As a 'welfare commentator' I suppose I should have something to say about the alleged Mongrel Mob's misuse of whanau ora funding. But it is hard to get even mildly warm under the collar about it, not least because it is Winston Peters poking the stick.
When you line it up against all the other tax money gangs absorb, the DPB that finances their women and children, the $100,000 annual upkeep when inside, the law and order funds for policing and processing them, etc. $20,000 is small beer. Within or without the rules, it's all the same to me.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Two snippets
Two snippets noticed today:
Stories of children scavenging through pig slops and downing entire bottles of antibiotics out of hunger are an "embarrassment to the country" says a Kaitaia GP.
Doctor Lance O'Sullivan said he had been doing what he could to fight the effects of child-poverty in his region but it sometimes felt like an uphill battle.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Strange report
The latest report about a Russian aircraft 'test-flight' that ended in tragedy is odd:
Aviation expresses altitude in feet. And permission to 'descend' is requested; not 'decline'.
Probably just journalistic bumbling.
Twenty-one minutes after takeoff, the crew asked for permission to decline from 3000 metres to 1800 metres, said Daryatmo.
Aviation expresses altitude in feet. And permission to 'descend' is requested; not 'decline'.
Probably just journalistic bumbling.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Sallies interfering again
The Salvation Army gets up my nose and they may as well stop sending me begging letters because they are off my list of worthy causes. I abhor their stance on welfare and now I can add their lobbying on alcohol reform to my reasons for disaffection:
I would gladly fund their practical work but cannot separate it from their ignorant and annoying advocacy.
The Salvation Army recommends the Government immediately increase excise on alcohol by 25 per cent. This would have little effect on moderate drinkers but would reduce alcohol consumption by teenagers and heavy drinkers – the most price-sensitive consumers – by as much as 10 per cent.Stop promoting punishment of the responsible for the actions of the irresponsible, not to mention the economic damage threatened to the many industries associated with alcohol production and sale. I'm sick of it.
I would gladly fund their practical work but cannot separate it from their ignorant and annoying advocacy.
Depressing picture
What a (largely) depressing picture Alistair Bone paints of young people in Huntly. I am copying it in its entirety to keep on the record. Think about it next time you read or hear some do-gooder saying there is no evidence that females have kids to get on the DPB. Go into the right neighbourhood and homes (like I have and this writer has) and you will see it for yourself. I just hope that Paula Bennett is choosing the people who are going to be in charge of changing this mindset, culture, whatever you want to call it, very carefully. (Hat-tip Clint Heine and Friends)
'Cracking it' on welfare in Huntly
Mike Watane had plans and savings when he was a kid. He wanted to go around the world.
"There were places I had planned in my head. I saw the Gold Coast on TV and thought that was a lot better than Rainbows End had to offer". Then the unexpected happened.
"I saw her stomach getting bigger and bigger and thought 'aw yeah, I'm trapped now'. That was pretty much my money gone, getting her stretchy waist clothes."
He was 21 and she was 22.
He's still with his girlfriend. Baby is three. He's just come off a welding course and goes down to Hamilton every couple of days looking for something.
There's been no luck yet, so he's on his bike, literally, and talking to mate Poro Kingi on a street in Huntly West.
On paper it's a terrible place. Dead bottom and 10 out of 10 on the deprivation scale, worse than Meremere, worse than Ngaruawahia, worse even than living across the river in Huntly East.
It's hard to find actually abandoned houses in New Zealand, but there's heaps here, their windows boarded with graffitied plywood.
The rail line runs straight through Huntly West and the twin towers of the power station don't go anywhere. There are so many gangs locals need more than a hand to count them off and subset them into senior and junior.
Kingi's hefting baby Cali on his shoulder.
He and his partner are struggling, but Cali was planned and wanted. He says a lot around here are not even 18 when they have their first. He's lived here all his life and can't think of a time when that's not been true.
They like the Government's new plan. Watane thinks long-term contraception would help the younger generation, make it a place where you just see girlfriends and boyfriends together and not with a kid in tow.
The heat of the moment can do funny things to your plans, he says.
Down the road a bit and Te Aroha Kirkwood and Shanelle Herewini hear that.
"You tell them to wrap it, but sometimes they don't listen or they are too drunk." Te Aroha giggles, she's on a benefit, 19 years old, eight months gone.
Shanelle says she wouldn't take the contraceptive, even free – "put the money in the bucket".
Get the kid and take the money. She's laughing, maybe playing up. But Te Aroha whispers, just about to herself, "I would like to have that."
