What it's all about

What's this election all about? Steve Maharey hits the nail on the head in his election blog today, when he responds to someone who asks why, with record low unemployment and good economic growth, there is really any debate:

Well there is a debate. And to understand why it is still going on we need to understand who is driving it. The kind of country we are seeing emerge now where everyone is beginning to get a share of the prosperity and opportunity on offer is not what they want.

They fought long and hard in the 80s and 90s to create a country where the privileged could gain more privilege. They argued that what was good for them was good for the country. It was not. For most New Zealanders the period of restructuring was extremely difficult. They paid a heavy price for changes that made a few people very rich.

It is the lucky few from that era who are driving the debate...

That's what this election is about: who benefits from our economy, who shares the fruits of economic growth - the few, or the many. Labour (and the rest of the left) are on the side of the many. National is on the side of the few - and judging by who benefits from their tax cuts, the very few indeed.