Dawn Chorus: Classic middle class welfare to win 'Ford Ranger Man'
thekaka.substack.com
Listen now (25 min) | $2b worth of fuel tax cuts labelled "extremely dumb" policy that benefits the richest most, rather than helping those most in need; NZ's GST take the world's highest; ANZ cuts mortgage rates
Your frustration is becoming more obvious and I don’t blame you. There is no valid excuse for extending the rebate for all, surely it could have been done for community card holders or similar again
We should also remember that many of these Ford Ranger Man type of voters are claiming their fuel costs as a business expense. That's why they bought the Ranger in the first place.
It is extremely frustrating. So many things could be done to ease the pressure and they fail at it time and time again.
If removing GST from fresh produce is complicated why not roll back the GST increase (or abolish the damn thing all together. I'm tired of being the govt's free of charge enforcer & administrator of GST) and bring higher income tax bracket and/or land value tax? That's a lot of money back in the hands of those who need it most.
How to address the cost-of-living crisis in one act.
Scrap GST and replace it with a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT).
Your supermarket bill is now at least 10% lower. The same for your rates, power and petrol.
But won't the FTT have to be high to get the same income for the government? Well, no. Because the FTT is on ALL spending it will catch those parts of the economy that have had it so good such as banksters and property, currency and share market speculators.
Please open this up, Bernard. We need to be raising this every day until the election. Ford Ranger Man is not a Labour voter anyway. I'm so grumpy that we are generously subsidising burning fossil fuels while simultaneously mopping up our biggest city. It is beyond stupid!
P.S. Nice dry Wellington will have you back whenever you get sick of the humidity and plague of mozzies that are coming.
I'm pretty sure that at this very moment, $700m of fuel tax would go a long way to fix some critical highway infrastructure across Auckland to Northland and Coromandel given the damage from the recent rains......
In American political discourse they have an unfortunate habit of mischaracterising these parts of the electorate as “moderates”, as if their self-interested political preferences sit between the nominal extremes of left and right wing.
The language of “swing voters” does much the same.
In reality we’re talking about a portion of the population who are most open to voting to whomever gives them personally the most pork and have interest in policy beyond how it affects themselves. It’s a reactionary vote, it’s inherently conservative.
If anyone is interested in how we engage people in talking about climate change, I highly recommend US scientist Katherine Hayhoe's book " Saving Us". It's all about why talking about climate is important, who you shouldn't waste your time on (think antivaxxers), how to connect with people through shared interests and how to focus people on the better world we could have if we implement solutions that already exist. It's completely opened my mind to talking about climate every day without ruining my mental health. Highly recommended!
Please share. Some of us have taken to calling it the Ford (r)Anger, due to the ...err..."dominant" style of Ford r(Anger) drivers. The Ford r(Anger) Man must be appeased whether it be making way for them to push in to highway queues or prioritising their demands over other community members and the environment in politics.
I think the continued points around Ford Ranger Man are so important. Especially points that the kids of Ford Ranger Fam (to be modern) will move to countries offering higher paying versions of jobs. Offered with the choice of income, it is growing to be incredibly hard (for at least my finacée and I, who are in an extremely privileged situation but are renting) to say no to overseas money.
The continued purchasing of votes for Ford Ranger/Summertime Showoffs (directly referencing the boat/jetski and possibly the bach in your choice of favourite kiwi holiday destination) through having a very passive and narrow sighted economy is actually disgusting. Why build a stable economy just to let sit there? (Well, you've outlined why Bernard, but it still frustrates me) With climate change knocking loudly and on the dynamic and brutal piece of rock we live on here in Aotearoa, the economy will end up having to borrow anyway to pay to move people and do repairs as events like those in Ōtautahi and Tāmaki Makaurau occur.
How about, I don't know, do a study and act on providing a scheme that recharges an economy that works for Aotearoa in a way where we start to invest in that infrastructure, provide intergenerational investment and make progress to bridge this awful gap between rich and poor by choosing investment options that stimulate accross the board. As to the stimulator? Engineer a low energy consumption economy? Let a computer decide? Just some sort of vision that isn't housing and dairy, PLEASE!
Christ Bernard, you sounded pretty grim there. Not sure reporting on the same depressing matters every day is good for you personally.
Maybe branch out into some other topics.
Or start the kaka party haha. TOP is probably closest. In their own attempt to make their policies more retail they have dropped UBI type policies and are now proposing a straight tax swap - introducing a .75% tax on residential land (unimproved value) in exchange for equivalent but hefty income tax drops, particularly an aussie style 15k no tax band.
Bernard for Prime Minister... please. Your articles are always spot on but frustrates me so much. Sadly that frustration is becoming anger. But there is with hope with people like you exposing those facts. We need to spread the word as much as we can it in order to shift the mindset of voters. Keep up this amazing journalist work.
A creative solution to the Three Waters and GST challenges would be to remove GST from Three Water charges, or at least the financing component., by far the biggest cost of providing Three Waters. Currently, councils charge GST on water charges, including any financing charges. For instance, if they invest in new infrastructure to provide sewage, properties in the area of benefit have to pay GST on financing costs, while councils get the finance GST free from Government. Alternatively, GST could be charged on mortgages. That would go down well with the banks!
