Dumb and dumber on the dole
So, Tariana Turia has (eventually) come out against Paula Bennett’s pointless policy of making people on the unemployment benefit reapply after a year. Of course, […]
Economy
benefits
Re-run: Benefits, wages and anger
The recent furore about benefit levels has brought a lot of comments along the lines of “I don’t get it why should they?” […]
Looking tough, wasting money
So Paula Bennett wants to force people on the dole to reapply after a year. At best, it’s a waste of money by […]
Bennett disappointed by witch-hunt results
Earlier this year, Paula Bennett released the personal details of two women who get the DPB who had opposed her cancelling of a grant […]
Guaranteed minimum income + capital tax, the way forward?
Occasionally something in politics really surprises you. Like when I turned over to Campbell Live last night (I’d seen the Family Guy episode […]
Nats’ dismal record on jobs and benefits
In opposition, National claimed that Labour wasn’t really getting people off benefits, it was just moving them from unemployment benefit and ‘hiding’ them […]
Bludging farmers
The Fed Farmers have used Goff’s speech on monetary policy to have another whinge about beneficiaries, who they reckon are somehow to blame […]
English’s strange priorities
Talk about bereft of ideas, the currency is yo-yoing, the housing bubble is re-inflating, wages are falling, jobs are still being lost in […]
Paula, honestly, put away the champagne
So, in the week to October 2, 1950 people signed up to the dole and 2040 went off it. Time to celebrate according […]
DPB: it’s for the kids
A lot of right-wing beliefs can be traced back to a few core values. Two apply to the DPB debate: a penny-pinching self-centredness […]
Breeding for a business
In 2002, John Key (then a free-speaking backbencher) told the Sunday-Star Times: “We’ve seen enormous growth in the number of people on the […]
Let the bashing begin
I see Paula Bennett has been busy dog-whistling on beneficiaries, firstly by releasing figures showing 307 beneficiaries receive more than $1000 a week […]
Of witch hunts and solo mums
Frank Macskasy The recent witch-hunt against solo-mums would have done the old Salem village-elders proud. The fires, though, could have been stoked just […]
It’s not fair, get over it, get it right
The ludicrous attacks by the media on Goff over the dole scheme show that this is not an even playing field. Key is […]
Plenty of pixie dust for the cycleway
John Key says there are “no pixies printing cash” to help Kiwis who’ve lost their jobs under his government’s watch. Funny, because there’s […]
Good jab, now land some punches
It was excellent to see Phil Goff laying down the gauntlet to Key yesterday. He announced Labour’s policy to temporarily relax partner means […]
Recession’s ‘rough edges’ hit families – no help from govt
Labour leader Phil Goff has called for a temporary relaxation of the rules for getting the dole. Too many Kiwis on low and […]
Out of her depth
I wonder if Patrick Gower could keep a straight face while writing this: Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has dropped her additional Disability […]
McJobs
John Key, 20 May 2007: My legacy will be a strong New Zealand economy with higher wages, lower taxes and greater competitiveness. My […]
Pulling up the ladder behind her
Paula Bennett’s image as a Westie solo mum who’s been on the DPB has been an important part of National’s centrist branding. By […]
No super contributions = worse net debt
I’ve had a dig into Treasury’s numbers and worked out that they expect the Superannuation Fund will make a 13% return next year, […]
Out of her depth II
As if any more evidence was needed that National’s Paula Bennett is completely out of her depth as Minister of Social Development, it […]
Centre for Inaccurate Studies
The CIS released a report [PDF link] today entitled Ending No. 8 Wire Welfare: Why New Zealand is Lagging Behind. Its author is […]
What’s Bill planning?
Yesterday, Finance Minister Bill English made a big deal over the loss the New Zealand Superannuation Fund incurred last year. When you don’t […]
Don’t kill the Cullen Fund
Michael Littlewood has made a career of advocating superannuation privatisation and is part of an international organisation called Pension Reforms dedicated to the […]
In for a penny
Key’s old arm cast has sold for $18,500 on Trademe. The money will go to the Fred Hollows Foundation to help blind people in […]
Bludgin’ ain’t so easy
So, I’m out of work. I was employed on a contract and when it came up for renewal the boss told me business […]
In praise of the welfare state
It’s very easy in our individualist, consumerist, capitalist society to say ‘if you’re poor, it’s your fault, don’t come looking to the rest […]
How to stimulate the economy
During the debate over the economic stimulus package in the US earlier this year, Moody’s produced a model that shows which stimulus options […]
Tories’ crack at socialism a poor substitute
National’s redundancy package would effectively continue Working for Families payments for some people who would otherwise lose them after redunancy. Only people who […]
More redundancy protection
It’s good to see Labour turning its focus back onto policy (and particularly the economy) today with its announcement of a “job search […]
Make-work don’t work
The Maori Party wants the dole abolished to be replaced by work schemes. It’s a bad idea but it’s not too far from […]
Working our way forward
It was inevitable that the focus of media coverage of Labour’s announements yesterday would be the deposit insurance, it’s a good self-centred middle-class story. […]
Social Report shows Kiwis better off
MSD released its Social Report today, an annual publication that collates a wide variety of standard of living measures, and produces this awesome graph. […]
Pulling the ladder up behind him
A lot of you won’t remember it but there was a time in this country when being on a benefit wasn’t seen as […]
Should the sins of the father be visited upon the children?
When the DPB was first proposed it had a very simple purpose, to allow mothers to leave abusive relationships, to allow them to […]