Yesterday Green co-leader Russell Norman had a conversation with Larry Williams about, amongst other things, child poverty. Norman was in favour of the universal child payment recommended by the Children's Commissioner report released earlier this week. When Larry protested that it would result in money going to families that don't need it Norman was unperturbed. His defence was that it was a simpler system to administer (so is flat tax) and would prevent those who needed it from falling through the cracks. He maintained it should be free like healthcare for all under sixes. He personally thinks its great he can take his children to the doctor free of charge. Williams again protested that Norman doesn't need to take his kids to the GP free of charge. He can afford to pay. It went on in this fashion. When Larry suggested to the co-leader that perhaps people shouldn't be having children that they can't afford to raise Norman replied, "But that's not the real world. That's an ideological position."
So common sense is now ideological. "But that's not the real world...." It's never going to be the real world either with politicians like Russell Norman blithely accepting that people do have children utterly irresponsibly - resulting in 22 percent on a benefit within the year - and demanding that the rest of society pick up the tab for their upkeep, education and health. Oh, and he's happy to clip the ticket along the way.
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5 comments:
One of my favourite quotations is from my humanist hero, Clive James: 'the Soviets thought they had free healthcare, but it ended up costing them everything they had.'
The Greens should take careful notice of that.
I'll be using tat quote in a blog over next couple of weeks about tax lecturer, Deborah Russell, who you blogged on last week.
Russell Norman is right in that people will continue to have children they cannot afford.
Debating flat tax would be a MUCH better use of MP time.
There was a woman from Porirua who was in the news recently. Both herself and her husband worked full time and had FOUR grandchildren they were taking care of. Dramatically stated in said article was that they couldn't even afford to run their fridge! AND (to really convince everyone of the plight of the cash strapped) they even lived in one of the poorest parts of Porirua where the rent was cheapest.
The whole point was that there needed to be an increase in minimum wage so that families such as these could afford to live with dignity.
I commented along the lines of the family either not receiving their full entitlement under WFF, AS, FTC etc, or they are in debt. There isn't any other possiblity.
My point is that flat tax makes it easier for people to understand the basic concept of earn more money, keep more money, live better. Our tax system although better than most is still too cumbersome. We could avoid much of the "poverty" by making things as dumbed down simple as you can get.
It was to be expected from Norma, a staunch socialist under the Luddite disguise.
Socialism - what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine.
Or let the politician simplify it for you - what's theirs is yours!
Norman is an economic illiterate, his views are not worth publishing and should be treated with disdain. The Greens are Communists who have taken on the mantle of saving the world under the Green banner purely as a cover. They are frauds of the highest degree and because of their "Green" mantle they have been able to con the gullible thinking that a vote for the Greens is a vote for the moral high ground.
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