It has almost become de rigueur for a government on the ropes to leave the treasury empty so the incoming mob cops the blame a couple of years down the track. Liam Byrnes note to the incoming Cameron UK Government springs to mind..”I’m afraid there’s no money” it said….not the most diplomatic note a treasurer has left for his successor.

Quite simply, in New Zealand’s case revenue must be raised in order to repair what went on before. It is the system to blame for a lot of it. Keep slapping on coats of paint (electoral bribes) so everything looks glossy while underneath it is quietly crumbling, health, justice, education energy distribution, roads etc.

For some bizarre reason the Government that admits it will have to raise taxes ie. income, tariffs, GST, CGT or invent new ones is considered a failure…….NZ is living beyond it’s means and that does not happen in two years.

These articles capture only the tip of the iceberg and I suggest anyone who puts country before profit read them…

https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/asce-gives-us-infrastructure-a-d-2017-3

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/state-us-infrastructure

It is interesting to see that it took Trump about five minutes before he walked out of the infrastructure talks with Congress citing the “investigations” as a reason. The real reason is that faced with the evidence of money required he would have to abandon his precious wall and raise revenue in some way.

Tax is what we pay for living in a just society yet I have heard politically well connected businessmen boast of how much the saved by using tax avoidance schemes that bordered on the illegal.