Unemployment Rise Result of Failing Government

-

We now have 160, 000 people unemployed in New Zealand at 6.7% of the working population, it is up 0.3% over the last 1/4. Most of the unemployment is among women (7.1%) and the level of part-time employment has increased while full-time employment is at the lowest level since September 2010. Unemployed youth aged between 15 to 24 have now reached a new high of 13.9%, double the overall percentage. When the recession has well and truly ended for New Zealand's top income earners and most corporates, these statistics are appalling and a clear sign of economic mismanagement from the government.



At a time when the wealthiest New Zealanders are seeing a 20% increase in income, the government insists on maintaining tax cuts to this group and stifling the domestic economy by keeping minimum wages low and drastically cutting government spending. A good number of the unemployed will include some of the 3,000 positions that have been cut from the state service.

It is madness that when we have a huge housing shortage and, when Christchurch will soon be desperate for tradespeople, that there has been a loss of 4,200 jobs in the construction industry. The Green Party has suggested that it would be timely to build capacity in the construction industry through building much needed state housing and then when Christchurch needs this workforce, it will be available. If we don't train and support the local industry now then we will have to rely on overseas workers when the demand will predictably increase. To only rely on market forces to prepare for a future demand is naive in the extreme.

Most of our exporters and large corporates are seeing solid profits, it is our domestic economy that is struggling. With wages kept low (our median income is only $27,000) there is little discretionary spending  to support local businesses, this internal recession is the direct result of the government's determination to to maintain a population of working poor who need their incomes topped up by the state to survive. This  a deliberate effort to support National's corporate mates through subsidizing wages.

With the latest concerns regarding the teaching of science in schools, the cut in education spending at tertiary level and the minimal spending on R & D the government is ensuring that our ability to develop competitive and innovative business potential is stymied. Rather than build the capacity to earn more income in sustainable ways the government is relying on selling off our strategic assets in a glorified garage sale, reducing state services and attracting overseas interests to exploit our fossil fuels with few safeguards and ridiculously low royalty rates.

New Zealand is not in the same dire situation as Spain or Ireland and yet this National led government is following the sort of austerity programmes that should only be applied if we were. We do have opportunities and choices but the opportunities are not being grabbed and the good choices are not being made!

Comments

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