Source: Taxpayers Union
26 JANUARY 2020FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Responding to the Infrastructure Minister’s claims that a $9 million spend on a marae facility in Southland will create 41 jobs, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “This kind of spending does not create jobs. The money is borrowed. In other words, future taxpayers from Kaitaia to the Bluff will pay for it plus interest. Those taxpayers will then have less to spend on businesses that provide goods and services that people actually want. When those businesses lose revenue, they’ll be less able to employ New Zealanders.” “The best way to stimulate the economy is to leave money in the hands of New Zealanders, who will spend that money on productive businesses that won’t rely on continuing government handouts.” “You don’t need an economics qualification to see that the real point of spending $96 million on marae is political: the government gets to do a favour for a particular voting bloc, while dumping the cost on future taxpayers and hoping they won’t make the connection. It’s classic pork-barrel politics dressed up as a COVID-19 response.”
