Thread by @ArmineYalnizyan

How to budget for a post-covid19 world
New Zealand lays out a $50bn plan, heavy on continued wage subsidies/biz support, but also more spending on health, education, housing, environmental concerns, and plenty of room to manoeuvre. theguardian.com/world/2020/may…

Here's the breakout of $50B in NewZealand's latest budget.
$14B was pre-announced.
$15B was announced in this budget.
$20B is yet unannounced, stay tuned, they're policy-ing while driving the car through a storm.
What did this budget announce/What does a post-covid world need?
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Of the $15B
* $4B for extending wage subsidies past June ($3.2B) and other biz supports
* $3.3B for Health and Education (impressive social infrastructure measures)
* $3B in new infrastructure spends, primarily to build 8K new housing units
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* $1.6B in mostly free access to Trades and Apprenticeships
* $1.1B in jobs to address environmental issues that affect biz and communities (pests, wetlands)
* $570M rent support
* $400M tourism (NZ's largest export ind)

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There are some interesting and surprising moves, building boldly on previous measures:
* $220M / 2 years to extend lunchtime meals from current 8K children to 200K children (1 in 4 school children)
* 203M / 4 years to reduce ("end") domestic violence

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Another over $125M/4 years going to community groups and "partner" agencies who deliver basic services to Māori, Pasifika [newcomer], refugee and migrant communities.

The entire population of NZ is <5M for a frame of reference re Canadian or other Covid/post-Covid spending.

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The $20B as yet unallocated funding is available for
future investment, with funding applications accepted under 3 criteria: Fighting the Virus/Cushioning the Blow; Kickstarting the Recovery; Resetting and Rebuilding beehive.govt.nz/release/budget…

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This year's budget will run a deficit of 9.3% of GDP, but because each element is designed to rebuild the resilience of the economy it is estimated that the deficit will be 1.3% of GDP by June 2024.
Debt charges will be 1.2% of GDP when net debt peaks.
beehive.govt.nz/release/budget…
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This budget is called Rebuilding Together, treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/… is branded as and [re]builds on last year's transformative Wellbeing Budget treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/…

The closing words of the Finance Minister's budget speech are instructive. "Be bold, be kind, be strong."
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Here are all the documents associated with New Zealand's budgetary response to a post-Covid19 world.
treasury.govt.nz/publications/b…

This small nation is creating a new frame for budgeting and economic purpose.
As important as its transformative neoliberal approach in the 1980s

~fin~