Rich List Prompts Questions

-

Reading the release of the latest "rich list" prompted me into asking a few questions in the form of a letter:

The Editor
The Southland Times

Dear Sir

If New Zealand’s rich list of those with a personal wealth of over $50 million is growing, why are most New Zealanders earning less than $28,000 a year?

Why have the rich enjoyed an 18% average growth of their wealth when most of us have seen a reduction of our disposable incomes?

How can one man have $2 billion, largely from investing in Southland dairy farms, yet the government can only find $15 million to invest in protecting our rivers from farming effluent?

Why does the government insist that the tax cuts for the wealthy are justified when many of those wealthy are expressing concern at the inequities of income and would be prepared to pay more?

If almost half of New Zealand wage earners need financial support from the government to survive on their incomes, are we not subsidising business profits and the incomes of the wealthy?

Given that 151 New Zealanders have a combined wealth of around $45 billion why is it that 100,000 of our children live in poverty?

Why is New Zealand one of the most inequitable countries in the OECD and why are many New Zealanders still shifting to Australia?

Yours sincerely...


It was interesting to note that new rich lister, Phillip Mills, sees that the future is in "clean technology"!

Comments

Anonymous said…
"Given that 151 New Zealanders have a combined wealth of around $45 billion why is it that 100,000 of our children live in poverty?"

Because they have irresponsible parents who waste the money given to them as government handouts. Look to the cause of the problem, redistributing wealth will never ever in itself deal with the real cause.
July 29, 2011 at 6:08 PM
Dave Kennedy said…
I'm sure you could find some parents that budget badly, Anonymous, but if you talk to budgeting services, food banks and the likes of the Salvation Army you would find that most families just can't earn enough even for the basics. The median wage in this country is only $27,000 and the median household income is $35,000, so that a huge number earn even less. It is not a just a case of redistribution it is about paying people a living wage so that they can support their children properly. New Zealand has one of the worst records in the OECD for child safety and health and I can't believe it is just because New Zealand is just a nation of incredibly bad parents.
July 29, 2011 at 10:57 PM
robertguyton said…
Anonymous is an ideologue bsprout. It's generous of you to respond to him in such a reasonable way, but his/her mind is set already. He/she loathes bludgers, I'm bound!
July 30, 2011 at 4:59 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The US is actually unique for not valuing life!

-
Image
"...that’s what sets America apart from every other country; we value life. That is what makes us unique.” - Sarah Sanders There is a high level of delusion operating in the White House. The stream of mistruths that come out of President Trump and Sarah Sanders' mouths are clearly blatant lies but millions of US citizens believe them. With daily diets of Fox News and living in a very insular culture , there is little that challenges these false perceptions of US "greatness".  When comparing the United States of America with most other developed nations it becomes clear that it probably places less value on life than most and doesn't compare well with many developing countries too: If the US really valued life then it would abolish the death penalty, it is the only Western Country that executes people under law ( 23 people were executed in 2018 ).  If the US really valued life then it would have an equitable and universal health care system. The cur
Read more

The Destruction of New Zealand's Public Education System

-
Image
In 2008 New Zealand was internationally ranked in the top seven for educational achievement, and when you compared us with other countries that were also culturally diverse and experiencing growing inequality, we were extremely successful. At that time our Early Childhood sector had received a much overdue boost in funding from the Labour Government after being underfunded (as a % of GDP) compared to other OECD nations for years. The sector was working towards a target of having 100% qualified teachers in all centres. We were also in the process of implementing a new National Curriculum and a complementary curriculum for Maori ( Te Marautanga o Aotearoa ). Teachers were excited about putting all their energies into the new ideas and approaches that were espoused in these co-constructed documents that had taken around seven years to review and write. Evidence, research and practitioner input had created something that would allow us to prepare New Zealand children to become
Read more

ANZAC DAY REFLECTIONS

-
Image
I find ANZAC Day creates a dilemma for me, consequently I rarely attend dawn parades. I fully support people recognising the human cost of wars and remembering family members who lost their lives on battlefields. A grandfather of mine fought in WW1 and was gassed in the French trenches, which compromised his health for the rest of his life. His wife (my grandmother) lost her young brother in WW2. The sacrifices and human costs of war should never be minimalised. However, while speeches at ANZAC parades are full of statements promoting peace and the futility of war, those who campaign hardest for peace, promote nonviolence and call for weapons reductions are often treated like criminals. Anyone who dares to mention our own war crimes or that of our allies are generally shut down or demonised. It has become a sort of cultural heresy to question the reputation and glorification of the ANZACs.  I would love to see greater balance in how we talk about war and properly recognise those who ha
Read more