Economy

As I ponder the state of the New Zealand economy, I cannot help but see trouble ahead.

• The central bank, realising that it had kept interest rates too low for too long, raised the official cash rate from 0.5% to 4.75% in less than a year, and warned it could as high as 5.5 percent. This is the sharpest increase in New Zealand history. I can’t see how this will not cause economic pain.

  When the interest payments on their mortgages are adjusted to the new level, many people will be shocked by the cost and will struggle to make ends meet.

  Economists assume that interest rises will reduce inflation, but when the rates that businesses pay on their overdrafts and other borrowings will rise sharply. The increased costs will prompt them to raise the prices of the things that they produce and sell, feeding into further inflation. I can’t see how this will not produce severe economic stress, especially in the construction industry.

• People are assuming that the Covid threat is over, but I can’t see how we can avoid another round, possibly with a mutation that is more virulent. (Why would the spiritual powers of evil not push on with such an effective weapon).

I realise that the people of New Zealand are not ready for future pain. They already feel like they have been through more than enough. The politicians are not prepared. They are making big claims in order to win the next election, but none of them have any idea about how to deal with what lies ahead.

The worst thing is that Christians are not prepared either. Christian prophetic leaders are prophesying good times, not preparing God’s people for hard times.

My first thought was that God would not let dark times come if his people are not ready.

But then I realised that he has been squeezed out of New Zealand. Our choices have given a place to the spiritual powers of evil. They have power to set the direction of events in our nation.