Written By: - Date published: 5:35 pm, May 21st, 2011 - 84 comments
Despite some progress under the last Labour government, too many children have been allowed to slip through the gaps in this country. And now of course, under a National government, it’s getting worse. In her conference speech this evening Annette King renewed her promise that the next Labour government will put children at the centre of policy.
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, May 16th, 2011 - 42 comments
As we wait to see just how bad the economy has got under National, and what cuts they will force on us to pay for their follies, Michael Bott’s reports on canvassing in Masterton: “I spent a weekend with a team of Labour volunteers listening to the concerns of the people. A repeated remark was, ‘‘ no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get ahead’’”
Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, May 1st, 2011 - 35 comments
How do we improve a society’s happiness most effectively? By lifting the poor out of poverty. By increasing wealth where we get more happiness bang for our income buck, and reducing the disparity between rich and poor. So why are we currently moving in the opposite direction?
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, April 22nd, 2011 - 69 comments
Turns out the teachers have been right all along. Family wealth is the overwhelming predictor of educational outcome. That means there are no quick fixes. The best way to improve educational outcomes is to improve the incomes of the poor.
Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, April 10th, 2011 - 177 comments
It’s the game played by hundreds of thousands of kiwi families each week, with more new players all the time. In Poverty Trap!, you start with an income less than 60% of the median and have to support yourself and your family within those limits. Click through to see your budget, and watch out for unexpected costs!
Written By: - Date published: 7:27 am, April 4th, 2011 - 99 comments
With news now that a starving boy was found eating cockroaches, and that impoverished elderly are eating catfood, the plight of the underclass is getting nothing but worse. Is this the “brighter future” that National promised?…
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, February 22nd, 2011 - 88 comments
Aucklanders – the fight back against the worst recommendations in the Rebstock report starts now. Join us – Auckland Against Poverty – in a picket, 2pm today outside Work & Income, Sel Peacock Dr, Henderson.
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, February 20th, 2011 - 64 comments
Hunger and malnutrition are stalking New Zealand families. Hundreds of thousands are just one shock – whether an illness, or a large bill – from not being able to afford basic food. This is not good enough in our land of plenty. Multi-millionaire John Key doesn’t empathise. To him poverty is a moral failing but he’s seriously out of touch.
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, February 9th, 2011 - 7 comments
The PM has obviously been stung by the surge of negative publicity generated by the TV3 piece on the residents of McGehan Close. The revival of this particular piece of exploitative hypocrisy risks tarnishing the sacred Key brand. Can’t have that. So Key is trying to convince us that the Nats have done “as much as possible” for the underclass…
Written By: - Date published: 6:22 am, January 6th, 2011 - 25 comments
When was the last time that John Key mentioned the ‘underclass’? In his Statement to Parliament at the start of last year – after Eddie called him out on never talking about the underclass – but he didn’t actually read that part of the statement. So, what has Key actually done for the underclass that he purported to care for so much? Nothing. He’s let poverty worsen.
Written By: - Date published: 2:23 pm, December 18th, 2010 - 4 comments
Perhaps, like me, you have left your Christmas shopping to the last minute. Fear not – help is at hand! Here’s a roundup of some real gifts that you might give this Christmas.
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, December 17th, 2010 - 14 comments
Written By: - Date published: 11:47 pm, December 16th, 2010 - 32 comments
It’s a tough Christmas for far too many Kiwis. Poverty is up, wages are down. 350,000 Kiwis are jobless or underemployed. The job losses are still coming. The rich got tax cuts, 70% got nothing. Drought is spreading. Thousands of Cantabrians face an uncertain future. Meanwhile, the Nats cynically exploit disaster to advance their agenda.
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, December 15th, 2010 - 205 comments
Child poverty is on the rise again. My question to the National government is simple. What are you going to do to reverse this trend and lift children out of poverty? It’s your watch. What are you going to do?
Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, December 14th, 2010 - 21 comments
National are consistently attacking the vulnerable in society – those who cannot fight back and complain. This is where a lot of their cuts are aimed at – those who need it most. Be it in health, education or welfare.
And in several recent health and education National cuts have hurt the most vulnerable – our children. Not just the massive ECE cuts of Tolley, but cuts hurting those at the bottom even more.
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, November 21st, 2010 - 10 comments
The Spirit Level is the book that the loony right of politics loves to hate. Today, Sunday morning political analysis show Q+A features Emeritus Professor Richard Wilkinson, co-author of The Spirit Level (9am on One). Should be an interesting programme…
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, November 2nd, 2010 - 212 comments
We know that poverty is the root of a good deal of society’s problems from crime, to poor educational outcomes, to poor health. Just the direct economic costs of these problems are in the billions per year, and we can’t forget the loss of human potential and happiness. The good news: we can easily afford to eliminate poverty.
Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, October 26th, 2010 - 96 comments
There is no need to tolerate the existence of poverty. It is an economic and social drag on our country that wastes human potential. The minimum wage, super, and benefits help, yet 15% of Kiwis, and 20% of kids, live in households with incomes below 60% of the average income. A universal income is the best way to eliminate the blight of poverty.
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 pm, September 22nd, 2010 - 26 comments
Parliament unanimously made Gerry Brownlee dictator. Apparently, this was necessary to save Christchurch. But are Dictator Gerry and Bob ‘the Rebuilder’ (wonder how long it took Kevin Taylor to come up with that one) actually delivering for the people who need it the most? Not if the anger in poor Christchurch suburbs is anything to go by.
Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, August 5th, 2010 - 33 comments
Pita Sharples wants Maori flag to fly over prisons to raise prisoners’ morale. What a bizarre and useless suggestion. Instead, how about alleviating the poverty that is the main driver of crime?
Written By: - Date published: 10:46 am, July 26th, 2010 - 15 comments
Remember when John Key used to talk about the “underclass”. Much recently of course John Key’s policy direction has been more about pandering to the wealthy elite, so you don’t hear so much from John Key about his concerns for the underclass anymore. But worries about the underclass still concern some people.
Written By: - Date published: 1:53 pm, May 16th, 2010 - 54 comments
Tau Henare is opposing Labour’s suggested policy of taking GST off fruit and vegetables saying “If they can’t afford to buy a lettuce or a tomato then they should give up the drink and the smokes,” and “It’s a well-known fact that poor people, if they don’t have enough money, will buy smokes and not bread.” Really? Well, it took two minutes checking on the Stats’ website to prove him wrong.
Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, April 30th, 2010 - 24 comments
The Nat/ACT/Maori Party government has seen 55,000 more people go on benefits. They want to work. There aren’t enough jobs. How to make life worse for families fallen on hard times? How about cut their benefits? Benefits are meant to go up with inflation. CPI. The tobacco hike puts up CPI. Government should put up …
Written By: - Date published: 4:01 pm, April 6th, 2010 - 57 comments
In 2008, John Key was promising us a brighter future. 18 months on, we’re in that future he was talking about and Kiwis are reporting their lives are worse than they were before he came to power. 83% of Kiwis surveyed by ShapeNZ rated their quality of life as ‘good’ or better, down from 89% in 2008 and 92% in 2007. Key has a responsibility to live up to his promises
Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, March 29th, 2010 - 23 comments
The eXileD has a piece on Ireland’s woes and how they got there. The 1980s neoliberal revolution and dodgy deals for the Right’s mates are familiar. Ireland became a tax haven for bludging international financiers. It’s all come crashing down but John Key wants to copy their mistake by creating an offshore financial centre here.
Written By: - Date published: 12:49 am, March 25th, 2010 - 15 comments
Denis Tegg of Coromandel Watchdog writes that National is vastly over-estimating the mining potential of the Coromandel. It would take hundreds of mines and tens of millions of tonnes of toxic tailings to get the billions promised. The people of Waihi know that despite the wealth dug up from underneath them, their town is mired in poverty and permanently threatened by tailings leaking.
Written By: - Date published: 4:45 pm, March 18th, 2010 - 79 comments
I got a call from a friend today, thanks to National his rent is going up. I’ll call him Ned. He’s retired and rents a two bedroom home for $310 a week. He recently received a letter from his landlord advising him of a rent increase of $40 a week. He’s sure his landlord is …
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, March 6th, 2010 - 28 comments
The poor don’t need tax cuts for the top 12% to to inspire them to want to get out of poverty. Poverty is inspiration enough. But thepoor cannot all become rich. To function capitalism needs poverty. There’s got to be lots of people doing the shitty, dangerous, hard jobs for cheap. And the wealth will always flow to the elite few who own capital or defend their interests.
Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, February 23rd, 2010 - 13 comments
Duncan Garner: “Key must get the compensation [for GST] right or there will be a backlash from voters” Problem is, you can’t get everyone to put some money in a bucket, give a large chunk of it to the rich and then compensate everyone else for what they put in with what is left. It can’t add up.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, February 16th, 2010 - 62 comments
In their attempts to justify putting up GST on all New Zealanders to give huge tax cuts to the wealthy few, the Right are going so far as to argue that middle and low income New Zealand doesn’t even exist.
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, February 12th, 2010 - 15 comments
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 …
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