Toss Grumley’s article in The Post about summer holidays bringing down our productivity sparked a firestorm in the media, with everyone from the Prime Minister down weighing in.

Economists and statistics disagreed with Grumley, with Brad Olsen from Infometrics pointing out that there was minimal change over the summer, and statistics showed January and February 2024 spending was close to average. No business sends staff on holiday during peak months, sacrificing profits. I worked in hospitality, and we worked long hours during the summer, including on Christmas Day. Isn’t Labour productivity doing more with less time? New Zealanders work longer hours than people in most rich countries.

Grumley’s 12^th January article in the post caught my eye, “New Zealand used to feel like a country of collective ambition; we had so much pride when we did well on the world stage. It feels like now everyone wants a dividend without having made an investment.” He is half right. Collective Ambition was probably better in the past, but do Kiwis expect dividends without investment? Or is it that we are still invested, but dividends have got lower and less collective? Do we feel our talents are more appreciated, and we can achieve more elsewhere? What economists call social mobility has declined significantly since the mid-1980s. While a few talented people like Grumley or John Key will always make it, it’s become harder for most hard-working New Zealanders to move up in life.

Collective ambition was better when the fruits of effort were enjoyed equally by both workers and businesses before “Greed is Good” and Margaret Thatcher’s “No such thing as society” became the go-to mantras. When governments lived up to democracy’s first principles and put people first. When everyone had a wage sufficient for a life of dignity. When the rich paid a fair share of tax. When rents didn’t cost 35-45% of income. When the young and talented were not locked out of the housing market.

Despite our image as a clean, green, and progressive country, the post-Rogernomics change was more extreme than in most countries. The tax rate of 9% paid by the richest families, being very close to 8% in the USA (the most extreme country in the rich world), is just one indicator of how extreme we are. 70% of our household wealth is held by the top 20%, and the gaps between high and low earners have grown.

Our governments used to put people first. Now, both major parties put business interests first, even when it comes to people’s health. Just one example is a sugar tax. In the UK, Boris Johnson’s Conservative government introduced a sugar tax on soft drinks in 2018. Neither the Ardern governments nor the current government wanted to have a bar of it. The UK’s Health Minister said this was being conservative, saving on healthcare costs.

The current government’s attitude towards workers is atrocious. We have a Prime Minister and a Workplace Relations Minister who refuse to even sit down with worker representatives. Safety regulations are weakened when we have a worse safety record than most countries. Unfortunately, the politicians who think Kiwis slack off during the summer holidays are also the ones who say we are overpaid, especially those who earn the least.

Many countries around the world are having populist upheavals because people feel exploited and let down by politicians. Perhaps New Zealanders just pack up and head to greener pastures next door. Collective ambition has been lost, but not because we don’t want to work hard.

Low productivity has many causes, like our governments’ spending only 50% of the OECD average on Research and Development. The government is budgeting only $70 million over seven years on Artificial Intelligence, which might be the next big driver of productivity. Singapore, a country that many politicians, including the Prime Minister, say we should emulate, is spending $1.5 billion.

Perhaps it’s time for our politicians and investors to take a cold, hard look in the mirror and ask themselves what they can do for the country and improving productivity, not blame our summer holidays.