The Police Ten Seven crew were at the dairy earlier. Someone knocked it over looking for smokes, the girls say. Three young guys turn up on bikes. They're intense, they give names, probably not real.
Walter is 16, his girlfriend is 17 and pregnant. He doesn't have a job, just a mystery magic formula.
"Money is all around me. Why do I need a job when money just gets given to me?"
Despite that, he's going to hold off. He'll see how "hard case" the first one turns out before getting another.
Most of the girls won't go for the Government offer, he reckons. They want babies.
"I heard you crack it on the benefit if you have babies." he says.
One of his lieutenants has a different take. He learns the Government doesn't actually want to pay people on a benefit to have babies.
"They should move that thing – the minimum wage, yeah – up from $13.50 and they might get a job. Even if they moved it to $15, that would make a big difference," he says.
Farther down the same street lives Fay Love. She's been bowled by a purse snatcher, but still takes a stick to the hoods in her yard.
The voluntary contraception offered to the teen girls of beneficiaries is never going to work: "Half the parents round here are going to say 'it's my child, they can do what they like'."
As she talks, more and more women appear on her steps. They agree. Take their benefit away or it's a joke.
Abby Martens flats with Desiree Maddern. They're both on the benefit. Desiree was pregnant five times before she was 20, twice by accident. She works with the cops in the Blue Light programme, trying to put kids back on track. She's dead against it being compulsory.
She poses a question. "Are girls just having babies for the money, or because they want a baby, or to keep a guy?"
At 19, Abby would be the bullseye for the programme. But she wouldn't do it. She doesn't believe in unnatural contraception; her parents were very into homeopathy.
She's brave, honest. When she's with a partner, she uses a condom she says, but sometimes ...
'Cracking it' on welfare in Huntly
Mike Watane had plans and savings when he was a kid. He wanted to go around the world.
"There were places I had planned in my head. I saw the Gold Coast on TV and thought that was a lot better than Rainbows End had to offer". Then the unexpected happened.
"I saw her stomach getting bigger and bigger and thought 'aw yeah, I'm trapped now'. That was pretty much my money gone, getting her stretchy waist clothes."
He was 21 and she was 22.
He's still with his girlfriend. Baby is three. He's just come off a welding course and goes down to Hamilton every couple of days looking for something.
There's been no luck yet, so he's on his bike, literally, and talking to mate Poro Kingi on a street in Huntly West.
On paper it's a terrible place. Dead bottom and 10 out of 10 on the deprivation scale, worse than Meremere, worse than Ngaruawahia, worse even than living across the river in Huntly East.
It's hard to find actually abandoned houses in New Zealand, but there's heaps here, their windows boarded with graffitied plywood.
The rail line runs straight through Huntly West and the twin towers of the power station don't go anywhere. There are so many gangs locals need more than a hand to count them off and subset them into senior and junior.
Kingi's hefting baby Cali on his shoulder.
He and his partner are struggling, but Cali was planned and wanted. He says a lot around here are not even 18 when they have their first. He's lived here all his life and can't think of a time when that's not been true.
They like the Government's new plan. Watane thinks long-term contraception would help the younger generation, make it a place where you just see girlfriends and boyfriends together and not with a kid in tow.
The heat of the moment can do funny things to your plans, he says.
Down the road a bit and Te Aroha Kirkwood and Shanelle Herewini hear that.
"You tell them to wrap it, but sometimes they don't listen or they are too drunk." Te Aroha giggles, she's on a benefit, 19 years old, eight months gone.
Shanelle says she wouldn't take the contraceptive, even free – "put the money in the bucket".
Get the kid and take the money. She's laughing, maybe playing up. But Te Aroha whispers, just about to herself, "I would like to have that."
The Police Ten Seven crew were at the dairy earlier. Someone knocked it over looking for smokes, the girls say. Three young guys turn up on bikes. They're intense, they give names, probably not real.
Walter is 16, his girlfriend is 17 and pregnant. He doesn't have a job, just a mystery magic formula.
"Money is all around me. Why do I need a job when money just gets given to me?"
Despite that, he's going to hold off. He'll see how "hard case" the first one turns out before getting another.
Most of the girls won't go for the Government offer, he reckons. They want babies.
"I heard you crack it on the benefit if you have babies." he says.
One of his lieutenants has a different take. He learns the Government doesn't actually want to pay people on a benefit to have babies.
"They should move that thing – the minimum wage, yeah – up from $13.50 and they might get a job. Even if they moved it to $15, that would make a big difference," he says.
Farther down the same street lives Fay Love. She's been bowled by a purse snatcher, but still takes a stick to the hoods in her yard.
