So I hate people that exaggerate, I hate people that spin, I hate people that think I’m stupid and most of all I hate people who try to deceive and yesterday people were doing that all day.

The ANZ Business Outlook survey came out saying business confidence fell a further five points in August, but firms’ views of their own actions were steady. It was interesting that people believe the economy is getting worse but for them, it was business as usual. The bank’s economist said, "there are still many positives in the economic picture" and the bank isn't forecasting a painful slowdown.

"The fundamentals remain in place for ongoing growth, albeit at a more modest pace – provided we don’t talk ourselves out of it."

So now half the business world think things are going to get worse. I should hope so. After all at the National Party conference, John Key said this, “We’re at the end of what I’d say is the economic cycle at the moment. There’s no question that when I look around the world and the things I’m now involved in internationally, you can start to see the pressure in the system”. The slowdown was always coming we just didn’t know when. It was ironic this story came out on the same day the wine industry boasted it was ahead of its projection to be a $2 billion industry and a week after surprisingly high retail figures.

What I didn’t need, is all the politicians from the opposition flooding onto twitter to talk about the disaster and catastrophe of the Government’s financial management and the dark days coming. It feels like they’re prepared to talk us into a funk just because they want their job back.

Then Chris Hipkins came on to boast about the Government’s huge investment in schools, as they announced a $47 million rebuild of Otumoetai School in Tauranga. That’s been on the books for a couple of years, you know, it’s called maintenance. Same as the $4.3 billion road investment over the next three years. Phil Twyford says this is extra spending to cut the road toll. No, it’s not, it’s maintenance. Every three-year roading cycle we fix the roads and make them safer, and every three years the money goes up. Both these investments should not be politicised. All government’s do it.

The way politician’s spin and hype and exaggerate for public effect is getting worse and much of it we can all see through.

But the one that really got me was the spin, that the Government thought we would be too dumb to ever spot

Treasury yesterday admitted, that Housing New Zealand borrowed nearly $3 billion in May to fund building 6400 new state houses. This was a loophole to get around the Government’s pledge not to borrow any more.

They’re not the first to do it and they won’t be the last.

Now it’s against Treasury advice because they don’t think Housing New Zealand is the right sort of SOE to be borrowing, which kind of surprises me because Housing New Zealand actually has tangible assets to leverage against. They also say it will be more expensive, which it will be, by about $11 million a year which is neither here nor there for me.

But my feeling is that the Government was trying to trick us. No, we don’t need to borrow they say. Sorry, you are wrong.

Now, I don’t mind the government borrowing right now and nor do most economists. This borrowing moratorium is just politics. Our economy is slowing and not just because they’re threatening to tinker with labour laws. Interest rates are low and money is still cheap. It seems the perfect time to borrow to build much-needed infrastructure, to pep the economy up through a slow patch and prepare for the future.

So just do it and say it and stop treating us like we are stupid.