WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE

The simp (but a dangerous one), Minnie Mouse-voiced Finance Minister Nicola Willis gave us, in the 2025 Budget, her version of  “hope for the future” and “genuine growth.”

Yeah Right!

I muddled through some of it which I guess was appropriate because that's what the mouse did too.

Oops, sorry, wrong image

Here we go

I didn't see a lot of 'hope for the future and 'genuine growth', instead, I read of a lot of hopeless floundering and questionable forecasts. New Zealand is hiccupping at about 2% growth at present, a figure that this 2025 Budget can only reduce further by a cowardly approach to economic stimulation and pandering to the higher earners with unaffordable tax cuts.

The National led coalition government’s promise is to reduce Crown debt and shrink the size of government, hoping that an improved economy will make up for any pain incurred. This sounds like that Donald Trump led and Elon Musk (DOGE) executed cost cutting that has become a fiasco in USA or, in keeping with the Disney theme - Fantasyland. In actuality ,government spending is essential for economic activity when investment in plant, employment, planning, marketing and the building of core infrastructure is needed.

This coalition government isn't interested in meeting its obligations to stimulate economic activity during bad times and has only made token attempts to stimulate growth that would have flow on effects of productivity and employment. It prefers to, like Trump's administration in the USA, blame the previous government even though it's now almost two years since Labour held the purse strings.

Minnie Mouse, sorry, Nicola Willis is wishing on stars and hoping that the Reserve Bank will keep cutting interest rates, even in the face of inflation and unfairly expecting non governmental agencies and the private sector to provide investment, employ more New Zealanders and get the job done without government assistance. Once again - Fantasyland. 

Have a read of the 2025 Budget if you dare but be careful when getting to the sections on defence spending, pay equity, rail freight and commuter rail upgrades. the cutting back on the previous government’s goal of spending 2% of GDP on research and development, halving of the state’s Kiwisaver contributions to 25 cents for every dollar saved, to an annual limit of $261, worker’s minimum contribution to the Kiwisaver scheme to rise from 3% to 4% of their wages over the next 3 years, plus further cuts and more savings. There is more, much more (or less whichever way you want to look at it).

🎵 When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true 🎵