The voluntary contraception offered to the teen girls of beneficiaries is never going to work: "Half the parents round here are going to say 'it's my child, they can do what they like'."
As she talks, more and more women appear on her steps. They agree. Take their benefit away or it's a joke.
Abby Martens flats with Desiree Maddern. They're both on the benefit. Desiree was pregnant five times before she was 20, twice by accident. She works with the cops in the Blue Light programme, trying to put kids back on track. She's dead against it being compulsory.
She poses a question. "Are girls just having babies for the money, or because they want a baby, or to keep a guy?"
At 19, Abby would be the bullseye for the programme. But she wouldn't do it. She doesn't believe in unnatural contraception; her parents were very into homeopathy.
She's brave, honest. When she's with a partner, she uses a condom she says, but sometimes ...
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
82% say "YES"
A Campbell Live poll just announced the following result:
"Is it a good idea for beneficiaries to be given free long-acting contraceptives?"
YES - 82 percent
Paula Bennett was more genuine and convincing than Meteria Turei who was undone by opposing for the sake of it.
"Is it a good idea for beneficiaries to be given free long-acting contraceptives?"
YES - 82 percent
Paula Bennett was more genuine and convincing than Meteria Turei who was undone by opposing for the sake of it.
"...state should not play a role in women's reproductive lives"?
Sue Bradford says, about the just-announced extra funding for long-term contraception for beneficiaries and their teenage daughters, "There are many in the church and community groups who believe that the
state should not play a role in women's reproductive lives."
So the state should discontinue current funding of contraception, family planning services, abortion, tubal ligations, maternity services, Paid Parental Leave, Plunket, fertility treatments, etc ? Is that really what Bradford is saying? It is a highly troublesome argument for her to advance.
In fact it is one you would be more likely to hear from me. Yet she is against this subsidy and I am for it. My reasoning?
I will go along with the latest funding because it is an attempt to reduce the social and economic cost that generally follows the birth of a child onto a benefit.
So the state should discontinue current funding of contraception, family planning services, abortion, tubal ligations, maternity services, Paid Parental Leave, Plunket, fertility treatments, etc ? Is that really what Bradford is saying? It is a highly troublesome argument for her to advance.
In fact it is one you would be more likely to hear from me. Yet she is against this subsidy and I am for it. My reasoning?
I will go along with the latest funding because it is an attempt to reduce the social and economic cost that generally follows the birth of a child onto a benefit.
Monday, May 07, 2012
Why I get put in the right-wing box
Published in last Friday's Truth:
Describing political beliefs as 'left' or 'right' is convenient but problematic. An old friend recently asked, "When did you become a right-winger?" I didn't, I replied. A right-winger is conservative on social issues like alcohol laws, gay marriage and voluntary euthanasia. I'm not, because I believe in individual choice and freedom. From very young the maxim 'live and let live' resonated for me. So when government tells me what I can and can't do, I chafe.
Local government is, in some respects, a worse offender than central, with vast powers to dictate what can and can't be done with private property. To demolish my garage and build a new one, I am told I have to push it back; or turn it adjacent to the street; have a roller-door rather than an angle-opening one despite there being no footpath outside. The process drags on and to rub salt into the wound, my rates fund those putting unfathomable obstacles in my way.
Central government is a less obvious but more pervasive force with the power to take my property (compulsory taxes) to use in ways not just wasteful, but actively destructive. Paying people to have babies is a good example. Children produced as meal-tickets are highly vulnerable.
When government robs Peter to pay Paul, it limits Peter's choices to promote Paul's. Peter has no say in the matter except perhaps once every three years, but even then, there isn't a lot to differentiate National and Labour, both big spenders.
What I want from a government is less benefit spending, less productivity-stifling regulation, less corporate and middle-class welfare and lower, flatter taxes. And that's why I get put in the right-wing box.
Describing political beliefs as 'left' or 'right' is convenient but problematic. An old friend recently asked, "When did you become a right-winger?" I didn't, I replied. A right-winger is conservative on social issues like alcohol laws, gay marriage and voluntary euthanasia. I'm not, because I believe in individual choice and freedom. From very young the maxim 'live and let live' resonated for me. So when government tells me what I can and can't do, I chafe.
Local government is, in some respects, a worse offender than central, with vast powers to dictate what can and can't be done with private property. To demolish my garage and build a new one, I am told I have to push it back; or turn it adjacent to the street; have a roller-door rather than an angle-opening one despite there being no footpath outside. The process drags on and to rub salt into the wound, my rates fund those putting unfathomable obstacles in my way.
