Posted by alexandra_k on September 1, 2005, at 17:42:16
In reply to Re: Boo Hiss, posted by alexandra_k on July 21, 2005, at 16:04:04
well. i know nobody gives a sh*t really but its important to us over in this little corner of the world.
so that stuff about the greens was more random thoughts than anything else...
the greens have been terrific for getting environmental issues taken seriously. they managed to get that one back on the agenda. aside from that... i dare say they won't get more than a seat or two (and thats because their leader will get the coramandal seat with all the dope growers up there and another seat is typically won regionally). they won't get enough of the party vote to get more than that...
so basically the situation is labour vs national.
and the lay of the land is.....
particular policies change... the general spirit tends to remain the same, however. so lets have a little look at that.
NATIONAL
thinks that people should get to keep more of what they earn. clearly if you are a big earner then you are a hard worker and you are entitled to that money. their motto is 'a hand up - not a hand out'. by which they mean that welfare is not a priority. by 'new zealanders' they mean working new zealanders. so they promise tax breaks for those in the highest income bracket. where are they going to get the money for the tax breaks? by cutting social services, of course.and the implicit assumption here is that people are equal from birth and have an equal chance to make something of their life...
some people choose not to...
they take advantage of the system...
those people should be cut off...LABOUR
thinks that those who need the most assistance are families with dependents. so tax breaks for the middle income families. they are a bit more into redistributive wealth - tax more from the poor to raise the revenue to make sure that the poor have their basic needs met.labour are in power at the moment.
its true that there have been many f*ck ups with social services budgets. polititions and managers making very poor use of money that is supposed to get to the people. management problems. problems with respect to how the money is best spent...But... imo they have their hearts in the right place at least...
it is just that they need to spend that money on intervention. psychologists and educators and social workers etc to get some real community and family intervention going on... and they could do more of that if they spent that money a little more wisely.
if you cut welfare then what will happen is those people will resort to crime to make sure their basic needs are met.
thats more young new zealanders growing up in an environment of crime. thats more people in jail. thats more rich people having to build f*cking barbed wire fences around their properties in order to keep the people who are stealing to survive off their property. more muggings. more crime.
would you rather live in a society where you are rich and others are living in horrible environments struggling to meet their basic needs
or would you rather live in a society where you are less rich (but still well off) and others are getting their basic needs met with the opportunity to get more than the basics by employment?i reckon thats the decision...
thats the choice to be made...
it f*cks me off when i hear people making their voting decisions based on what THEY are going to get.as an example national has promiced to meet minimum repayments on student loans for graduates who remain (and work of course) in nz after graduation. if you stay in nz forever that means you never have to pay back your student loan. there is a problem currently of graduates leaving to get better pay overseas.
labour has promiced to wipe interest that acrues when you are earning under the threshold (typically you acrue interest while you are studying and if you work over summer you could have a hefty repayment due which is mostly interest)
and students are voting on 'what do I get???'
f*ck you (no offence)
what is best for society as a whole?
what kind of country do we want to live in????
poster:alexandra_k
thread:521196
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20050728/msgs/549738.html