G I Blues

Here's an e-mail I received;

Hi Lindsay-

I know all this because I employ guys from Glen Innes, one of the HNZ ghettos in Auckland.

I employ two guys usually, my number 1 man and my number 2 man. No 1 man lives with his girlfriend and three kids in a State house. Apparently she has given up the DPB now she has a job, but she no doubt gets family assistance to boost her disposable income to something approaching mine. Not only do I pay his wages, but I also pay money back to WINZ (he doesn't live with them officially and doesn't pay his liable
parent contribution) when they catch up with him and I pay his Court Fines (otherwise the State will make me liable for those fines directly!!)

My No 2 man lives with his girlfriend who is expecting his second child (first child is with another girl who is on DPB on the other side of Auckland) They are looking forward to getting their own house as he doesn't like living with their Aunty and her son. Aunty works but son wants to be a gangsta! At 16 he does nothing. Did a day's work for me but doesn't like work.

Unfortunately no 1 man has had severe headaches over the last three weeks and is off work with high blood pressure. Aunty says it is the amount of dope he smokes, although in that case it should hit no 2 man as well! They are brother-in-laws, no 1 man living with no 2 man's half-sister and no 2 man is having baby with no 1 man's cousin.. This is normal in GI...

So I have had to fall back on no 3 man, who used to work for me. He is busy looking after some of his kids (read- 'on the DPB') while living with the mother of his three kids and occasionally has the two kids over from his other girlfriend out West Auckland. This does not give him enough time to work really, and the money is only attractive if it is cash with no tax...

I hope no 1 man recovers enough to come back to work, or he will end up like his father-in-law, who has not legally worked in 20 years, suffering from angina and a bad back. This has led to him being some 30kg overweight (or more) and now has diabetes as well. No 1 man has gout already (under 30 years old) and takes handfuls of pills for it as he munches on mussels and tomato pizza. When the pills fail under the onslaught of beers he takes a couple of days off anyway.

I'm sure if I wasn't a Libertarian I would still lose faith in the Welfare State after employing these fucking useless yobbies for over ten years!!

Unfortunately too many of the deadhead middle class don't see this as they are salaried employees in a nice white middle-class job...