Central government is a less obvious but more pervasive force with the power to take my property (compulsory taxes) to use in ways not just wasteful, but actively destructive. Paying people to have babies is a good example. Children produced as meal-tickets are highly vulnerable.
When government robs Peter to pay Paul, it limits Peter's choices to promote Paul's. Peter has no say in the matter except perhaps once every three years, but even then, there isn't a lot to differentiate National and Labour, both big spenders.
What I want from a government is less benefit spending, less productivity-stifling regulation, less corporate and middle-class welfare and lower, flatter taxes. And that's why I get put in the right-wing box.
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Roger Kerr's successor
The NZ Business Roundtable has merged with the NZ Institute to form what is now called The NZ Initiative.
The new head of this group is Oliver Hartwich. Here are some excerpts from an interview on The Nation.
More.
Some good stuff.
The new head of this group is Oliver Hartwich. Here are some excerpts from an interview on The Nation.
Rachel When our next guest left the UK to take up a new job in Australia, then Conservative MP David Cameron remarked, the sooner he gets on the ship the better. Economist Dr Oliver Hartwich has critics and fans who've closely watched his work at Britain's leading think tank, the Policy Exchange, and more recently at the Centre of Independent Studies in Sydney. He's now in New Zealand to head up the New Zealand Initiative, a merger of the Business Round Table and the New Zealand Institute. And after his first week on the job he joins us now in the studio. Welcome to the programme Dr Hartwich. It's quite an interesting merger, two very different beasts. Why do you think they’ve brought you in, is it because for example you may have a blank slate when it comes to New Zealand?
Oliver Hartwich – New Zealand Initiative Executive Director
I think they were looking for someone with a sense of humour so they couldn’t go past a German of course. But seriously the organisation, I mean it's built on the legacy of two existing organisations, the Business Round Table and the New Zealand Institute, but the idea was really to form a new initiative, and that’s why it's called the New Zealand Initiative, and it's built to really promote policies that promote good policies for all New Zealand, for all New Zealanders. We're basically showing the same visions whether we're standing on the left or on the right, it doesn’t really matter too much, we all believe in sound economic management. Nobody wants to see high inflation, no one wants to see high unemployment. We basically believe in the same things, and we're trying to actually promote policies that work for the whole of the country...
I think the whole political spectrum is basically converging towards the centre, it's not just a thing that you will see on the right, you actually see it on the left as well. I think we have seen quite a bit of a conversion in the last 20 years globally. So you’ve got the traditional left wing parties moving closer to the centre, traditional right wing parties moving closer to the centre, because in the end they're driven often by opinion polls, by focus groups, by short termism, and they're really trying to just grab the issues of the day and politics I think has become much less ideological after the end of the Cold War, and I think that’s probably seen in many countries around the world including of course most European countries..
I'm an old Liberal, I'm not a Neoliberal, I really believe in individual freedom, I believe in policies that work, I believe in empirical research driving policy making.
....Maybe we should see a first light return of ideology in political debates anywhere, because what I actually miss from political debates is some clear divisions. We have this convergence to what is centre. What's really missing are debates, real passionate debates really based on principles not just on opinion polls, not just based on some focus group polling. I think the times when we actually had debates between people who believed in a more planned economy and other people who believed in a more free economy, I think that they're quite healthy for democracy. When democracies converge on the centre ground, political debates become quite stale, they become personality driven. I would actually like to have real debates upon policy."
More.
Some good stuff.
Big discrepancy in reported funeral grant figures
According to Stuff "Department of Work and Income statistics show in the 12 months to the
end of March, 5473 funeral grants were made, totalling $9.8 million.....In 2011, Work and Income issued 5412 grants totalling $9.3m, and in 2010, 5562 grants cost $9.3m.
"
Check out this MSD table which shows that in the financial year 2009/10 only 26 funeral grants were made.
I have searched 'funeral' in the latest MSD Statistical report and no other results are found.
I am intrigued because the Stuff figure sounds far more plausible.
What this highlights is the difference between statistical information gained under the OIA (where I think it was sourced) and what is in the public domain.
Check out this MSD table which shows that in the financial year 2009/10 only 26 funeral grants were made.
I have searched 'funeral' in the latest MSD Statistical report and no other results are found.
I am intrigued because the Stuff figure sounds far more plausible.
What this highlights is the difference between statistical information gained under the OIA (where I think it was sourced) and what is in the public domain.
Saturday, May 05, 2012
Clash of cultures
This is an odd story described as "an ugly encounter with aggression, racism and abuse". All it really highlights are cultural differences between Germans and Kiwis. Germans are very rules-bound and quite obedient. I discovered that after a few visits there, both working and for leisure.