Your frustration is becoming more obvious and I don’t blame you. There is no valid excuse for extending the rebate for all, surely it could have been done for community card holders or similar again
Bernard do you think wellington PT investment is also likely to come into the firing line?
We should also remember that many of these Ford Ranger Man type of voters are claiming their fuel costs as a business expense. That's why they bought the Ranger in the first place.
It is extremely frustrating. So many things could be done to ease the pressure and they fail at it time and time again.
If removing GST from fresh produce is complicated why not roll back the GST increase (or abolish the damn thing all together. I'm tired of being the govt's free of charge enforcer & administrator of GST) and bring higher income tax bracket and/or land value tax? That's a lot of money back in the hands of those who need it most.
Madness, but unfortunately it makes political sense. Just need to get rid of it after they win the election.
How to address the cost-of-living crisis in one act.
Scrap GST and replace it with a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT).
Your supermarket bill is now at least 10% lower. The same for your rates, power and petrol.
But won't the FTT have to be high to get the same income for the government? Well, no. Because the FTT is on ALL spending it will catch those parts of the economy that have had it so good such as banksters and property, currency and share market speculators.
Please open this up, Bernard. We need to be raising this every day until the election. Ford Ranger Man is not a Labour voter anyway. I'm so grumpy that we are generously subsidising burning fossil fuels while simultaneously mopping up our biggest city. It is beyond stupid!
P.S. Nice dry Wellington will have you back whenever you get sick of the humidity and plague of mozzies that are coming.
I'm pretty sure that at this very moment, $700m of fuel tax would go a long way to fix some critical highway infrastructure across Auckland to Northland and Coromandel given the damage from the recent rains......
In American political discourse they have an unfortunate habit of mischaracterising these parts of the electorate as “moderates”, as if their self-interested political preferences sit between the nominal extremes of left and right wing.
The language of “swing voters” does much the same.
In reality we’re talking about a portion of the population who are most open to voting to whomever gives them personally the most pork and have interest in policy beyond how it affects themselves. It’s a reactionary vote, it’s inherently conservative.
This must be released Bernard, incisive as usual. You can have my trope " Urban Ford Ranger drivers thumbing their noses at their grandchildren",
Patrick Medlicott
If anyone is interested in how we engage people in talking about climate change, I highly recommend US scientist Katherine Hayhoe's book " Saving Us". It's all about why talking about climate is important, who you shouldn't waste your time on (think antivaxxers), how to connect with people through shared interests and how to focus people on the better world we could have if we implement solutions that already exist. It's completely opened my mind to talking about climate every day without ruining my mental health. Highly recommended!
I thought MMP was designed to break the Lab/Nat stronghold. Voters have more than 2 options. Any ideas on this?
Please share. Some of us have taken to calling it the Ford (r)Anger, due to the ...err..."dominant" style of Ford r(Anger) drivers. The Ford r(Anger) Man must be appeased whether it be making way for them to push in to highway queues or prioritising their demands over other community members and the environment in politics.
I think the continued points around Ford Ranger Man are so important. Especially points that the kids of Ford Ranger Fam (to be modern) will move to countries offering higher paying versions of jobs. Offered with the choice of income, it is growing to be incredibly hard (for at least my finacée and I, who are in an extremely privileged situation but are renting) to say no to overseas money.
The continued purchasing of votes for Ford Ranger/Summertime Showoffs (directly referencing the boat/jetski and possibly the bach in your choice of favourite kiwi holiday destination) through having a very passive and narrow sighted economy is actually disgusting. Why build a stable economy just to let sit there? (Well, you've outlined why Bernard, but it still frustrates me) With climate change knocking loudly and on the dynamic and brutal piece of rock we live on here in Aotearoa, the economy will end up having to borrow anyway to pay to move people and do repairs as events like those in Ōtautahi and Tāmaki Makaurau occur.
How about, I don't know, do a study and act on providing a scheme that recharges an economy that works for Aotearoa in a way where we start to invest in that infrastructure, provide intergenerational investment and make progress to bridge this awful gap between rich and poor by choosing investment options that stimulate accross the board. As to the stimulator? Engineer a low energy consumption economy? Let a computer decide? Just some sort of vision that isn't housing and dairy, PLEASE!
Christ Bernard, you sounded pretty grim there. Not sure reporting on the same depressing matters every day is good for you personally.
Maybe branch out into some other topics.
Or start the kaka party haha. TOP is probably closest. In their own attempt to make their policies more retail they have dropped UBI type policies and are now proposing a straight tax swap - introducing a .75% tax on residential land (unimproved value) in exchange for equivalent but hefty income tax drops, particularly an aussie style 15k no tax band.
Bernard for Prime Minister... please. Your articles are always spot on but frustrates me so much. Sadly that frustration is becoming anger. But there is with hope with people like you exposing those facts. We need to spread the word as much as we can it in order to shift the mindset of voters. Keep up this amazing journalist work.
A creative solution to the Three Waters and GST challenges would be to remove GST from Three Water charges, or at least the financing component., by far the biggest cost of providing Three Waters. Currently, councils charge GST on water charges, including any financing charges. For instance, if they invest in new infrastructure to provide sewage, properties in the area of benefit have to pay GST on financing costs, while councils get the finance GST free from Government. Alternatively, GST could be charged on mortgages. That would go down well with the banks!