That was followed by two years of minuscule growth of 0.4 and 1 per cent.On Tuesday, Finance Minister Mike de Jong brought in a budget that hearkens back to those days, with a planned spending increase of .08 per cent this year and an average of 1.5 per cent over three years.What’s extraordinary about the budget is that it has fiscal aspirations that are almost as extreme as those in the early Campbell years, but without any sense of the changes that are going to be needed to achieve that result.The finance minister talked about restraint, living within our means and a balanced budget. But the numbers he produced don’t imply just treading water and not taking on any new commitments.The numbers imply a steady erosion of the size of government and an inevitable reduction in services, including in health care and education.That is because the increases in funding are not enough to cover the anticipated increases in costs that will come with inflation and population growth.The cost of closing the gap is about $140 million, which the Government has indicated is unlikely to be found. Unions are pointing to Ryman Healthcare’s recent $84 million profit as one potential source of funds, although its Managing Director Simon Challies says that the profit comes mostly from retirement villages rather than rest homes see Michelle Robsinon’s Ryman profit fuels row on aged care pay.