The story goes, after a collision at a roundabout "We said, 'OK, we want to leave everything like this until the cops come," Ms Kirn said. "In Germany, what we learn is if you have a car accident just leave everything like it is."
I can appreciate the consternation and frustration these two women caused by refusing to move their vehicle which was presumably holding up other traffic. Imagine for a moment if I behaved the same way. I'd get called a stupid woman doubtless. Then I could run to the papers about misogyny being rife in NZ?
Or imagine if I was in Germany, caused a collision at a roundabout and proceeded to drive my car into a position where it was no longer impeding the flow of traffic. The Germans would get very angry with me for interfering with the 'crime' scene most probably. And they would phlegmatically bar me. I've encountered this sort of unbending slavery to unreasonable rules first-hand. And it isn't pleasant.
Now, I am sure all Germans are not like that. And neither are all Kiwis aggressive, abusive, racists .
"I felt I never want to come back to NZ. It's very nice nature but we didn't know people were racist."
Get it into perspective. An unfortunate accident and ensuing misunderstanding which brought out the worst in some individuals.
The story goes, after a collision at a roundabout "We said, 'OK, we want to leave everything like this until the cops come," Ms Kirn said. "In Germany, what we learn is if you have a car accident just leave everything like it is."
I can appreciate the consternation and frustration these two women caused by refusing to move their vehicle which was presumably holding up other traffic. Imagine for a moment if I behaved the same way. I'd get called a stupid woman doubtless. Then I could run to the papers about misogyny being rife in NZ?
Or imagine if I was in Germany, caused a collision at a roundabout and proceeded to drive my car into a position where it was no longer impeding the flow of traffic. The Germans would get very angry with me for interfering with the 'crime' scene most probably. And they would phlegmatically bar me. I've encountered this sort of unbending slavery to unreasonable rules first-hand. And it isn't pleasant.
Now, I am sure all Germans are not like that. And neither are all Kiwis aggressive, abusive, racists .
"I felt I never want to come back to NZ. It's very nice nature but we didn't know people were racist."
Get it into perspective. An unfortunate accident and ensuing misunderstanding which brought out the worst in some individuals.
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Work-testing the DPB having effect?
The following are the quarterly 'all employed' percentages for households with 'One parent with dependent child(ren) only' (first row) and 'One parent with dependent and adult children' (second row). They span each quarter since March 2010 ending with March 2012.
Work-testing the DPB for care-givers with children aged 6 or older started in September 2010.
The sole parent employment rates are picking up.
But the overall unemployment rate is up. Which group is reducing their employment?
When I find time I will graph these interesting developments.
Work-testing the DPB for care-givers with children aged 6 or older started in September 2010.
The sole parent employment rates are picking up.
| 51.6 | 51.4 | 50.0 | 48.3 | 51.4 | 52.0 | 53.1 | 53.8 | 54.5 | ||||||||
| 34.4 | 34.2 | 32.8 | 34.6 | 38.6 | 27.8 | 29.9 | 37.6 | 39.2 |
But the overall unemployment rate is up. Which group is reducing their employment?
| Couple with one dependent child (first row) |
| Couple with two dependent children (second row) |
| 66.5 | 66.2 | 67.8 | 68.3 | 66.1 | 67.6 | 67.6 | 69.4 | 64.9 | ||||||||
| 65.3 | 67.0 | 67.7 | 66.1 | 65.8 | 64.8 | 65.2 | 67.9 | 66.8 |
When I find time I will graph these interesting developments.
The law of unintended consequences
A fine example of the law of unintended consequences has recently come to my notice.
Where I live the council recently erected pooh-bag dispensers. These bags are easier to use than plastic shopping bags, which often have holes and are bulkier in the pocket, so people are making use of them and not carrying their own bags. BUT the dispensers keep running out. Result - less dog pooh is picked up. The consequence of the policy is the exact opposite of its intent - more dog pooh.
I have reverted to carrying my own bags but can imagine some people now blaming their failure to pick up after their dog on the council for not ensuring the dispensers are full at all times!
Moral of the story. The more you do for people, the less they will do for themselves. The more responsibility you assume for them, the less they will assume for themselves.
(I was reminded of this by a story on 3 News this morning about a set-up whereby people can exchange dog pooh for free wifi. Great incentive to get people busy collecting as much of it as they can find.)
Where I live the council recently erected pooh-bag dispensers. These bags are easier to use than plastic shopping bags, which often have holes and are bulkier in the pocket, so people are making use of them and not carrying their own bags. BUT the dispensers keep running out. Result - less dog pooh is picked up. The consequence of the policy is the exact opposite of its intent - more dog pooh.
