John remembers his underclass, briefly

Written By: Eddie - Date published: - 15 comments
Categories: john key, poverty, spin - Tags:
I haven't forgotten you guys. I've even still got the t-shirt somewhere

The other day I wrote:

I reckon we probably will see a passing reference to the ‘underclass’ for appearance’s sake [in John Key’s statement to Parliament] but I’m just as sure that his government will continue to fail the most vulnerable members of our society.

Well whatdaya know? There it is:

I have said it before, and I’ll say again today: I worry that there are signs of an emerging underclass in New Zealand.

The irony being that he hasn’t said it in years and he didn’t say it now. This sentence only appears in the long version of his speech, not the one he read. And, of course, Key presented no policy to help the people he labels underclass, just GST hikes to make them worse off.

Yay for me I guess. But, man, doesn’t it suck that you can predict the worst of this government and consistently be proven correct?

15 comments on “John remembers his underclass, briefly”

  1. 1

    Yes Eddie of course he worries just like he does about equity, the environment, education, welfare etc etc

    However in true Corpratocracy/ Homer style….” just beacuse I don’t care doesn’t mean I dont worry or understand…” Lunch everyone before Basher Benne and gez get there and hoover all the smoked salmon and oysters.

    1. 2.1

      i keep forgetting to remove my weblink. the joke is tired now. sorry, hate to make you moderate for being forgetful as opposed to trollish

      1. 2.1.1

        two off-topic comments for the price of one.

        I personally can’t wait to have a PM who cares about the underclass. His name will be Phil Goff.

        2. 2.1.1.2

          is that because he under-achieves in politics and is therefore the low under-class? the career politician?

    1. 4.1

      I know I keep quoting Galbraith, but he seems particularly relevant at the moment:

      “Today the signature of modern […] capitalism is neither benign competition, nor class struggle, nor an inclusive middle-class utopia. Instead, predation has become the dominant feature-a system wherein the rich have come to feast on the decaying systems built for the middle class. The predatory class is not the whole of the wealth; it may be opposed by many others of similar wealth. But it is the defining feature, the leading force. And its agents are in full control of the government under which we live.

      “For in a predatory regime, nothing is done for public reasons. Indeed, the men in charge do not recognize that “public purposes” exist. They have friends, and enemies, and as for the rest-we’re the prey…

      2. 4.1.2

        Nice quote.

        There are a large number of people in the world who think their sole purpose in life is just to take.

  5. 5

    The actions of this government indicate that the only concern John Key has is that the underclass is not growing fast enough.

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