Sunday, August 27, 2017

"We don’t have huge numbers sitting on welfare..."

David Farrar has a post about New Zealand's increasing workforce participation in contrast to both Australia and the US.

"We don’t have huge numbers sitting on welfare and/or out of the job market. We have lots of people in work or looking for work."

Regarding the first statement, I beg to differ.

Around one in ten of the working age population relies on a benefit. Granted that is better than during the nineties but it's historically still high. Too high:

Image result for growth in the prevalence of benefit receipt

Think about the likelihood of Judith Collins, back in 2008, campaigning against Labour,  saying "...we don't have huge numbers sitting on welfare". Yet at that time, the rate was the same as today.

One of the the first things National did after becoming government was establish the Welfare Working Group to investigate the high level of dependency.

Memories are very short at election time.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Around one in ten of the working age population relies on a benefit. "

Why stop at "working age"?
Almost all kids are on welfare-for-families.
All codgers are on welfare-for-oldies.

I'm completely unsurprised at National's failed attempt at changing any of this.
The only real welfare "reform" has always been to reduce or cancel benefit eligibility and amounts.

We could end welfare tomorrow - simply by ending welfare.