I have reverted to carrying my own bags but can imagine some people now blaming their failure to pick up after their dog on the council for not ensuring the dispensers are full at all times!
Moral of the story. The more you do for people, the less they will do for themselves. The more responsibility you assume for them, the less they will assume for themselves.
(I was reminded of this by a story on 3 News this morning about a set-up whereby people can exchange dog pooh for free wifi. Great incentive to get people busy collecting as much of it as they can find.)
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Writing for the Truth
The Truth is re-launching and I will be providing a brief weekly column to put a different perspective from Bomber Bradbury's views from the 'left' regarding matters of the moment. My introductory column explains why I get put in the 'right' corner even though I am not a conservative. I will link to the columns post-publication.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
ACT can't go any lower
Kiwiblog has a breakdown of the latest Herald Digipoll.
As an ACT voter at the last election I still take an interest in its fortunes.
Now on 0.0%
Even ACT's social conservatives have defected.
As an ACT voter at the last election I still take an interest in its fortunes.
Now on 0.0%
Even ACT's social conservatives have defected.
Eighties reforms recalled
I was out of New Zealand from 1985 (with a brief period of return) to 1991 and missed the following. As apolitical as I was in my 20s the extent of the reforms probably wouldn't have permeated my consciousness even if I had been here. Perusing old issues of the Social Policy Journal I came across this description of them. I hadn't previously appreciated their scope. For your interest:
Since 1984, social and economic reform has occurred at a pace which has no precedent since 1935, when the first Labour Government came to power.Some of the most notable reforms (not presented in strict chronological order) are:• the floating of the foreign exchange rate;• the transformation of state trading departments into State Owned Enterprises and the subsequent privatisation of some of them;• the flattening of the income tax scale and the elimination of many exemptions;• the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax;• elimination of most import restrictions;• the changes in Māori affairs policy, reflected in the replacement of the Department of Māori Affairs by Manatu Māori and the Iwi Transition Agency, and the subsequent replacement of those agencies with Te Puni Kōkiri;• legislatively mandated changes to the structure of local and regional government;• extensive changes to the child protection and juvenile justice systems brought about through the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act;• changes in the structure of government funded health services (including the creation of a funder/provider separation through the replacement of Health Boards with the Regional Health Authority / Crown Health Enterprise structure);• extensive changes in the operation of the labour market, brought about through the Employment Contracts Act;• extensive changes to the mode of operation of state agencies as a consequence of the State Sector Act and the Public Finance Act;• changes within both the health and welfare sectors directed towards "deinstitutionalisation" of services;• the incorporation of traffic enforcement within the police, brought about through the amalgamation of the Transport and Police Departments;• numerous job creation and work training schemes (ACCESS, MACCESS, Taskforce Green, TOPS, etc);• the introduction of the National Superannuation tax surcharge, and the subsequent tightening of the surcharge;• the introduction of the Guaranteed Minimum Family Income for families supported by a full-time earner;• the introduction of some data sharing between the Inland Revenue Department and the Department of Social Welfare;• extensive changes to the child support system, including transfer of its administration from the Department of Social Welfare to the Department of Inland Revenue:• the abolition of Family Benefit and the introduction of Family Support;• the reduction (announced in December 1990 and implemented from April 1991) of most social security benefit rates, and the introduction of a modified system of supplementary assistance (in the form of Special Needs Grants, Special Benefit, and the Accommodation Supplement);• the increase in the qualifying age for National Superannuation;• the introduction of new health charges, with the introduction of the Community Services Card as a mechanism for income testing previously untested health subsidies;• the increase of the school minimum leaving age from 15 to 16 years;• the rise in age for eligibility for unemployment benefit from 16 to 18 years;• rises in tertiary education fees;• the application of parental income testing to student allowances;• the introduction of repayable student loans;• the contracting of some state agency functions (e.g. DSW debt recovery) to the private sector;• the withdrawal by the state from the provision of subsidised rental housing and the introduction of the income tested Accommodation Supplement; and• the reduction of the state child care subsidy for persons who are not in paid work.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
I really don't care if people don't vote
During the week a voter survey was getting publicity. Reasons why voter turnout was so low in 2011 were canvassed.
Politically mindless.
Seemed to me that it was easier than ever before to place an early vote at a convenient time. Lazy.
Putting aside the obvious typo in that sentence, I don't particularly trust politicians either but I have a go at figuring out who I distrust least. I don't particularly trust real estate agents and cops but I am sure there are good ones. Unable to discern.
