Friday, April 04, 2014

Why does the support stop short at overseas holidays?

One aspect of this fuss over beneficiaries travelling overseas bugs me. According to the DomPost:

In a lot of cases it was family and friends paying for beneficiaries to travel for a holiday, Bennett said.

What do the family and friends think?

That it's OK for them to pay for holidays but the taxpayer can fork out for food, power, rent etc. I thought social security was supposed to be the last port of call (excuse the pun). Based on Paula Bennett's observation, there are probably a good many beneficiaires with families who could give them a great deal more practical and financial support but it's neither convenient nor comfortable to do so. Easier to leave it to the faceless collective.

3 comments:

Brendan McNeill said...

Indeed.

We have outsouced a great deal of responsibility for our families to the 'faceless collective' who now provides for them by extracting funding from our neighbours.

Is it any wonder people have transferred their 'affections' from their natural families to the paternalistic State, and now look to the 'gummint' to provide?

I'm not sure that a people who progressively vote for Government to support them in a state of permanent adolescence has any meaningful future.





twr said...

Exactly what I thought. Obviously overseas trips are more important than basic living needs.

Anonymous said...

Easier to leave it to the faceless collective.

Except that ever since super started in 1898, these are seen as rights. If NZ rewrites its constitution now, all these rights will be written in to the constitution, as they are in Germany today and other socialist countries.

The right to a hospital birth.
The right to a Plunket nurse.
The right to a free childcare.
The right to free doctor's visits.
The right to free healthcare.
The right to free kindergarten.
The right to free vaccinations.
The right to free medications.
The right to free primary education.
The right to free secondary education.
The right to effectively-free tertiary education.
The right to free housing.
The right to free food, clothing, entertainment.
The right to a job - or a benefit.
The right to free pre-natal care.
The right to free contraception.
The right to free IVF.
The right to overseas travel
The right to free retire.
The right to free superannuation.
The right to a free funeral.
The right to a free cremation.

Interesting that in a free country - there aren't any rights to anything "free" that is paid by someone else