Beneficiary Bashing: Fun For All the Family

The National Party is a party of Them vs Us, which is evident as if they were actually serious about denting NZ's welfare bill short-term they would have done what had been recommended and increased the retirement age to 67 since about half of our benefits bill goes to Super. Cynically I believe they haven't done so because targeting non-Super beneficiaries strengthens their voting base, while targeting Super will potentially lose them votes.

John Key states that there are plenty of jobs to go around, or that welfare recipients will be able to receive an extra $30 a week for attending courses. He seems to have conveniently forgotten that his government has  capped enrollments at tertiary institutions, are making massive ongoing job cuts within the public sector, have cut funding for community courses and apprenticeships, and oh yeah, most importantly haven't helped create the jobs that would get people into employment in the first place.

Their 'job creation' has revolved around cutting taxes for our highest income earners and this doesn't create jobs, it just creates a higher demand for smaller and smaller dogs and overseas made designer handbags.

This depressing headline says all:

There are plenty of jobs if people look really hard, PM Key says; Uses example of employing overseas workers for harvest work

See, that's the problem, you lazy bludgers. There's plenty of work. Short term, low paid work, located outside of major population centers, but that should be fine, you can park your kids in the plentiful free childcare we offer, use all that extra dole money you have to buy and run a car, and drive around rural NZ picking strawberries for $5 an hour for a couple of months of the year that will surely tide you over for the rest of the time. If it was good enough for Key's Mum and Paula Bennett when they were working out there in the fields (coughing fit), it's good enough for beneficiaries of today.

If that's the example Key is using for plentiful work, we are undoubtedly screwed. On the bright side I hear the Minister of Foreign Affairs post is currently vacant.