Is this the Political Cartoon of the Year?!
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Can this political cartoon from a Fairfax community newspaper be the most insightful and damaging to National, ever penned?
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After all the criticisms; all the protests; all the thousands of media stories; and seven years of blogging from myself – it all comes down to one searingly scathing cartoon.
The scandal of rotting hospital buildings and thousands suffering on waiting lists for surgery may prove to be the the beginning of the deconstruction of the myth of National’s “reputation as a responsible fiscal manager”.
The reality is brutally simple. So simple that even the most low-information voters should be able to comprehend: National won elections not on any fiscal responsibility – but by bribing the electorate with tax cuts.
With tax cuts came cuts to state services in health, education, border security, police, DoC, housing, etc. For many New Zealanders, our under-funded state services is more than an academic exercise by the Wellington ‘Beltway’. It’s personal;
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“Doing more with less” became a National government mantra that meant, in reality, over-worked, stressed, and under-paid teachers, nurses, doctors, police, et al, and essential public services pared back or cancelled entirely.
Unfortunately, it may take a while for it to sink through to New Zealanders that we cannot expect a Gold Standard of public services – whilst paying only for a cheaper Bronze-plated level.
We get what we pay for.
That brutal lesson in basic arithmetic started this year: taxes = services.
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References
Fairfax media: Over 5000 at risk of going blind waiting for treatment, Ministry of Health says
Previous Related Blogposts
“It’s one of those things we’d love to do if we had the cash”
The Mendacities of Mr Key #3: tax cuts
The consequences of tax-cuts – worker exploitation?
Plunket and the slow strangulation of community organisations
The cupboard is bare, says Dear Leader
An earthquake separates John Key and ‘The Iron Lady’, Margaret Thatcher
The Mendacities of Mr Key # 19: Tax Cuts Galore! Money Scramble!
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This blogpost was first published on The Daily Blog on 19 April 2018.
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Frankly Speaking... 
It really boils down to this: if you want First World standards of health, education, social welfare (including pensions), border protection, infrastructure and other stuff the state provides then you have to pay First World taxes. If people want to see what decades of tax cuts have done in the United States they only have to look at how decades of deferred maintenance caused the levy systems built in and around New Orleans to fail during Hurricane Katrina and the crumbling infrastructure in many parts of the United States.
And that about sums it up, Miles!
Do you think they’ll ever understand that, Miles? I have my doubts.
Yes. Yes it is. This sums up 9 years of frustration perfectly!