Now the Greens want subsidised power for "families on tight budgets".
Questions;
How will the "basic block of power units at low cost" going to each household be decided? On occupants, number of rooms or house size?
If the allocation is uniform across households, those who will be most advantaged are the elderly, who already have the highest living standards amongst low income people while the least advantaged will be large and young families with low incomes and high outgoings. Is this the aim of such a scheme?
Won't high users of power like hospitals, schools and supermarkets etc end up paying more to subsidise "families on tight budgets", thereby pushing up other costs to consumers, including "families on tight budgets"?
Is this just another way for the Greens to punish business owners, those loathsome capitalists?
And, not that I agree with the scheme, but wasn't Working for Families about extra help for "families on tight budgets"?
When will the Greens learn that subsidy schemes create incentives, distortions and abuse,are a nightmare to administer and police, are inherently unfair and serve no useful purpose?
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4 comments:
And what about all the blocking of new power schemes and dams the Greens and their fellow travellers have done over the years that has lead to prices rises because no new generation is possible?
We know these luddites are determined to send NZ back to the Stone Age by blocking the path of progress.
The problem is: how can 5 to 8 % of the population be so gullible to believe in these motley bunch of lunatics?
Mind boggling, really.
Another instance of the loony Greens in action is their violent objection to the introduction of a GE experiment at Lincoln, designed to alter a new strain of cauliflower to resist pests and grubs. And yet they trumpet the "organic" farming method which tries to deal with the very same pest problem by "natural methods" [including the use of human waste!]
It's not such a terrible idea actually but would be very hard to administer given the mix of private/soe energy companies.
I think the crux of this debate is how to make sure people can afford a basic need like power.
Many people in NZ struggle to make ends meet and are often behind on the power bills because they are hard to go without. As a debt counselor i see this with nearly every client.
I haven't had one client disconnected though because the amounts are never more than a few hundred dollars. I always advise them to keep regular contact with their provider and let them know they are doing their best.
I'm not sure whether Mercury did anything wrong but cutting someone off for the amount they did was pretty poor business practice.
So whilst the Greens proposal may be hard to deliver we should not shy away from the main issue.
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