Decline and Fall

It was stated earlier that Muldoon is losing his touch. During the election campaign last year he suprised many who went along to his meetings of watched him on television with his relative inability to counter the strong protests he met. The unmatched master of political repartee that we had become accustomed to in earlier campaigns was actually struggling to to keep his head above water. From the Wellington appearance on, he went under on several occasions.

The reasons for Muldoon's personal decline need not concern us here (although it was interesting to note that the regained ability to pour his own drinks was the first thing he mentioned when the Post asked him about his hand). They are of minor significance compared to the major reason why he is in a quandary.

The main, reason for Muldoon's lack of response to the Post questions is that there just aren't any answers. The economic crisis we are now in is getting worse by the week as everyone who has to earn a living by the fruits of his/her own labour knows.

Asked about lifting the price controls, the PM had to admit that the immediate effect will be "a discernable increase in prices". Discernable means, in this context, something that one can't ignore. In other words, big price rises. Muldoon say "we don't want that". He doesn't say he won't give it to us anyway. At the time of writing butter is the latest essential foodstuff to be hit. If it wasn't for the fact that the Government's "solutions" to the crisis is to hit wage and salary earners so hard, Salient might consider running a competition to guess the next five items that will rise in price by more than 20%.

Commenting on price rises in connection with incentives to foreign investment, Muldoon said that we can expect medium term changes in our balance of payments, a levelling out of consumption expenditure, etc. No mention of the fact that foreign investment comes into New Zealand for what it can get out for itself, not through any magnanimous desire to help a struggling young friend in the South Pacific. No explanation of the fact that "levelling out consumption expenditure" means people must be less able to buy things.

The one thing the Government is studiously intent on pursuing is cutting its own expenditure. In the Public Service, the sinking lid policy means that people are not employed to fill available jobs, while temporary workers are often brought in to do the full-timers' work at less pay. For all of us, it means the removal of subsidies on essential items.