Blair
Mulholland
Life Lived Laissez-Faire
Life Lived Laissez-Faire
Welcome to the website of
social and political commentator Blair Mulholland. Here you'll
find commentary on current events, as well as details of my stance on various issues, my career and background, my
American spouse and our twin daughters, and some of my other
interests and hobbies.
The Issues That Matter
A Game Plan for New Zealand
New Zealand is blessed with natural beauty, abundant resources, and great people. I truly believe we have more potential than any other country on earth.
Our values are special. We were founded on a partnership between nations, a marriage of Maori enterprise and British rule of law. We came here to tear down the old class barriers of Europe in the belief that men are not superior to one another by wealth or by title, but by how well they look after their mates. And so it remains to this day.
These values by all logic should see us as the most prosperous nation on earth. Our problem is that since 1935 we have entrusted politicians with implementing those values, and they have failed. The results are poverty, crime, dependency, and the heavy hand of the State destroying lives and livelihoods. In 2009 we find ourselves only three quarters as wealthy as Australia, poorer than the poorest of America's fifty states, and about to be overtaken in per capita GDP by former communist countries in Europe.
We can do so much better. We have done so much better in the past. The solution is to take those great Kiwi values, take them out of the hands of the politician, and bring them back home.
Our values are special. We were founded on a partnership between nations, a marriage of Maori enterprise and British rule of law. We came here to tear down the old class barriers of Europe in the belief that men are not superior to one another by wealth or by title, but by how well they look after their mates. And so it remains to this day.
These values by all logic should see us as the most prosperous nation on earth. Our problem is that since 1935 we have entrusted politicians with implementing those values, and they have failed. The results are poverty, crime, dependency, and the heavy hand of the State destroying lives and livelihoods. In 2009 we find ourselves only three quarters as wealthy as Australia, poorer than the poorest of America's fifty states, and about to be overtaken in per capita GDP by former communist countries in Europe.
We can do so much better. We have done so much better in the past. The solution is to take those great Kiwi values, take them out of the hands of the politician, and bring them back home.
Government Taxation and Expenditure
Economies grow and poverty reduces when New Zealanders waste less money on government bureacracy and keep more of what they earn. Governments can't solve problems or create prosperity.
It is vital, for so many good reasons, that governments continue to reduce both government expenditure and the rate of taxation. Our tax system should be simpler, with a tax-free threshold, and a single rate of income and company tax above that. Personal taxation should move away from taxing income and dividends, which discourages investment, towards GST, which encourages it.
The tax system should be simplified, with tax credits being replaced by permanent across-the-board cuts. Working for Families should be replaced by income splitting and targeted welfare for those disadvantaged.
It is vital, for so many good reasons, that governments continue to reduce both government expenditure and the rate of taxation. Our tax system should be simpler, with a tax-free threshold, and a single rate of income and company tax above that. Personal taxation should move away from taxing income and dividends, which discourages investment, towards GST, which encourages it.
The tax system should be simplified, with tax credits being replaced by permanent across-the-board cuts. Working for Families should be replaced by income splitting and targeted welfare for those disadvantaged.
Planning and Resource Management
By far the biggest barriers to economic growth in New Zealand are our planning laws and the Resource Management Act 1991. They are crippling the livelihoods of millions of people.
A new approach is needed. The right to alter one's own property needs to be asserted first and foremost. Disputes should not stall development before the fact, but provide proper compensation to maligned parties for any adverse effects instead. Rather than local councils bogging down the process in paperwork, tribunals of local Justices of the Peace should mediate between neighbours.
A new approach is needed. The right to alter one's own property needs to be asserted first and foremost. Disputes should not stall development before the fact, but provide proper compensation to maligned parties for any adverse effects instead. Rather than local councils bogging down the process in paperwork, tribunals of local Justices of the Peace should mediate between neighbours.