Bill English will lose next election

Running a surplus is bad and not what voters want. It shows that tax payers’ funds are not being allocated sufficiently to meet social economic needs.

There is little correlation between managing a household budget and the economy – only those grossly naive believe there is.

New Zealand is materially underfunded in health care, education, police, corrections, and welfare support. The key driver of economic performance has been the rise in housing prices, not sustainable economic production.

A decade of lost opportunities to raise the standard of living for all has been squandered in favour of a few ‘‘robber barons’’.

The belief that ‘‘steady as she goes’’ is the answer to solving the nation’s ills is as misguided as that United Kingdom would remain in the European Union and Hillary Clinton would be the United States president. It’s time to pass the baton to a younger more in-tune ‘‘Trudeau’’ generation of leaders.

Bill English is a comfortable, easy choice for now as a caretaker prime minister. He is not an inspirational leader and likely to lose the election.

Economic cumulo-nimbus events are gathering: a property market ‘‘turkey’’ correction, European Community Euro-fragmentation and the rise of protectionism in a disruptive digital world.

Scorecard: Key B-