Labour’s proposal to use the government’s $40 billion in buying power to create jobs and back local businesses by requiring suppliers to make job creation in New Zealand a determining factor for contracts might be good politics but it’s bad policy.
The government, like any other entity, should be guided by price and quality when buying goods and services.
Unless businesses can adding job creation while competing on both of those factors, the requirement is a subsidy by another name.
If a future Labour-led government pays more, or accepts lower quality, to purchase from a business which creates more jobs it will not be not using public money wisely.
It will be spending more than it needs to and to do that it has to take more tax, some of which will come from businesses with which those subsidised might be competing.
It could also lead the businesses which get the…
View original post 185 more words
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments