When you do this job you get to hear all about the problems that New Zealanders are faced with every day. You get to hear their concerns. You get to hear their calls for help. It gives you an insight about what really matters to average Kiwis.

You hear their concerns about the health system. You hear how they worry about waiting lists, about a lack of doctors and how expensive they're becoming. You hear about a broken mental health service. Today we hear how disabled people are upset at the shortage of taxis equipped to transport them, denying them mobility and access to care and the basic nobility of life.

You hear worries about immigration and our booming population. You hear people worried that we don't have enough schools for all these new New Zealanders. You hear teachers, nurses, police, and other public servants complaining that they aren't paid enough to make the jobs worth it in our increasingly expensive country

You hear outrage about our roads (or lack of them) and congestion. You hear grumbles about the underfunded and woefully planned public transport systems. You hear about the housing crisis and the lack of shelter for the poorest of our country

But what never happens is someone phoning Newstalk ZB and saying their main concern is that they pay too much tax. That is what the government is considering right now.

Mike Hosking has written about it in today's Herald. There are two reports being worked up as we speak. One is attacking the multinationals who are not paying their fair share. Mike makes a good point when he says tackling this problem is only possible when every tax area in the world plays ball.

But the other report is investigating whether we could have personal tax cuts. Apparently we could afford $3 billion worth of cuts. So what are they thinking about? One idea is making everyone earning over $48,000 pay 26 cents in the dollar. Another idea is to make the first 13,000 for everyone tax-free. There's no suggestion of dropping the GST rate back to it's original 12.5 per cent even though that would be a relief for everyone, particularly the poor.

But if no-one is clamouring for tax cuts why are we even investigating them? Mike argues we've had a tough nine years and Kiwis have earned a tax cut. I'd argue that the thresholds need adjusting because they've ignored inflation, and with all the calls for more public resources it's not like the government is rolling in it. They've still got the biggest debt in decades and New Zealand has a chronic case of the underfunding blues when it comes to health, education, law and order, and infrastructure.

So where are you at? To cut tax or not to cut tax. That is the question.