budget

Audrey Young writes:

It is a Budget that makes life better for many low and middle-income Kiwis and it makes life worse for the Opposition.

The design of the $6 billion package to lift incomes over four years makes it difficult for the Opposition to complain.

Under the package 50,000 fewer children would be in low-income households (as measured by the OECD) at April next year – a 30 per cent reduction in that particular measure of child poverty.

I’m not a huge fan of that measure of child poverty, but the left use it constantly to claim that we have dire child poverty. So they should be cheering from the rafters a Budget that reduces the number of children in households below the poverty line by 50,000.

Certainly Opposition claims that it is a tax cut for the wealthy in disguise is not sustainable.

That is unless they think someone on the average wage is wealthy.

I think Labour regard anyone earning over $14,000 a year as wealthy according to their arguments.

Steven Joyce, Bill English and Andrew Little will get the same tax cut as someone on the average wage.

Someone on the average wage of $58,900 will get the same tax cut as someone earning twice the average wage or three times the average wage – $20 a week – as will anyone earning over $52,000.

Yep.  And some low income households will be getting an extra $150 a week. Yet Labour votes against!