National's Austerity Obsession: From Key's Folly to Luxon's Fiasco
National's Austerity Obsession: From Key's Folly to Luxon's Fiasco
𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭'𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘒𝘦𝘺'𝘴 𝘎𝘍𝘊 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳—𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴—𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 5.3% 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 3%, 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘪𝘸𝘪 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘓𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘶𝘹𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴.
Published By Bruce Alpine. 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀
hristopher Luxon and National stormed into power in 2023 on a wave of bluster:
"Get NZ Back On Track" and "Get ahead together," they crowed, vowing to axe waste, unleash tax cuts, and bulldoze through the cost-of-living crunch with laser-focused growth.
No more Labour's "miserable" handouts—just disciplined surpluses by 2027, jobs for all, and relief for families crushed by inflation.
Two years on, in November 2025, it's a smoking ruin.
Unemployment soars, prices gouge deeper, and Kiwis are fleeing in record numbers.
National's austerity playbook—public service eviscerations, benefit whacks—hasn't fixed a thing; it's fueled the fire, echoing the hubris of their mentor, John Key, who thumbed his nose at global wisdom during the GFC.
Take unemployment: National pledged a "stronger economy" with smart incentives.
Instead, Stats NZ's November 5 bombshell clocks it at 5.3%—a nine-year nadir, up from 4.3% pre-election.
That's 160,000 souls sidelined, 18,000 jobs torched yearly, and youth at 15.2%—a "staggering betrayal," thunders Labour's Chris Hipkins.
Benefit rolls ballooned 26,000 to 216,000, per Spinoff, as Luxon's crew shunts 18-19-year-olds into gig hell or the barracks.
Social Development Minister Louise Upston touts 20,775 job transitions—a 6% blip in a bloodbath.
It's not reform; it's rejection of the vulnerable, mirroring Key's post-GFC slash-and-burn that prioritized bank bailouts over breadlines.
Cost-of-living carnage? National swore to "tackle inflation head-on" sans new taxes. Lie.
September's 3.0% spike—the year's peak—hikes household bills 2.4%, ravaging rents, fuel, and groceries amid Q2's 0.9% GDP plunge.
Ditching fuel credits and gutting services? That's arson on inequality, funneling $500 million to tech fat cats while poverty benefits eclipse COVID highs.
Luxon's $1,000 senior energy crumb from November 20? A Band-Aid on a bullet wound, as RBNZ's 2.5% OCR cut sputters against "fragile" excuses from Nicola Willis.
This isn't happenstance; it's heritage.
Flash back to 2008: As the GFC raged, the World Bank and IMF—once austerity zealots—flipped, urging stimulus over cuts to shield the poor from collapse.
"No to austerity," they implored, warning it stifles recovery and widens gaps.
Key's National? Deaf. They rammed through fiscal consolidation, targeting surpluses by 2014/15 via spending squeezes that economists now decry as error-riddled, saddling NZ with debt spikes and social scars.
Luxon, Key's acolyte, doubles down in 2025—Budget cuts branded "austerity" by foes, and history, debt-trimming dogma amid recession.
History's lesson? Austerity doesn't work—it wrecks.
Yet here we are, Kiwis paying for National's amnesia.
Polls eviscerate the charade.
Ipsos October (November 17) dings Luxon's crew at 3.9/10—2017's low—approval at 24%, with 61% fretting costs first.
Labour vaults to economic trust lead (33% vs. 29%), unemployment (39% vs. 22%), poverty (41% vs. 16%).
Herald-Kantar's November? Labour at 38%, gorging on National's corpse.
Blame-shifting to Labour's "legacy"? Pathetic.
As Greens howl "elite economy," 2026 beckons judgment.
National didn't stumble—they schemed a sequel to Key's cruelty.
Boot the brigade before they bankrupt the Kiwi dream.
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