Benefits and Working For Families payments go up today, but CPAG and Auckland City Mission call for more up-to-date inflation adjustment and extension of WFF to beneficiaries' children too
Thanks Bernard for your thoughtful and comprehensive assessment of the changes today. The income and wealth distributional changes over the last few years on Labour's watch have been deeply concerning. There seems to be a limited perception of the dire state of low income families balance sheets by the policy advisors in Wellington. In the case of WFF they are still clinging to the idea that it is justified to use a poverty reducing child payment to incentivise paid work in spite of the fact there is no evidence withholding this vital payment from the poorest families has any work incentive effect-- it has however a real poverty effect. In a pandemic, lockdown, recession environment when families can lose work through absolutely no fault of their own, the IWTC policy is even less justifiable. Time for real change!
You correctly point out that "Inflation for beneficiaries, Maori, the lowest earning quintile and superannuitants has been significantly higher over the last 13 years than for the highest earning quintile and home owners in particular because rents have exploded relative to mortgage costs and fuel and food costs have risen faster than other costs."
It's worth reminding people that only some superannuitants are affected: those dependent on NZ Superannuation for their existence, and especially those who don't own their own homes and who are dependent on NZ Super for their existence.
Then there are the wealthy undeserving: the over-65s in multimillion-dollar houses, perhaps still in work, and with investment income, who nevertheless happily have their snouts in the social welfare trough.
The Ardern-Robertson Government should reform NZ Superannuation along the lines proposed repeatedly by Susan St John and Claire Dale:
"Just quietly", how much extra work have you dumped on the PR people at Treasury, DPMC, MSD and MBIE to write bland statements for the advisers and executives at the aforementioned. Statements that will somehow seem to answer your question of whether they are "proud of their advice to ministers, and whether that advice is truly free and frank" but actually say nothing.
Ditto the press secretaries of Labour, Green and National MPs.
I am by no means wealthy but we are home owners and don't have the financial strain of so many people in this country. With three teenagers using public transport to and from school, from today our family will be approximately $35 a week better off at least for the next three months. We could have got by without it. I'll be putting the saving aside to donate as both this and previous governments can't seem to work out how to support the most vulnerable. I cheered out loud to myself at your "Just Quietly" comment
Kia ora Bernard for opening this one up. This should be a worthy cause for protest right now, that everyone could get behind. As its unacceptable to keep this standard of hardship for the most vulnerable in our communities.
Thanks Bernard for your thoughtful and comprehensive assessment of the changes today. The income and wealth distributional changes over the last few years on Labour's watch have been deeply concerning. There seems to be a limited perception of the dire state of low income families balance sheets by the policy advisors in Wellington. In the case of WFF they are still clinging to the idea that it is justified to use a poverty reducing child payment to incentivise paid work in spite of the fact there is no evidence withholding this vital payment from the poorest families has any work incentive effect-- it has however a real poverty effect. In a pandemic, lockdown, recession environment when families can lose work through absolutely no fault of their own, the IWTC policy is even less justifiable. Time for real change!
You correctly point out that "Inflation for beneficiaries, Maori, the lowest earning quintile and superannuitants has been significantly higher over the last 13 years than for the highest earning quintile and home owners in particular because rents have exploded relative to mortgage costs and fuel and food costs have risen faster than other costs."
It's worth reminding people that only some superannuitants are affected: those dependent on NZ Superannuation for their existence, and especially those who don't own their own homes and who are dependent on NZ Super for their existence.
Then there are the wealthy undeserving: the over-65s in multimillion-dollar houses, perhaps still in work, and with investment income, who nevertheless happily have their snouts in the social welfare trough.
The Ardern-Robertson Government should reform NZ Superannuation along the lines proposed repeatedly by Susan St John and Claire Dale:
https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/business/about/our-research/research-institutes-and-centres/RPRC/PensionBriefing/Pension-briefing-2021-2-NZS-as-basic-income.pdf
"Just quietly", how much extra work have you dumped on the PR people at Treasury, DPMC, MSD and MBIE to write bland statements for the advisers and executives at the aforementioned. Statements that will somehow seem to answer your question of whether they are "proud of their advice to ministers, and whether that advice is truly free and frank" but actually say nothing.
Ditto the press secretaries of Labour, Green and National MPs.
I am by no means wealthy but we are home owners and don't have the financial strain of so many people in this country. With three teenagers using public transport to and from school, from today our family will be approximately $35 a week better off at least for the next three months. We could have got by without it. I'll be putting the saving aside to donate as both this and previous governments can't seem to work out how to support the most vulnerable. I cheered out loud to myself at your "Just Quietly" comment
Sock it to them Bernard!
Kia ora Bernard for opening this one up. This should be a worthy cause for protest right now, that everyone could get behind. As its unacceptable to keep this standard of hardship for the most vulnerable in our communities.
Thank you for caring Bernard and getting the word out there.
Bravo Bernard.