National government to borrow $40 billion over 3 years

TVNZ Press Release 22 March 2009 Prime Minister John Key has unveiled a new economic initiative to borrow $40 billion to help NZ through the recession and believes we will come out of it “reasonably aggressively” in a year’s time during an interview with Political Editor, Guyon Espiner this morning on TVNZ’s new political show Q+A. Points of interest: - PM said Govt would borrow $40 Billion over next 3 years - PM refused to commit to 2010 & 2011 tax cuts - PM believes NZ will be coming out of recession “reasonably aggressively” in year’s time after 2-3 quarters of negative growth - Treasury estimates tax cuts will mean a 5% reduction in Government revenue See transcription of full interview at http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0903/S00241.htm See also It’s Time for a New Monetary System for another possibility to government debt.

The rebirth of Keynesianism?

The Coming Capitalist Consensus by Walden Bello from Foreign Policy in Focus 28 December 2008 Not surprisingly, the swift unraveling of the global economy combined with the ascent to the U.S. presidency of an African-American liberal has left millions anticipating that the world is on the threshold of a new era. Some of President-elect Barack Obama’s new appointees – in particular ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers to lead the National Economic Council, New York Federal Reserve Board chief Tim Geithner to head Treasury, and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk to serve as trade representative – have certainly elicited some skepticism. But the sense that the old neoliberal formulas are thoroughly discredited have convinced many that the new Democratic leadership in the world’s biggest economy will break with the market fundamentalist policies that have reigned since the early 1980s.

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