No help for the invisible

Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, February 12th, 2010 - 5 comments
Categories: jobs, unemployment - Tags:

Relating to what I wrote yesterday about the Right and much of the media being largely blind to the existence of those of us on low and middle incomes, here’s an interesting piece from the New York Times:

The folks in the upper-income group are not suffering much, if at all, from the profound reversals in employment brought about by the Great Recession. Those in the middle have been hit hard. The job losses there have been severe and long-lasting. But for those in the lower-income groups, the scale of the employment crisis has been mind-boggling.

What you’re not hearing from the politicians and the talking heads is that the joblessness and underemployment in America’s low-income households rival their heights in the Great Depression of the 1930s — and in some instances are worse. The same holds true for some categories of blue-collar workers. Anyone who thinks this devastating problem is going away soon, or that the economy can be put back on track without addressing it, is deluded…

…The highest group, with household incomes of $150,000 or more, had an unemployment rate during that quarter of 3.2 percent. The next highest, with incomes of $100,000 to 149,999, had an unemployment rate of 4 percent.

Contrast those figures with the unemployment rate of the lowest group, which had annual household incomes of $12,499 or less. The unemployment rate of that group during the fourth quarter of last year was a staggering 30.8 percent. That’s more than five points higher than the overall jobless rate at the height of the Depression.

The next lowest group, with incomes of $12,500 to $20,000, had an unemployment rate of 19.1 percent.

We don’t have that kind of information on unemployment in NZ but most of the job losses have been in blue collar industries – manufacturing, construction, and retail. We also know that Maori unemployment has risen 5.6% to 15.4% compared to a 1.4% rise to 4.6% for Pakeha. Those who bear the brunt of recession are already largely invisible in the media and to the government. So, their plight is largely ignored.

[hattip: mummybot]

5 comments on “No help for the invisible ”

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  1. pollywog 1
    12 February 2010 at 1:22 pm

    Maori, if their tribal leaders by way of redistributing their wealth from treaty settlements, at least have the means to alleviate their plight. I mean seriously, how much of a handout and hand up do they need ?

    The real invisible is us Polynesians, in this case exclusive of Maori and what fucks me off is that more than being invisible to the gov’t, we are invisible to our own leaders.

    For a culture that prides itself on its oral traditions, those resident in the corridors of power and in a position to articulate and alleviate our plight are strangely silent and invisible.

    • Stacktwo 1.1
      12 February 2010 at 4:37 pm

      The famous “fiscal envelope”, which Doug Graham revealed in 1995, was to be a capped $1 billion once only never-to be-repeated payment for all historic claims. Conservatives were aghast at such unconscionable largess. Being a stranger in the land of interest and statistics, I tried to work out simplistically what it would actually provide to each Maori individual if they were to receive their share in cash to put under the mattress for use during , say, the next 30 years. It amounted to only $1 a day.

      Sort of put it in perspective – and it was quickly pointed out by a lot of other people that the scheme was nowhere near as generous as it looked. Not surprisingly the Nats quietly dropped it the next year.

      None of which, of course, relieves the all-too-apparent invisibility of so many of the Polynesian community for which you speak, Pollywog.

    • Morgan 1.2
      12 February 2010 at 6:11 pm

      “Maori, if their tribal leaders by way of redistributing their wealth from treaty settlements, at least have the means to alleviate their plight. I mean seriously, how much of a handout and hand up do they need ?”

      The amount of financial reparation various Iwi recieved was a pittance. Around 1-2% of the original value of confiscated land. My Iwi, Ngati Awa, comprises just over 15,000 people and recieved a mere $43m for the crimes committed against our people. Thousands of hectares of some of the most fertile and productive agricultural land in the country was illegally confiscated from my people, the value of which currently stands at over $1 billion. I don’t know how you expect Maori to work economic and social miracles with such pathetic amounts. That been said Iwi are making huge progress for their people through business ventures such as Aquaculture projects and social programs (e.g. health grants/subsidies) amongst many other programs. However, those living in the city who are disconnected from their Iwi tend to miss out because they are disconnected from their identity – but i don’t want to get into that now.

      This does not detract from your second point and very valid point.

  2. pollywog 2
    12 February 2010 at 7:12 pm

    yeah sorry Morgan, i wasn’t expecting miracles just some sort of alleviation and mostly for those living on iwi land. stuff like co-op growing, aquaculture, wind/solar power generation, adventure tourism, micro brewing and distilling…etc 🙂

    more a move to getting back to basics, lowering living costs and self sufficiency, being less reliant on the gov’t and coaxing urban maori back to the land.

    as compensation, 43 million might be a pittance to what the land is actually worth but as a start up fund for some enterprises, it’s not bad.

    i wouldn’t turn my nose up at it.

    • Morgan 2.1
      12 February 2010 at 7:40 pm

      Yes, 43m is a good start and can go a long way with sensible management.

      Thats an interesting blog btw.