So Winston has found another stick to beat immigrants with. He is right to say that immigration leads to increased inflation, as spending by immigrants pushes up prices, especially for housing. While he is right about this, it is a pretty typical case of looking at only part of the picture, in order to get the answer he wants.
Firstly he is ignoring the beneficial side of the money immigrants bring to this country. The inflationary impacts of this really are just an unfortunate by-product of the extra spending, which is necessary for our economy. If asked to choose between an economy that is growing, along with a little inflation, and an economy where there is no inflation, and no growth, I would be very quick to choose the former. He is also ignroing all the other benefits that immigrants bring, both in terms of their (usually skilled and motivated) labour, and the intangible benfits of diversity.
Finally, I think he is overstating the extent to which inflation is really a problem. Inflation in NZ is lower, and tracking down. I think Winston is quite right to say that the Reserve Bank Act needs to be change to broaden the focus of monetary policy, in order to require a focus on New Zealand's wider economic interests, rather than solely on inflation. However, I think that viewing immigration as a negative thing because of its inflationary impact, while ignoring its wider benefits, while accusing Alan Bollard of being too narrow in his focus, is quite ironic, and unwarranted! Its actually a shame that the useful remarks Winston has made on inflation will inevitably be overshadowed by this latest dog-whistle on immigration.
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