Waste not, want not.
That's an old saying that my parents, who'd lived through the Depression, often quoted at my brothers and me.
That it's old doesn't take away its wisdom, wisdom that unfortunately the government doesn't have and its propensity for wasteful spending is one of its biggest faults.
Grant Robertson is warning that there will be no ability for big spending election promises. That wouldn't be necessary if he and his government hadn't wasted so much of the money they'd taken through taxes and borrowing.
The Taxpayers' Union thinks it's not too late to stop the waste:
With the Government books now in crisis, the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is calling on Grant Robertson to slash wasteful spending and reduce the number of back-office bureaucrats before it is too late.
"Revelations that the Minister of Finance has been calling public service officials into his office to discuss financial restraint shows just how dire the Government's financial position is," Taxpayers' Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves says.
"But restraint isn't enough. With Government debt reaching almost $79,000 per household, Grant Robertson needs to significantly slash the billions in wasteful spending to help get the books back in the black.
"It's clear that Grant Robertson is running out of excuses when it comes to justifying the Government's monstrous budget hole. Even he knows the current state of the books is untenable.
"The actual budget deficit is already far worse than Treasury predicted and internal sources suggest that the deficit will be significantly larger by next month's Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update.
"It is time for Minister Robertson to prove that he is capable of getting spending under control in order to stop inflation and create the confidence for people to invest in New Zealand and grow the economy."
You can sign the petition here.
It would be fatal to hold your breath waiting for the government to act on it, but you can vote this government out and vote a National-led one in to ensure that the next government stops the waste.
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