Last month, the Greens kicked off their election campaign, proposing a wealth tax on the ultra-rich. Its a good, sensible policy: the New Zealand state is decrepit and run-down, with everything falling apart and failing after decades of austerity. A wealth tax would give it the money it needs to be able to do the things we want it to do: schools, hospitals, a welfare system that ends poverty and ensures human dignity.
So, you'd expect Labour, the party of ordinary kiwis who rely on those public services, to support this, right? Of course not:
Labour will not propose a wealth tax or a capital gains tax at the election, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said overnight on Wednesday.And so Labour, "the party of the workers", has sided with the ultra-rich to fuck over normal people, as usual. But then, should we really expect anything different from a man paid $471,049 a year, who owns three houses? Bluntly, he's not one of us - he's one of them. Of course he stands for their interests rather than ours.“I’m confirming today that under a Government I lead there will be no wealth or capital gains tax after the election. End of story.”
He said “now is simply not the time for a big shake-up of our tax system”.
Obviously, we have MMP, so this is really a question of the balance of power between Labour and the Greens and Te Pāti Māori after the election. But Hipkins' announcement today means that that might not be an issue. He's basicly told voters to fuck off, he's not going to offer us anything - just the awful, unequal, rusting status quo. There's no hope for a better future under Labour. So why bother voting for them?
The clear message from this announcement is that if you want change, you need to vote for the Greens or Te Pati Māori. As for Labour, a party which offers its voters literally nothing deserves to lose.
