Politics πŸ—³οΈ NZ Politics

Tax rate in New Zealand isn't even that high. We could go lower and become America, no health care, no acc, child care more expensive than NZ.
 
I totally agree. we should half the tax rate and then the parents could afford to pay themselves!

Ps we sold our kindy’s 3 years ago when my wife got cancer.
Sorry to hear about your wife.

If NZ parents could pay themselves, you're saying it's ok to be paying $500 a week on child care?
 
He probably didnt actually know him that well. Just the CEO credentials swayed it all. And both being wealthy and sorted.

He’s been the worst PM of my life time at reading the mood of the nation. He’s actually terrible at it but responds defensively when called out on it. I think that sways the public opinion quickly.
The schtick of saying he runs the country like a CEO wore thin very quickly.
He knew him well enough & pushed him hard. Odd because they’re two very different blokes & I’d have always thought Key to be a good judge of character.

As for reading the mood - it’s difficult to do that when the only person you care about is yourself.
 
Tax rate in New Zealand isn't even that high. We could go lower and become America, no health care, no acc, child care more expensive than NZ.
Disagree. NZ 33-34% of GDP. OECD average 34-35% of GDP. So we’re pretty average.

Were higher than US, Australia, UK, Switzerland, South Korea, etc.

And we have so many extra hidden costs, levy’s, user pays, etc that distort the straight figures.
 
Sorry to hear about your wife.

If NZ parents could pay themselves, you're saying it's ok to be paying $500 a week on child care?
Well it’s a choice as a country and individuals.

- Quality of teachers (do we need them all registered)
- ratio of teachers?
- do we want kids going to school knowing pre maths, literacy, etc or not?
- Should we have really high tax and then subsidise everything or lower tax and let people decide for themselves?
- as parents do they want to stay at home (single income) and teach their own kids?
 
He knew him well enough & pushed him hard. Odd because they’re two very different blokes & I’d have always thought Key to be a good judge of character.

As for reading the mood - it’s difficult to do that when the only person you care about is yourself.
Often the biggest sociopaths are the best at winning popularity contests, maybe Key misjudged his level of sociopathy.
 
- Quality of teachers (do we need them all registered)
Yes, or we'll have paedos and sadists around kids
- do we want kids going to school knowing pre maths, literacy, etc or not
Absolutely
- Should we have really high tax and then subsidise everything or lower tax and let people decide for themselves?
Would the lowered tax make up the full childcare costs?
- as parents do they want to stay at home (single income) and teach their own kids?
Not if the parents are illiterate wasters
 
Disagree. NZ 33-34% of GDP. OECD average 34-35% of GDP. So we’re pretty average.

Were higher than US, Australia, UK, Switzerland, South Korea, etc.

And we have so many extra hidden costs, levy’s, user pays, etc that distort the straight figures.
You Need to stop using vibes as a measure.

OECD ranking (approximate, latest patterns)

Here’s a **clean ranking from lowest β†’ highest total tax on wages** (grouped for clarity):

### 🟒 Lowest tax (lightest burden)

* Chile
* Mexico
* Colombia
* Costa Rica

---

### 🟑 Low tax

* New Zealand
* Switzerland
* Israel
* South Korea
* Australia

---

### 🟠 Middle (where most countries sit)

* United States
* United Kingdom
* Canada
* Japan
* Spain
* Portugal

---

### πŸ”΄ High tax

* Germany
* Austria
* Italy
* Netherlands
* Finland
* Sweden

---

### πŸ”΄πŸ”΄ Very high tax (top of OECD)

* France
* Belgium

---

## πŸ“ˆ Visual snapshot (approximate tax wedge %)

---

## 🧠 Key takeaways

* **Lowest taxes in OECD:** Latin American members (Chile, Mexico)
* **New Zealand:** consistently **low-tax within OECD**
* **United States:** **middle**
* **Europe (especially France/Belgium):** **highest**
 
It's so tiring that progressive projects, movements and actions are opposed so vigorously, often with violence and power by the conservatives in society.

Or years of whinging on talkback.

Yet when these projects, movements and actions are finally implemented those in opposition switch to praise and pretend like they were always on board.

We've seen it time and time again.


View: https://bsky.app/profile/russelnorman.bsky.social/post/3mkvvmp2nis26
 
I don't even mind you advocating for lower taxes, as long as there is some outlook. Just slashing taxes and say, everyone fend for yourselves will lead to more poverty because people don't know how to manage their own money. This is why kiwisaver was Introduced. Forced savings.
 
Often the biggest sociopaths are the best at winning popularity contests, maybe Key misjudged his level of sociopathy.
I wouldn’t go so far as to label him that, he’s just a massive self promoter who’s got huge wraps on himself & loves talking about it. But geez he’s hardly alone amongst his peers & I’d argue there’s considerably worse leading the opposition.
 
I wouldn’t go so far as to label him that, he’s just a massive self promoter who’s got huge wraps on himself & loves talking about it. But geez he’s hardly alone amongst his peers & I’d argue there’s considerably worse leading the opposition.
Could be. My point was Lux isn't sociopathic enough to pull off acting likeable, he just doesn't have it in him. Big misjudgment by the smiling assassin.
 
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