‘Election year boom starting"

Press, 10 December 1983, Page 28

‘Election year

boom starting"

PA Wellington The economy is entering its “traditional election-year boom,” according to Labour’s finance spokesman, Mr Roger Douglas. Commenting on the December quarterly prediction of the Institute of Economic Research, he said yesterday that it seemed the Prime Minister had misjudged economic conditions.

The Government’s economic management policies were “short-term, contradictory and ultimately destabilising,” he said. Medium-term growth policies were totally lacking.

“Until this approach changes, we will continue to experience these electionoriented ‘boom and bust’ cycles with the imbalances in the economy getting worse and worse, bigger deficits, more debt, more unemployment, more infla-

tion and low living standards.”

This year and next would see a substantial increase in profits earned by businessmen and farmers.

Wage and salary earners as a group faced reduced real incomes. “When allowance is made for the tax changes it is obvious that this fall has been borne entirely by the lower paid. “More than 60 per cent of the workforce are worse off at the end of this year than they were last year.” Mr Douglas said in spite of the massive Governmentimposed redistribution, no sustained pick-up in productive investment was in sight. Similarly, additional jobs were not being created anywhere near fast enough. The sacrifice by lower-income families had been for nought, he said.