BOY - Critic

Opinion
Two
Left Feet
The other day, I met a fellow who had been dismissed from his job
under the 90-day employment act. In 2008, he had voted for National
because it was “time for a change”. Perhaps this was the kind of thing
that John Key had in mind when he recently declared that people
need welfare because of their own “poor choices”. Then again, maybe
it wasn’t. But either way, like our glorious and articulate leader I felt
absolutely no sympathy towards this particular individual. In fact, I killed
him. One less idiot.
But back to Key’s statement. This was a pronouncement of such
monumental and staggering ignorance that it managed to eclipse his
erstwhile habit of saying “a whole bunch of time”. Granted, Key was
referring specifically to the budgeting decisions of beneficiaries. But
implicit in Key’s statement is the view that the benefit is adequate
because it represents the level of bare subsistence.
The philosophy of the right is that nobody is morally entitled to welfare.
People are responsible for their own lives and should not expect
society to help them out. The benefit is simply a practical concession
to stop people from starving in the streets (which would be messy)
or turning to crime (which would be expensive). Grudgingly given, it
should not be any higher than it needs to be.
But this is not why we have welfare. Welfare is a product of the moral
principle that all people are entitled to a decent standard of living,
irrespective of whether their market earning power allows them to
purchase this for themselves. The self-responsibility mantra, and the
“dole-bludger” stereotype crap spewed out by the right is just a pretext
to ignore the reasons people might need welfare. Do some people
abuse the system? Of course. Is this a reason for depriving those with a
genuine need? Of course not. The question is not whether beneficiaries
have a bona fide need (they do), but whether what we are currently
paying out is enough.
We all know what a media whore John Key is. When there’s some
political cock-for-cash on the table, he jumps straight for the lube.
And yet, like Jenny Shipley before him, he has ignored invitations to try
living on the benefit of $194, even for a week. If he thought such a stunt
was viable, he would almost certainly do it. But it’s not viable, because
the benefit is peanuts. The image of Key suffering on two-minute noodles
and instant coffee would be great for schadenfreude, but maybe
not too great for the argument that the benefit is currently anything
more than demeaning.
- Sam McChesney
Politics
Critic 01 34
The Eagle
of Liberty
The Eagle on Useless Government Departments
Ah, bureaucracy. Useless government departments. Automated
phone messages recorded by a patronising lady with a more annoying
voice than the Pak ‘n’ Save guy. Inefficiency, waste and poor customer
service. It’s enough to ruffle an Eagle’s feathers. Clearly government
agencies are lumbering, unaccountable juggernauts. But any common
magpie can spot a bushfire from above. The perceptive Eagle prefers to
swoop lower to discover the cause of the fire. What causes government
agencies to fail so miserably?
Cause #1 – It’s not their money so they don’t care
If a stranger gave you his credit card, would you show restraint? The
Eagle, for one, would buy all sorts of liberty-related paraphernalia with
no heed to cost. And sure enough, ACC blows its budget by $3billion.
(To put that in perspective, the Christchurch Earthquake recovery will
cost the government $5billion.) Tourists on NZ skiing trips are given
free medical care, because, hey, travel insurance is for capitalist pigs!
Criminals who injure themselves breaking windows are compensated
– who says crime doesn’t pay? Bureaucrats don’t give a damn about
wasting taxpayer dollars because it’s not their money.
But ACC is not alone in its blundering ineptitude. Studylink gives
“Student Hardship” payments to students on holiday in the Gold Coast.
WINZ gives gang members money to fence their pool. The Eagle will
put a stop to this idiocy once and for all.
Eagle’s solution: Privatise government departments. The private
sector doesn’t waste money because it’s their money – they have
incentive to be efficient and have a culture of rewarding good workers
and firing the blithering idiots.
Cause #2 – Politicians don’t know how to run businesses
Most MPs, especially socialist MPs, have never had a real job in their
life. Bossy youngsters like Jacinda “My Little Pony” Ardern spend a
few years in cushy government jobs or as union lackeys, then enter
a 30-year career as a politician. A perfect example is the old Finance
Minister, Michael Cullen, who had a PhD in History but not even a
University of Waikato degree in common sense. He bought TranzRail
for $690m, then found out it was only worth $369m. Oops. Nowadays,
“Kiwirail” is a national joke. But the Eagle isn’t laughing.
Eagle’s solution: Sell government departments to the private sector
who actually have the skills and experience required, rather than a BA in
Gender Studies. From Waikato.
You are the wind beneath my wings,
The Eagle