Fatalistic.
And that's legitimate if not somewhat ostrich-like.
But why agonise over getting people like the above to tick a box, possibly cancelling out a vote made with a high degree of information and motivation?
"41% of non-voters put just a little thought into whether or not to vote, and 29% didn’t think about it at all."
Politically mindless.
" The main overall reasons for not voting were that they had other commitments (14%) or work commitments (9%)"
Seemed to me that it was easier than ever before to place an early vote at a convenient time. Lazy.
"33% of all non-voters agreed ‘I don’t trust politicians’ was an important factor (4 or 5 out of 5) on their not voting."
Putting aside the obvious typo in that sentence, I don't particularly trust politicians either but I have a go at figuring out who I distrust least. I don't particularly trust real estate agents and cops but I am sure there are good ones. Unable to discern.
"Other important factors were ‘it was obvious who would win so why bother’ (31%)...."
Fatalistic.
"....and I’m just not interested in politics (29%)."
And that's legitimate if not somewhat ostrich-like.
But why agonise over getting people like the above to tick a box, possibly cancelling out a vote made with a high degree of information and motivation?
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Boy's fun
So what political 'scandals' do we have running at the moment?
The eating-itself-Labour Party, the SkyCity silliness, and the Banks abuse-of-anonymous-allegations. If they were movies and you were booking seats, which would you rather go to?
I'd flag them all in favour of Titanic in 3D, something I have sworn black and blue to avoid.
But what is noticeable as you read the news reports, the blogs, listen to the commentators (which seem lately to have exploded like a rabbit population), and watch the telly, is the domination of the male.
These wrangles are tawdry substitutes for a real contest; a dignified and meaningful expenditure of testosterone for a worthy cause.
Mallard, Banks, Joyce, Trotter, Shearer, Edwards, Whale Oil, Farrar, DotCom, Roberts, Brown, Campbell, Garner, Gower and other lesser known players. All men.
(No, you aren't at the Hand Mirror).
I make this generalisation. Women involve themselves more in policy matters, in advocacy and practical coalface stuff. For this I respect them.
The trouble is, they are nearly all socialists. Even those characterised as on the 'right' are not particularly radical and at best will broadly maintain the status quo.
So while the afore-mentioned dramas play out, behind-the-scenes legislative matters, those that will really affect lives, form the more important battles.
(And note that Jacinda Ardern has kept a very low profile media-wise. Politically smart if not policy clever).
The eating-itself-Labour Party, the SkyCity silliness, and the Banks abuse-of-anonymous-allegations. If they were movies and you were booking seats, which would you rather go to?
I'd flag them all in favour of Titanic in 3D, something I have sworn black and blue to avoid.
But what is noticeable as you read the news reports, the blogs, listen to the commentators (which seem lately to have exploded like a rabbit population), and watch the telly, is the domination of the male.
These wrangles are tawdry substitutes for a real contest; a dignified and meaningful expenditure of testosterone for a worthy cause.
Mallard, Banks, Joyce, Trotter, Shearer, Edwards, Whale Oil, Farrar, DotCom, Roberts, Brown, Campbell, Garner, Gower and other lesser known players. All men.
(No, you aren't at the Hand Mirror).
I make this generalisation. Women involve themselves more in policy matters, in advocacy and practical coalface stuff. For this I respect them.
The trouble is, they are nearly all socialists. Even those characterised as on the 'right' are not particularly radical and at best will broadly maintain the status quo.
So while the afore-mentioned dramas play out, behind-the-scenes legislative matters, those that will really affect lives, form the more important battles.
(And note that Jacinda Ardern has kept a very low profile media-wise. Politically smart if not policy clever).
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Quote of the day
Socialized
medicine includes government care of the sick and support for the
family as well. If this support amounts to approximately the same as the
man can earn from his own daily labor, he is tempted to be sick
continuously.
More than 5 Million Join Disability Rolls under Obama Administration A record 5.4 million workers and their dependents have signed up to collect federal disability checks since President Obama took office, according to the latest official government data, as discouraged workers increasingly give up looking for jobs and take advantage of the federal program, says Investor's Business Daily.
Since the recession ended in June 2009, the number of new enrollees to Social Security's disability insurance program is twice the job growth figure. In just the first four months of this year, 539,000 joined the disability rolls and more than 725,000 put in applications. As a result, by April there were a total of 10.8 million people on disability, according to Social Security Administration data released last week. Even after accounting for all those who have left the program -- about 700,000 drop out each year, mainly because they hit retirement age or died -- that's up 53 percent from a decade ago.
