Dasha Kovalenko on welfare

Dasha Kovalenko is number seven on the ACT list. I don't know her. Have never met her. But I thought this piece from the ACT site worth reproducing. Brings a new generations' attitude to the subject. I don't even know who Jeremy Kyle is.

Subsidising failure

Dasha Kovalenko / Blog / Economy

I’m new to politics. Until now, I never quite clicked how corrupt politics can be. I’ve learnt that most parties buy their votes. The election has become a bidding war.
Which party can use up the most of our money? Which party can make the most decisions for us? The left often reminds me of an adolescent girl with her mother’s credit card. It’s pathetic and irresponsible. With that attitude – and I don’t say this lightly – it’s no wonder we have inter-generational welfare dependency.
I’ve noticed that certain subjects make politicians uncomfortable. Race is one. Welfare is another.
I want to talk about the latter. I worked out why the left doesn’t want to touch welfare – ‘cos no one wants to be the bad guy, right?
The great Thomas Sowell once said, “Welfare is paying people to fail. Insofar as they fail they receive the money. Insofar that they succeed even to a moderate extent that money is taken away from them. We are subsidising people to fail in their own private lives, and they become reliant on hand outs.” Spot on.
It’s important to have welfare as a safety net – to help people out in their time of need, to help them get back on the horse. But the issue we have is welfare dependency. And it’s an issue that crosses generations. People choose to have children they can’t afford to bring up, both in financial and in emotional terms. These parents expect the state to take care of their children. Let’s think about these kids. What kinds of role models do they have? What kind of expectation and self-esteem do they have? Surely it can’t be a great life. Do they know discipline in work and study?  Do they have ambition to reach their potential and contribute to our community? Or do they resent others who are better off, but who are working hard to succeed because they’ve had the chance to learn how? Do these children then turn into repressed, frustrated individuals who are then likely to become criminals? These are questions we need to ask.
I am a 25-year-old woman, and sometime I would like children. I know and understand that bringing up just one child takes an enormous amount of time, money, emotion, energy and determination. I know that I only want kids at a time when I have these things sorted – because any time otherwise would be selfish. I don’t expect the state to bring up my child. I know how important it is for a young person to have strong parental role models in their lives – childhood is the peak of development, where attitudes are formed and learning techniques are developed.
What Paula Bennett has done is great. We’re moving in the right direction, but we still need strong incentives for people to leave the benefit. If you were receiving $400 a week from the government to sit on your couch and watch the Jeremy Kyle Show, and you were offered a part-time job with an after tax income of $300, would the work really be that appealling?
ACT believes reducing company tax to 20% will create more jobs with more hours of employment, encouraging beneficiaries to choose work over welfare. We understand we can’t change the way people think, but perhaps we can break the cycle of welfare dependency, and live in a country where younger generations will want to be responsible individuals, working in our society and reaching their maximum potential