Arthur
I usually avoid Chris Trotter’s socialist wittering and firmly captured left-wing ideological views. Fortunately, my partner is made of sterner stuff and points out things to me from time to time from the left-wing swamp of our socialist Mordor including Mr Trotter’s works.
Recently he wrote a piece January this year that was about Bernard Hickey. I also wrote a piece about Hickey entitled, “Hate speech Hickey” and it was my first big “What the……?” moment of 2021. Trotter’s article on Hickey was entitled, “The Economic Consequences Of Mr Hickey”.
“Come The Revolution!” The key objective of Bernard Hickey’s revolutionary solution to the housing crisis is a 50 per cent reduction in the price of the average family home. This will be achieved by the introduction of Capital Gains, Land, and Wealth taxes, and by the opening up of currently RMA-protected real-estate. As revolutionary programmes go, it’s admirably succinct. But, what else would Mr Hickey’s deflationary property revolution bring?
Yes indeed, what will it bring? After a lead in on John Maynard Keynes and a swipe at Winston Churchill he gets down to it. Here are some excerpts with my bolding of key words;
“….feelings are running high on the vexed questions of homelessness and housing affordability.”
“His call-to-arms on the housing issue has, of late, acquired a decidedly revolutionary tone. Behind his indisputably cogent expositions of the problem, one senses a rising anger, and what can only be described as a ruthless determination to sweep aside what he unabashedly identifies as the economic, social and political forces barring the path to homes for all New Zealanders.”
“Mr Hickey, following the historical precedent of Douglas and Richardson, has already picked out the enemies of the people upon whose necks his revolutionary blade is intended to fall. ………….Madame Guillotine’s guests will be the generation of New Zealanders born between 1946 and 1965 – the notorious “Baby Boomers”. (You know them – they’re the ones with all the houses!)”.
Those familiar with comrade Hickey’s rants and raves will know he has a pathological hatred for the so called Boomers. Like any irrationally vicious dog he barks at most things but like many vicious dogs he has a favourite subject at which to bark the loudest; Boomers, the generation that must have signed a pact with Satan to ruin the Earth for all if Hickey’s obsession is to be believed.
The key objective of Mr Hickey’s revolutionary programme is a 50 per cent reduction in the price of the average family home. This will be achieved by the introduction of Capital Gains, Land, and Wealth taxes, and by the opening up of currently RMA-protected real-estate.
Mr Hickey purports to be an economist so it is strange he does not seem to grasp a basic of the markets. In this case, supply and demand. As supply has been constrained by stupid regulations and ineptitude by Councils, unrestrained immigration has overwhelmed it with increased demand. In any market that leads prices only one way; upward. Add to that many of the one million New Zealanders overseas returning as Wuhan Flu escapees and you have a social and infrastructure disaster on your hands.
No one could ever build fast enough to keep up. No amount of taxes of Capital gains, so-called wealth and land-owning will make one bit of difference except to our Socialist Government’s coffers. Immigration will continue to some extent in the future and returning New Zealanders are not stopping their demands to be allowed to return. Even if that flood stopped, supply is so far behind demand now that no amount of building of any type will likely alleviate it in the next ten or more years.
However, here is my “What the…?” moment with Trotter’s article. Trotter states in answer to his question:
“But, what else would Mr Hickey’s deflationary property revolution bring?”
“The answer is, of course, social, economic and political mayhem. Thousands of ordinary middle-class New Zealanders would be ruined. The country’s leading banks would teeter on the brink of failure. Credit would dry up overnight. New Zealand would be plunged headlong into a deep recession. Thousands of “millennial” Kiwis would lose their jobs, closely followed by thousands of redundant Gen-Xers. Poverty would surge upwards to engulf layers of society untouched by deprivation for more than eighty years. In short order, shock and disbelief would give way to unrelenting political rage – and a lust for inter-generational vengeance.”
Naturally I like it when two lefties disagree as they usually do in the end. But, really dear Chris, you are calling out our economic tub thumping version of a grimy Soviet revolutionary for his failure to see the dire consequences of his ridiculous proposals?
Since similar financial consequences would result from the Climate Commission’s dopey ideas it is appropriate to quote Greta tongue in cheek and all.
“How dare you!”
Please share this BFD article so others can discover The BFD.