To be sure, disability rolls have grown steadily as a share of the workforce since the 1990s.
The main causes of this broader trend, according to economists David Autor and Mark Duggan, are the loosening of eligibility rules by Congress in 1984, the rise in disability benefits relative to wages, and the fact that more women have entered the workforce, making them eligible for disability. But the big factor in the recent surge is the slow pace of the economic recovery after the severe recession. That has kept the unemployment rate above 8 percent and created an enormous pool of long-term unemployed and discouraged workers. Few people who get on disability will ever participate in the labor force again.
What's more, the explosive growth in enrollment is not only increasing the financial strain on the Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund -- which is scheduled to go bankrupt in 2018 -- it's boosting costs for Medicare as well, since enrollees can qualify for Medicare after two years. Reform ideas so far have spurred little action. But with the program's bankruptcy looming just a few years off, and with the economy showing no signs of producing a surge in jobs, that indifference to reform may soon have to change.
Source: John Merline, "5.4 Million Join Disability Rolls under Obama," Investor's Business Daily, April 20, 2012.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
ACT conference - a cursory comment
Unplanned, for a while today I listened to live streaming from the ACT Party conference. The unexpected opportunity presented and it was convenient (just finished mowing the lawns and cleaning the car, and was checking e-mail). My interest was initially desultory. However, I've never attended a Richard Prebble speech that didn't engage. And that's where I joined in, minutes before he was introduced. Prebble quoted a scale of measures necessary for freedom eg competition, and tested them against recent major speeches by main party leaders Key and Shearer. Did those measures rate a mention? Key just did better, but Prebble said his could easily have been a Labour leader's speech. He referred to Key's claim that National was continuing to increase productivity and growth (gets a tick for mentioning 'productivity' - one of the prerequisites for freedom) but said it would have been more convincing if Key hadn't used the word 'continuing'. When did they start asked Prebble?
And then he made amusing comparisons between various historic big name leaders who wanted NZ to be like another country ( as per Shearer and Finland). For Norm Kirk it was for NZ to be the Switzerland of the Pacific. (My comment - not forgetting that ACT has cited Ireland and Singapore enviously in past times). Or the many versions of a 'smart' economy promoted over the years culminating in Clark's 'knowledge' economy which had Prebble envisaging the "E = M whatever it was......" floating over the country. Notably Prebble did describe Key as possibly the "most talented politician" he has witnessed.
But when it came to Banks, I gradually lost interest. Nothing new was canvassed (although to be fair, the content might be new for him). What he said about his adopted children and the merits of "unconditional love" was winning. That came early and warmed for whatever followed . But he failed to move beyond the usual ACT travail of slumping economic relativity (in fairness he may have later but I'd switched off.)
Thinking about Jim Anderton and Peter Dunne, no party yet has rebuilt from one, although Winston Peters overcame even worse odds. I am not going to make a prediction about whether or not ACT can. Prebble talked about a book which had tested 80,000 (that sounds high? May be misheard) political 'expert' predictions which found that in the main, tossing a coin would have been more accurate. And I don't wish ACT ill.
My husband wasn't hanging on Banks' every word and wondering why I was tuning in. As I said to him, we will have to vote for someone next time. And this is one of limited options.
And then he made amusing comparisons between various historic big name leaders who wanted NZ to be like another country ( as per Shearer and Finland). For Norm Kirk it was for NZ to be the Switzerland of the Pacific. (My comment - not forgetting that ACT has cited Ireland and Singapore enviously in past times). Or the many versions of a 'smart' economy promoted over the years culminating in Clark's 'knowledge' economy which had Prebble envisaging the "E = M whatever it was......" floating over the country. Notably Prebble did describe Key as possibly the "most talented politician" he has witnessed.
But when it came to Banks, I gradually lost interest. Nothing new was canvassed (although to be fair, the content might be new for him). What he said about his adopted children and the merits of "unconditional love" was winning. That came early and warmed for whatever followed . But he failed to move beyond the usual ACT travail of slumping economic relativity (in fairness he may have later but I'd switched off.)
Thinking about Jim Anderton and Peter Dunne, no party yet has rebuilt from one, although Winston Peters overcame even worse odds. I am not going to make a prediction about whether or not ACT can. Prebble talked about a book which had tested 80,000 (that sounds high? May be misheard) political 'expert' predictions which found that in the main, tossing a coin would have been more accurate. And I don't wish ACT ill.
My husband wasn't hanging on Banks' every word and wondering why I was tuning in. As I said to him, we will have to vote for someone next time. And this is one of limited options.
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- Susan Fraser (Crofton Downs)