Matisyahu's Blog

Just before I head off to sleep, the end of the year draws near and I look back at what has happened throughout the year, I have to admit that personally I’ve had a good year getting closer to my health goals but that being said it hasn’t been a great year outside of that – a crazy person in the Whitehouse leading to global instability. What I am hoping is that as the rest of the world works around the Trump administration that the such work will insulate the New Zealand economy and we’ll get back on track with some economic growth.

I am pretty lucky regarding the situation I am in but for many New Zealanders they’re doing it tough if the quiet malls and supermarkets are anything to go by but then again I could be wrong. There has been an uptick in the number of people purchasing gifts online so it could be a matter of fewer people shopping in stores because they’re switched to ordering online but that being said the supermarkets are pretty quiet so when it comes to thinks you need to purchase for Christmas Day so I think for many families the money situation is pretty tight.

Coming into the new year I’m starting a fresh after indulging in some wonderful food over the two weeks I’ve had off from work but I thought it would be best to get back into the swing of things by starting afresh this Monday (29/12/25) before the new year starts. I mentioned previously that one of the things I’ve reminded myself before I eat something is “am I hungry or am I just bored” and the second thing I’ve focused on is making sure that I always have a pantry filled with nutritious food that can be easily prepared thus eliminating the excuse of ordering take aways or heading down to the store to pick up random bits of food.

If there is one ray of sunshine it has been the realisation by many around the world that GDP growth doesn’t translate to the average person getting wealthier. All the growth in the United States economy can be summarised to AI investments (more like malinvestmens) and the the cost of healthcare going up since those numbers contribute to GDP figures – remove those factors and the US would be in a recession right about now. I think there are many waking up to the fact that ‘line go up’ doesn’t translate to ‘more money in bank account’.

The big question is whether this will translate to the left putting out a bold vision or whether we will see more of the same neoliberal half baked solutions that never address the underlying problems in the economy. All too often I see the nominal left in New Zealand diagnose a problem correctly but then half ass the implementation – almost scared that they might actually have to sell the idea and defend the idea against the expected push back by those in the media and parties on the right. It’s almost as though the left are scared of their own shadow because they limited their horizon due to many convincing themselves that there is no alternative to neoliberalism (aka There Is No Alternative (TINA) – Margaret Thatcher).