The Economy

This is perhaps the most important element when looking at the changes which New Zealand has been going through in the past ten or so years.

• A steep rise in the price of the imports which New Zealand depends on for industry and consumption, plus a drop in demand and price for New Zealands exports has meant that we have run up a considerable trading deficit.
• To pay for our deficit, we have had to borrow heavily from overseas countries and organisation eg. World Bank, and have come under increasing control from overseas interests.
• Tax scales have stayed the same although wages and salaries have risen. For example, if you were paying 10% of your wages in taxes five years ago, the graduated tax scales mean that you may be paying 20% in taxes because of wages rises.
• Dramatic rises in the cost of living. Some of the items which have [unclear: rockred] in price have been:—

  a.	essential food items—bread, butter, sugar, coffee, milk, and most other essentials.
  b.	essential services—postage, telephones, rail and air travel, petrol, electricity, gas and rates.

• An increasing pool of unemployed. This is disguised by exporting much of our unemployment problem back to the Pacific Islands, and laying off married women who are not commonly included in the unemployment statistics.
• Wage cuts. New Zealand workers are suffering severe wage cuts, Even during the third Labour Government real wages were cut. This policy of hitting the workers hard has been continued by the National Government and compounded by the above policies. Since 1975, workers wages have fallen behind prices to the tune of 15%.
• Bursaries have not been increased since the new STB was introduced which means that they have fallen behind prices by at least 30%.
• The Government has cut state spending to finance their Superannuation Scheme (costing $1000m) and to balance the trade deficit. This means that essential state services have been such as education, health, welfare and transport.
• Regional and National development has slowed to a standstill speeding up uneven growth patterns and producing depressed areas especially in the South Island.
• Capital has been diverted from productive areas such as industry and agriculture, is being diverted to banking and finance companies which produce nothing and merely wait for an upturn in the countries economy. This, in turn leads to an overall recession of the productive forces in the economy.