Posts by George Darroch
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How did people cope in all the generations before that particular Labour bribe anyway?
Historically, the working wage was sufficient to support a stay-at-home parent, almost always the mother. New Zealand had full employment. The DPB was introduced to support those few mothers who did not have a man supporting them.
And then in the late 1980s-1990s, unemployment skyrocketed, the value of wages relative to essential goods (housing and food) decreased, and a lot of people didn't cope. That was my family's experience, anyway.
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So, what Julie is really saying is that since she wants to pay more tax, everyone else has to as well. I can see how well that line of argument will work.
It actually works quite well in many places actually. And it used to work here. What people "actually" want is contested, but there's research that shows that people want at least basic levels of Government social service provision and are prepared to pay taxes to fund those.
It could work here too, if New Zealand's media wasn't all Tax Cuts!!! *Squee*!!!! There are real costs to these tax-cuts, in terms of services that will have to be cut. Unless you're Greek, you can't run up continued spending with an ever-shrinking tax base.
Choose one, or choose the other. That's fair enough. What's not fair enough is National and the media presenting it as if there's nothing to be lost.
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From a recent ABC Australia/Al Jazeera documentary:
"The rich people don't pay taxes. There's an old saying in Greece – the more money you steal the better off you are. If you steal a few euros, a few hundred euros you go to jail ... you steal thousands of euros, we'll talk about it ... you steal a few million euros you become a hero"
We don't fete all those who steal millions (although we've restored the Knighthood), but punishment is reserved for the unambitious.
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$80 million defrauded.
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(And since our media mistake "being fair and balanced" with "having no historical memory" the electorate needs to go through an injection of these policies every decade or so. Until they go - ah, yes, that's why we rejected them last time around!)
However, the continual march away from public debate continues, and we're no better informed about the impact of any policy than we ever have been. And when pain is felt, the blame will be placed on some pathetic subsection of society which angst can be stirred up against.
I don't think that society has any say in the matter. The next non-National Government will be elected when the business community decides they've had enough, and at that point the papers will come around as they did before Labour's election in 1999.
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some call it Parnell, others Hawaii
Don't be hatin the rich. When there are more rich people paying less tax we're all better off, no matter what our incomes
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You want somebody who earns* over 150k to pay five more cents in every dollar earned above that bare subsistence amount? You monster!
And as Lyndon Hood points out
Seems for his tax cuts Key's example is a young couple, just got married, on $50 000 each. #nohashtagcandojustice
It's a nice world Key lives in.
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After all the bleating about the borrowing that is going on, the Govt now has to borrow to pay for these cuts.
And yet Vernon Small tells us that the budget is "impressive" and "stunning" budget for debt reduction.
It's only because Labour was so fiscally prudent that National can afford to rack up the debt again.
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Rich justice. Mark Bryers gets 75 hours community service and $37,500 fine but is bankrupt so presumably doesn't have to pay it and is living well in Aus, thanks very much.
That's the New Zealand justice system for you. Meanwhile, National are spending billions more on new prisons, and have allocated more money so they can plan further prisons.
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Well, spending on children's education has been cut, but at least they'll have roads of National significance for decades to come.