Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Think you morons

People keep telling me, there is no work for those on the DPB anyway. Even if we wanted to reform it, where are the jobs?

I'll tell you where the jobs are. In childcare and aged care, both occupations that would allow mothers to combined their own child caring responsibilities with paid work.

Again today more evidence to back me up.

Big queues to get into preschools

Figures released yesterday by the Ministry of Education show an extra 23,026 children including 15,872 under the age of three have joined early-childhood centres in the past eight years. Two-thirds of centres have waiting lists and the wait is more than six months at almost a third (28 per cent) of those catering to children aged three and four well up from 11.9 per cent in 2002 and 17.3 per cent in 2006.

But instead of linking the two needs together we get the typical, easy-option, statist response.

The issue has reignited calls to extend paid parental leave.

No,no,no.

Think you morons. Part of the reason two parents have to work is that taxation demands to fuel the welfare state are very high. Some mothers are returning to the workforce early because somebody has to pay for those who either never entered the workforce , are returning to it very late or never.

If a start was made now on training DPB recipients to look after pre-schoolers and the elderly (whose numbers are going to explode in the coming decades) in a short time there wouldn't be worker shortages in either of these industries. With more people productive, taxation would fall. How hard can it be?

Why are we so wedded to dipping hands into taxpayer pockets to fix every perceived problem?

Or don't we want people to have to pay for their own choices?

....child psychiatrist Dr Sally Merry said society should support parents to provide the best care for their children. "We ought to be thinking very hard about ways in which we can support those who would like to stay at home and look after their children."

We did that in the seventies, created the DPB and look where it got us.

5 comments:

Lucy said...

Another sensible blog Lindsay.

Anonymous said...

People keep telling me, there is no work for those on the DPB anyway. Even if we wanted to reform it, where are the jobs?


If we wanted to reform it, why would that matter?

Sus said...

"Child 2009" conference.

Sends shivers down your spine, that.

Anonymous said...

0bserving many young mums on the DPB I suggest they would be the last people i would employ.

Dirk

Anonymous said...

I agree in principle, but dontcha need a PHD to work in a pre-school nowadays? And, to get a willing caregiver in an old-folks' home, it would help to pay them more than the dole ... human nature being what it is. hmmm