Child Poverty to Increase; Key won’t care

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, August 29th, 2012 - 8 comments
Categories: benefits, families, poverty - Tags:

The Children’s Commissioner’s expert group (a large bunch of Professors and Doctors + Business NZ’s Phil O’Reilly) has recommended that things must be done about Child Poverty, and wondered why we accept 25% poverty among our children when we won’t accept Pensioner Poverty.  They went on to make very specific suggestions as to what should be done, including a universal child payment for under 6s.

John Key’s response to the indepth analysis of a bunch of our finest minds and Phil O’Reilly?

“Dopey.”

Because Key and National know they’re right, and don’t need things like evidence or expert views.

Just like they knew that we’d bounce back vigorously from recession, and that tax cuts for the rich would be fiscally neutral.

When children are small costs are tight.  Ideally (but all too rarely) one partner can afford to be home, reducing income significantly just as costs rise massively.  Most people when they’re having children are not at the high-point income-wise of their careers.  Very few couldn’t do with some help towards those costs, particularly if it means more time bonding with children, and making better future citizens.  A universal payment is not ‘dopey’.

Instead we have both parents out working double shifts.

Between this report and last week’s one from Every Child Counts showing how the Netherlands effectively combat child poverty without breaking the bank, there are lots of ideas for the government, if they wouldn’t just dismiss them out of hand.

Just because the experts recommendations include some Labour & Green policies doesn’t mean the experts are wrong – it just shows that the opposition is listening.

Instead the govenrment decided to roll out CRAP (Child Results Action Plan).  I say roll out, but it was mainly re-announcements of previous policies, because they’ve listened so hard…  And because they like their long lists of reannouncements.

And now we face poverty increasing: specifically for Solid Energy workers with hundreds facing the sack, but generally as a large price increase for food over the next year bites the poorest the hardest.

What will be the government’s response?  Probably more CRAP and calling real solutions ‘dopey’ if past performance is anything to go by.

[I recommend Danyl’s latest work of satire on the topic at The Dim-Post]

8 comments on “Child Poverty to Increase; Key won’t care ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. captain hook 1
    29 August 2012 at 2:02 pm

    dopey JOhn key gave the rich plenty of extra cash in the tax cuts but he cant give to those in genuine need.
    is there something wrong with that man?

  2. Roy 2
    29 August 2012 at 2:11 pm

    John Key thinks it’s dopey because children can’t vote, so in his view they don’t matter.

  3. Carol 3
    29 August 2012 at 2:23 pm

    OMG the hairdo has spoken on the poverty report in the House! – re Capital Gains Tax?

  4. tracey 4
    29 August 2012 at 3:06 pm

    Did he say blah blah help families in need blah blah we in government blah blah

  5. tracey 5
    29 August 2012 at 3:22 pm

    So much for mining being a panacea for economic woes, 200 jobs gone at spring creek… Plab B anyone? ANYONE?

  6. Mel 6
    29 August 2012 at 6:59 pm

    There’s no plan B Tracey because less people in jobs means more competition for the meagre, part time, minimum wage, no security, dead end jobs that fill the papers at the moment.

  7. tracey 7
    29 August 2012 at 7:05 pm

    Thats Mr Vacuums for you Carol. Verything he says sucks

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.