"Good social policy is not without cost. It is the price we pay for a fair society."Would you expect that to come from the Left or Right?
Surprisingly, it's from the current Revenue Minister commenting on the enormous $129 million child support reform budget blow-out.
It's ironic. The social policy that created the need for the government to legislate a child support system - essentially the DPB - is also still considered 'good' policy in some quarters.
Social policy is always well-intentioned. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Whether it is good or bad is a matter of perspective. Whether it delivers a "fair" society is also highly arguable.
A society that features 140,000 odd individuals having money removed arbitrarily, at source, to pay for estranged (or otherwise) children, many of whose upkeep total strangers pay the lion's share for, hardly sounds "fair".
There is a clear principle at work which the National government continues to operate under - this particularly member, quite willingly.
The more a government intervenes, the more it has to.
4 comments:
Meanwhile...
For the first time in New Zealand's history, home ownership has become the privilege of the wealthy, says ACT leader David Seymour.
ACT says this like it is a bad thing. On the other hand, he wants to a referendum to end national super? Tell me do you think Roger & Ruth's benefits cuts would have been accepted at referenda?
ACT needs to do the right thing: end super, end welfare, privatise health & education - without any referendum. Welfare is wrong. full stop.
NZ is addicted to government. It started slowly but surely, well-intentioned, but now irreversible.
The problem is, we know it is a problem, but too many people either don't see the problem, or see the cure as worse than the disease.
I become very apathetic about the whole thing. National is unwilling to fix it, and will be gone either at the end of this term or next, then Labour / NZ First will condemn us to more govt intervention, which National will only tinker with when they get back in.
I don't see ACT as a viable partner to a centrist govt to drag us out of the quagmire. Too hated by the media, academics and charities to be truly accepted.
I really get depressed about NZ's future for just this reason.
James,
I wanted to say something cheery by way of response ... but after reading your comment 3 times, couldn't think of what it might be.
So politics is depressing. Find pleasure in what else you can. I do.
"Good social policy is not without cost. It is the price we pay for a fair society."
There's NO SUCH THING AS SOCIETY
Choose.
Post a Comment