tax porn
Heinously uplifted from Stuff, here.
A bit of info for the endless taxation debates. No time to comment now except to say look how little the DPB is compared to Super, and yet one parent on the DPB gets more guilt trips than any 200 people on Super...
7 comments:
HAHA you are onto it for once peter.
pq - and this relates to the above post how? it's not as if i haven't posted on rodney and epsom enough...
krimsonlake - shame you deleted your comment i thought it was a good 'un!
Ok, I'll try to remember what I wrote and repeat. I sometimes get a little cagey discussing benefits, but...
That's because it's just not cool to bash old people. But with the rampant stereotyping of women on the DPB it's quite socially acceptable to give them a beating when it suits.
I also found it interesting, for me, that the Invalids Benefit (albeit combined with accomodations supplements and family support) represents a higher percentage than the DPB. I rarely run into Invalids Beneficiary bashing, unless it comes under the umbrella of general beneficiary bashing. Though that is slowly beginning to change now that we're seeing a rise in the "they're all faking it propoganda" (thanks National/Act). But it's still nowhere near the flack women on the DPB cop on a regular basis.
i have a friend who has been on various benefits for quite a long time - she was on the DPB when she was bringing up her children and unfortunately she has been very ill in the last few years, but with an illness that comes and goes (fibromyalgia) and some doctors do not recognise. it was her experience with WINZ that made me decide never to apply for an invalids benefit unless i had absolutely no other choice.
i was too sick to work for three years myself (with a similar illness to FM), but i (luckily) could rely on family.
i saw how my friend's experiences with WINZ actually made her sicker, rather than helping.
the constant need to justify yourself is exactly what is not needed, especially when being without work can be quite an assault on your mental health to start with. not to mention how much harder it must be when your illness is mental rather than physical - no broken bones, no coughing, and often no "cure" in sight. but the aim of Government policy and Government depts is not to get you well, it is simply to get you off the benefit, anyway that works.
Funny that...I mean the people on super have paid their taxes all their *working* lives and have been told that they would get super when they retired. The people on Super have paid for it..The people on the DPB have choosen to have kids and demand that we the workers pay for their choice.
ok anonymouse, let's look at a scenario:
you find out you are pregnant and it's unplanned. you are in a position to have the child so you do (or you are opposed to abortion, or whatever). you bring that child up with love and respect, being their parent, their teacher and their role model. you put your all into this for several years, which means taking time off work because you are on your own.
and instead of supporting you in being a good parent - which is the most important thing to the children who will one day be our citizens, and parents themselves - the govt says, nup you have to get paid work, you can't stay home, we will give you nothing to feed you or your children. is that ok?
you need to wake up and realise that parenting IS work. it isn't paid work, but it is work nonetheless. anyone who has had to raise children on their own will tell you it is not easy work. not to mention the financial cost of having children. i think the small pittance that is the current level of the DPB is actually the least the govt can do to support solo parents, and support those children to grow up to better lives.
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