John Key is optimistic no double dip while Treasury advise to throw the sick and crippled back to work

John Key is optimistic that there won't be a double dip recession...

Recession not returning: Key
New Zealand is not heading back into recession and the coming summer is likely to see the economy pick up, Prime Minister John Key said this afternoon.

...seeing as Treasury thought we would grow .7% in the 3rd quarter when we really only grew .2% this optimism seems medicated and utterly out of touch with reality and that John Key's Milton Friedman low tax, deregulation, knee capping of the Public Service while slash and burning the Welfare State free market dogma to counter a global crises of capitalism caused by Milton Friedman deregulation low tax deregulated free market dogma is about as much an exercise in futility as finding compassion in the National Party front bench.

Keynesian managed capitalism tells us the state has to focus on the welfare of their people during these types of crises, we know that during the last economic nightmare in NZ during the 80s and 90s the suicide rate in NZ tripled, the social cost of greedy American merchant bankers however doesn't seem to come into the decision making process.

And what is Treasury's idea? To force all the sick, the crippled and the mentally unwell back to work...

Switch people to dole, says Treasury
About 80,000 people now on sickness and invalid benefits could be shifted on to the unemployment benefit under radical welfare reforms proposed by the Treasury.

A Treasury report to the Government's welfare working group recommends reclassifying all 144,000 people on sickness and invalid benefits into three categories based on their ability to work, shifting those with some capacity to work in the near future on to the unemployment benefit.

I couldn't believe that nasty little right wing sadist and climate change denying creep David Farrar over at Kiwiblogh laughing at Treasury's desire to force the sick, crippled and mentally unwell back to work and making fun of Sue Bradford's response.

For Farrar to champion the voodoo math used by the Welfare Razor gang to justify slash and burn welfare reminds me that David Farrar's world view is that of Paul Henry's, it's just less relevant.

So what about this double dip recession our Merchant Banking one of the richest politicians in the world PM is so optimistic won't occur?

The NZIER quarterly business confidence survey, released this morning, showed that 15 per cent more companies had seen a fall in activity than those reporting an expansion during the three months to September 30.

A figure of zero would mean the same number of firms had seen more activity as those seeing less.

NZIER principal economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the figures were a ''surprise'' and suggested that the economic activity shrunk by around 0.2 per cent in the three months to September 30.

When we take into account the Christchurch earthquake, the massive loss of lambs during the extreme weather (better get used to that extreme weather with climate change) and the ongoing slide in economic performance, NZ could follow Ireland in being another canary in the global mine shaft to fall back into recession.

Listening to the smile and wave medicated optimism of John Key tell us from the shadow of his Hawiian mansion that things are sweet confirms the boy in a bubble image he is building in the minds of NZers as they look into their pocket each week after the tax cuts he promised would make them better off evaporate with rising costs.

Armstrong at the Herald gets it and the people of Auckland by not electing John Banks suggest they are getting it and National's faith in their supposed 50% poll support is blinding them. If National realize this over December they will push for an early election in May/June.