Poll result: Most want NZ$ policy change

Many of interest.co.nz's readers voted to leave the currency policy unchanged, but most wanted change. Your view?

25th Nov 10, 8:03am by Bernard Hickey

On November 8 we asked our readers: What should the RBNZ and Government do about the rising NZ dollar?

The result? Most readers (62%) wanted change of one sort or another, while the biggest portion (38%) voted to leave the currency policy unchanged.

Here are the options and the results in order of popularity.

1. Intervention is pointless and both capital and currency controls are a backward step. We just have to take it. 38% (256 votes)

2. Do it all. Cut the OCR to 1%. Limit asset sales. Intervene to push it down to a 'peg' level. This is a Currency War. Let's make it total. 22% (150 votes)

3. Cut the OCR to 1%. That would help exporters, businesses and households and bring the NZ dollar down. What's not to love. 18% (123 votes)

4. Intervene to sell the NZ dollar. The RBNZ did it before in 2007 successfully. Let's make a big profit for the taxpayer. 9% (60 votes)

5. Bring in targeted capital controls to limit big foreign purchases, including blocking big land, asset sales and taxing bond sales. 8% (55 votes)

6. Peg it and print. Everyone else is determined not to let their currency rise vs the US dollar. We should fight dirty too. 4% (28 votes)

Total voters: 672.

The poll remains open. Vote here.

The current poll running is: How should NZ improve its savings rate and economic growth rate to solve its foreign debt problem?

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6 Comments

by Les Rudd | 25th Nov 10, 8:30am 1290627053

Bernard - to help get some context on the results, do you have something that describes the make up of Interest.co's readership?

Cheers, Les.

www.mea.org.nz

by Les Rudd | 25th Nov 10, 10:30am 1290634200

Found this on your 'Advertise' page:

"Reader profile can be summarised as follows:

- Female = 43%, Male = 57%

- 18-29 age band = 28%, 30-54 age band = 59%, over 55 yrs = 12%

- Household Incomes, less than $40,000 = 7%, $40-$80,000 = 22%, over $80,000 = 56%, won't say = 15%"

So roughly 60% are 30 something to BB's at over $80k plus. I wonder what % by employment and business are associated with primary commodities, retail, civil service and FIRE interests, and what % are associated with the remaining trade exposed real economy?

Cheers, Les.

by Horace the Grump | 25th Nov 10, 2:31pm 1290648679

Hmmm... an on line poll with only 680 votes - hardly worth the time and effort as far as results go...

One wonders how many times the likes of Wolly, Gummy Bear Hero or Southern Dude voted... I mean the comments sections of this website are clearly dominated by these three clowns so one can only expect that they would have voted multiple times in order to get the result that so clearly satisfies their prejudices.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Nov 10, 2:57pm 1290650226

What you're saying , Bernard , is that all of options 2 - 6 combined beat option 1 on it's own ............... So this was a MMP-run poll , not one based on FPP ?

by Les Rudd | 25th Nov 10, 4:01pm 1290654116

Roger - can you guess what I'm saying? (Note, we may have minors reading this so communicate accordingly.) Cheers, Les.

by Les Rudd | 25th Nov 10, 10:20pm 1290676853

C'mon, sand, sea, surf, palm tree, rabid dog-shagger man, say your piece. ( What kind of dog was it anyway - male or female?) Cheers, Les.