Taxpayers’ Union shatters Window & Glass Association’s protectionist drivel

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming today’s comments from Window and Glass Association NZ whinging about the opening up of their sector to much-needed competition.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Only a special interest industry group could complain about reducing building costs during a housing crisis. Their superficial arguments are nothing more than window dressing.

“It’s no surprise the Window and Glass Association supports the broken window fallacy, but the cracks in their argument are there for all to see.

“Forcing people to pay more than they otherwise would in an open market simply takes money away from consumers that would have been spent elsewhere, in effect costing jobs and punishing businesses in other sectors of the economy.

“Crocodile tears of concerns around the quality of products or the ease of getting replacement parts simply don’t hold up. Every day people make tradeoffs in the products they buy and ultimately make what they believe to be the best choice for themselves. We see it with those who opt to purchase a Japanese car over a European one due to the relative ease of getting replacement parts, trusting consumers to make their own decisions is nothing new.

“The industry should be welcoming competition, seeing it as an opportunity to prove they are the best in the world, kick innovation into gear and allow New Zealand’s entrepreneurial spirit to flourish. Instead, we are seeing another case of business leaders preaching ‘free market for thee but not for me’.