The Budget, faith, intellectual honesty and trust.

I never had any problems with paying taxes. I understand insurance.

My attitude to political parties is agnostic. I don't do "faith". I have no inherent dislike of an political party or ideology. All I ask of any of them is that they be based on reality, not belief, and that they demonstrate some intellectual honesty when the two collide. An essential element in sustaining intellectual honesty is listening. I have a big problem with any party or government that doesn't listen.

I tend to judge them by what they do, not what they say.

During the 90s I developed considerable respect for Jim Bolger and Doug Graham. They heeded reality for the most part and tacked and trimmed when necessary. Bolger was turfed out by the economic religionists within National and after that I certainly had problems with much that National did, and to be fair, with the accumulating effects of flawed policy already implemented.

Their 90s drive to make us all buy private health insurance from impoverished multi-nationals by allowing the deterioration of public health by stealth really got up my nose. It was the dishonesty of it. Doing it while claiming not to. I'd rather pay the tax that at least goes somewhere in NZ than the private insurance that covers less and less and goes to some shareholder in Omaha or Manchester.

By 1999, our local school in Raumati Beach wasn't able to afford to fix the roof or the boys loo.....with water trickling across the floor and out of the door for months. They used the girls' loo in turns. Teachers were leaving in droves. Their pay was terrible. The government was trying to force bulk funding on schools and the impact on kids was collateral damage.

Max Bradford's electricity reforms forced my local community-owned power trust to sell half of itself to a foreign-owned power company, sending half my rebate overseas and putting the price of my power up. It never came down. Power was moved to a market model. Why would anyone build new generating capacity or urge conservation when shortages are much more profitable? Not enough power? The price goes up! Why waste money on a new power plant and give up the bonanza? The insanity of it was obvious to everyone but the faithful.

Apprenticeships wiped. Obviously dreadfully stupid, but they wouldn't listen. Education was a personal asset, so they claimed. Students fees through the roof generating mortgage-size debts with ballooning interest, paid to the impoverished banks, heaped on young people who should be starting families and careers and who ultimately will keep New Zealand operational if they don't leave.

Blind faith. It is the enemy of reason and prudent action.

Labour isn't perfect. Far from it. But they are less inclined to blind faith. National was worse on almost everything that mattered to me. Given the chance they will be worse again. Despite John Key's apparently moderate personal views, the same crew stands behind him waiting for their moment to resume the rush to cut services and export our money to their clients of greatest concern: banks and insurance companies. They may make donations, but they don't vote.

As of last week, National declared war on me. They want to take my vote away so they can win power more easily by pushing to get rid of MMP. That moves them from mere endurable irritant to the status of enemy of my democracy. If National really wanted my vote, they would put up policies I can support, not try to change the voting system so my vote is rendered worthless.

I have nothing against them at all as a political vehicle. As above, I do have reason to not trust them NOW, based on what they have already done and who they still are. Maybe one day that will change. But not today.

The fact National has released so little policy says to me they don't want to allow too much time for people to think about it. Keep'em in the dark and when the time comes feed'em the proverbial.

Having said all that, I don't vote for either of them. They both fall over badly where prudence is concerned. To be fair to them, though, that isn't necessarily their fault.

Most Kiwi voters don't know - and don't really want to know - how the world actually works. What is in your local council's annual plan? How do you make a submission to a Select Committee on legislation affecting you? Do you know what a Select Committee is? How do you find out about Bills in the first place?

To some extent, the media are enablers by infotaining people instead of informing them. But then people don't read stuff they don't want to read.....

Problem is, if people knew how the world worked, they would share responsibility for it. As any school child knows from their earliest days, the best way to avoid being responsible for anything ts to ensure you know as little about it as possible. That way, if things are going wrong, it's always someone else's fault. It can't be yours. You didn't know anything about it.

How does one comprehend a voter who won't give up the V8 even though a 1.3L car would cost them less than half as much? The kids can go without? Gimme a tax cut.

Politicians of any stripe who may try to lead in one direction or another for reasons they think prudent for the future, but uncomfortable for someone in the present, will find themselves running hard into this lump of willfully ignorant inertia that composes the broad mass of voters.

All I ask is that politicians listen and show some intellectual honesty. Save the faith based on unfounded belief for Church on Sundays. It has no place in politics or government. Don't be cynical manipulators of public opinion for electoral advantage. When you behave like that, I can't and won't trust you. Any of you.

It was a good budget.....if you like tax cuts. I'm not fussed.