Have you noticed how we often choose worst-case scenarios to support our arguments? I don't think most or even many beneficiaries —but I have no idea how many— will spend their extra dollars on booze. Food is the most likely expenditure.
Here's another argument.
If, in terms of income, there's a lower and middle NZ, there's also an upper NZ that's very well off. Have you noticed how rarely we complain that they have too much? And yet this is where most dollars go, not to beneficiaries who at least spend their money which circulates in the economy, helping our retailers and helping growth. The very rich, by comparison, invest most of their money often in non-productive enterprises like company shares in NZ but more typically overseas. There is little to no benefit to NZ.
Take, for instance, the banks:
Gordon Campbell has an article in our local rag, "About time banks were called into line" noting that last week Government announced its intention to crack down on the fees banks charge our retailers when we use credit and debit cards.
For credit cards, they typically charge 1.6%. If you purchase something for $100, the retailer takes $98.40 and bank $1.60. This may not sound very much but when the spending of thousands of their customers is added up it's a small fortune.
When we use contactless debit cards the banks charge 1.2%, much more than in comparable countries. In the UK, for instance, banks charge 0.2%, and in Australia 0.6% — half of what they charge here.
All our major banks are Australian-owned. Their estimated $74 million profits from the cards, which comprises only part of their pofits, are distributed among their shareholders in Australia. Think how much more the public and our retailers would save if the Australian-owned banks reduced their fees and if the money stayed in NZ.
Banks are only one example of how the very rich get richer at the expense of the poor and middle NZ.
I think it's time middle NZers focused more on them, and give the poor a break, or at least the benefit of doubt. They are not all boozers.
-- ACW
1 comment:
So these are the opinions of an 80 something, living in a million dollar house in whitby. Opinion of a guy that's had his turn, made his money and is now living off his investments. Basically paying no tax but collecting super. And he's telling me where my tax dollars should go. Telling me who works for living and provides for my family and asks for very little in return. You're entitled to your opinion and the nice feeling you get when you can say that the tax dollars should go to the beneficiaries. But I wonder if things might be a little different if you were a 30 to 40 year old working for a wage that's just enough to feed the family and drive to work each week.
Also you didn't have to make your blog personal by basically putting my name out there.
But now that you have, here goes.
While you live up there in your mansion have you ever had to cut someone down hanging from there garage, take the rope off carefully and then start CPR on them. Work on them for 40 minutes while their bowels empty.
Have you ever gone to a car accident and cut a screaming lady out. To work for 20 minutes while the screaming continues. To then find out the next day that she died.
Have you ever been to a baby that's died and have to help the ambulance try to bring this baby back. To walk past the grieving family because we couldn't do it. Things going around in the back of your mind, did I work hard enough, was that my fault the kid died.
The endless shitty jobs we get called to that do have an effect on us.
Oh and by the way I get less than 70k a year. Work on Christmas and Easter and miss things my kids do because I'm at work on nights.
So yes I feel like I should have an opinion where my hard earned tax dollars go because you know what, I feel I've earned that..... you not so much.
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