Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Gordon Campbell's misrepresentations

I have been commenting on Gordon Campbell's blog , once again rebutting his emotive and inaccurate claims about welfare, and welfare reforms. Here is one I haven't tackled yet:

Blaming the welfare system for the current existence of poverty is like seeing the incidence of Third World diseases in this country, and blaming it on the existence of hospitals.

I do blame the welfare system for the current level of 'poverty'. James L Payne puts it best:

Any pattern of repeated giving reinforces whatever prompted the gift … thus we arrive at a great paradox, what I call the ‘aggravation principle’ of sympathetic giving: repeated giving prompted by the misfortune of recipients tends to increase the misfortune.

Treating disease does not increase the incidence of it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh come on Lindsay

Blaming the welfare system for the current existence of poverty

It is absolutely like blaming the welfare system for the existence of poverty because the welfare system is to blame.

Simply stopping welfare - finish Ruth's job, stop all the benefits - and removing the ancillary regulations (unions, and the minimum wage) and NZ would have full employment overnight

this is basic economics 101. Anyone who disagrees with this should be treated in the same way as anyone who argues that the moon is made of green cheese.

is like seeing the incidence of Third World diseases in this country, and blaming it on the existence of hospitals.


No it's not!! Crucially it is like see in the Third World incidence of diseases in this country, and blaming it on the existence of public hospitals

Once again, if the public hospital & GP system was stopped overnight, Kiwis would actually have to care about their health, care about their families, take responsibility for themselves.

And yes, that would end NZ's Third-World status.

Again: absolutely basic ECON 101.

Hamish said...

You do know you are replying to quotes from people other than Lindsay right?