His experience in both countries has convinced him that New Zealand\u2019s most logical path to wealth is to build a savings culture.<\/p>\n
And that means compulsory KiwiSaver has to happen, he says.<\/p>\n
An RNZ-Reid Research poll this week found that more than 70% of New Zealanders now support compulsory KiwiSaver.<\/p>\n
With National, NZ First and Opportunity all running with compulsion as a policy in this election, Hong is hopeful that it might finally happen.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also hopeful that the Labour Party will get on board, making the move bipartisan.<\/p>\n
Gen Z economist Leonard Hong<\/p>\n
It was Australia\u2019s Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating who introduced compulsory savings there in 1992.<\/p>\n
With more than $5 trillion under management, the Australian Super scheme is the fourth largest in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Keating did was not just about liberalisation,\u201d Hong says. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know there are people who tend to be neoclassical economists who say, \u2018Oh, this is just free markets\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Keating looked at it as a conjunction, like a macroeconomic strategy. He knew that Australia had a current account deficit problem. They had a low household income and savings problem. They had a productivity problem. They also had a demographic problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
When you look at it with a 30-year horizon, the case is compelling, Hong says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralia got so rich after that period because of this, because of the depth of the capital markets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hong acknowledges the \u201cpaternalistic\u201d adjustment that\u2019s required.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one that doesn\u2019t sit well with many free market advocates \u2013 including the Act Party.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut is the price worth it? I think it is based on what my friends are telling me, who all jump ship to Melbourne and Sydney.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hong is back in New Zealand and studying again \u2013 at Auckland University under Professor Robert MacCulloch.<\/p>\n
Despite plenty of opportunities to expand his career internationally, he is passionate about New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Hong is of Korean heritage.<\/p>\n
His family came here after the 1998 Asian financial crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel 75% Kiwi and about 25% Korean, that\u2019s sort of how I describe it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been back to Korea and says he definitely feels more at home here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the fact that we have a wellbeing approach. I\u2019m quite thankful that I\u2019m a Kiwi first and foremost.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hong says his generation is anxious about the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of them are sort of anxious as a result of AI affecting the labour market in a way that\u2019s probably unprecedented.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I also think that they tend to be quite risk-seeking. So a lot of my successful friends around the world, they\u2019re going to the United States, going to Singapore, going to Sydney, Melbourne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still see this continuous drive to sort of better thyself, which is fantastic. But at the same time I think compared to the older generation we do have it a little bit tougher.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have this multitude of demographic issues; fiscally, we have this multitude of problems in terms of asset and wealth development.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we need a new angle and we\u2019re all figuring it out as we go along. That\u2019s the sort of vibe that I get.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to the full episode<\/a> for the full conversation.<\/p>\n