Grotesqueness of NZ inequality – 2 richest own as much as bottom 30%

By
Martyn Bradbury
-
17
4

How does it feel NZ?

How grotesque a joke is our egalitarianism now?

Two Kiwis wealthier than the poorest 30 % – Oxfam

Two New Zealanders have more wealth than the poorest 30 per cent of the adult population, according to new research by Oxfam.

The finding is part of a global report on wealth inequality to be released later today by Oxfam to coincide with the annual meeting of politicians and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The two richest Kiwis cited in the research are Graeme Hart and Richard Chandler, with estimated wealth of US$6.4 billion ($9b) and US$2.7 billion ($3.78b) respectively.

Hart is the country’s richest man – his Rank Group owns a swathe of global packaging outfits and consumer goods firms.

Chandler relocated in 2006 to Singapore where he runs Clermont Group, his personal investment fund.

Efforts to contact both businessmen for comment were unsuccessful.

According to the Oxfam research, the richest 1 per cent of Kiwis have 20 per cent of the wealth in New Zealand, with 90 per cent of the population owning less than half of the country’s wealth.

This should be a shock announcement that leads each and every one of our news media outlets?

Does it?

No.

Richie McCaw feeling emotional on his wedding day, how to property speculate in the regions and the conspiracy theory that Adolf Fucking Hitler might have secretly escaped to Argentina instead of dying by suicide in Berlin.

Those stories are apparently more important than the staggering fact that 2 NZers own more than the poorest 30% of us.

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This is not a free press watch dog in a liberal democracy, this is a lapdog in a Plutocracy.

Perverse property speculation, racist public institutions and a neoliberal welfare state that tortures the poor have all contributed to a 30 year free market experiment that has ended up with 2 NZers owning more than the poorest 30%.

If you are not angry, you are not paying attention. This inequality will not and can not stand, and the next round of rent rises in Auckland are going to spark a fury that the establishment and out of touch political parties are going to have to confront sooner rather than later.

There is an electorate ripe for political courage and leadership that isn’t being tapped in NZ, look at how Corbyn’s policies are popular amongst the majority…

Majority of public support Jeremy Corbyn’s plans to cap bosses’ salaries, poll suggests

Jeremy Corbyn’s recent proposal to introduce a cap on executive wages at firms with government contracts is backed by the majority of the public, a new poll suggests.

Research for The Independent reveals that the government encouraging companies to introduce a wage cap for bosses earning more than 20 times that of their lowest paid worker is supported by 57 per cent of the public. Just 30 per cent of those surveyed disagreed, however, suggesting the government should not try to set a limit while 13 per cent said “don’t know”.

The results also found similar responses among all age groups and across all areas of the country, suggesting there is a high degree of enthusiasm for the policy, which was floated by the Labour leader in Peterborough. Even among Conservative voters, the proposal is supported by 47 per cent, with just over 40 per cent in opposition. The figure is much higher with those who voted Labour at the 2015 election, at 68 per cent.

…all that is needed is some political courage from the Opposition.

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17 COMMENTS

  1. Yes, just read that via RNZ.

    I’m a simple minded fellow and I like simple things. Like a simple explanation from those two psycho fuckers as to where and from whom did they take that money. After all, we’re a small country with a scant few 4.7 million people. So, from where, and from whom did they take those gargantuan fortunes.

    Oh, and lets spare a thought for the beastly fama dahlings? All that mud and poop! One could neva invite them to polite drinkies in Remuera now could one? Love the money they make for us, could neva rub shoulders with though Dahling. Oh no. Oh dear no.

    You farmers? The consequences of your ignorance and of misplaced trust is swift and brutal. It’s a fucking jungle out there, the likes of which you have no real idea.
    That’s why you’re on the bones of your arses as you enjoy floods and droughts while every other fucker spends your money.

  2. What is needed more than anything is courage from US to stand up and say NO MORE! What is below the ground, on the ground and above the ground belongs to the people of New Zealand and any revenue derived therefrom (without damaging the earth in all processes) belongs to every man, woman and child in this country. IMO we don’t need political courage we need to find the courage in ourselves to reach accord and act in the best interests of all by all for all.

    • Thats what eventually happens as inequality worsens. Revolutions have happened because inequality got so bad. If we keep going on the same path it may happen again…

  4. Don’t get me wrong Richie leading from the front (with a bung foot) , 2 World Cups whats not to love ….. except talking up dairy and other sus land/enviro ‘National’ propaganda etc etc …………!!!

    But when it comes to 2 dudes being equal to the poorest 30% – this is a system gone insane ……….. Stand up people – its time to push back and if Labour won’t ‘stand up’ we should look at something different. Maybe its time to put being ‘polite’ to one side and start calling a few people out.

  6. In today’s Herald two houses sold five times in four days with two investors raking in a pile of profit from it all. Something is terribly wrong with our loose economy and boy is there going to be a slump one of these days. Inept Government sitting on its backside just letting it all run amok. I don’t know if its sheer idiocy of our cabinet ministers allowing this to carry on or if it is just a complete lack of backbone and bottle to correct what is happening.

    They talk about a pie and how the wedge is getting bigger for the 1%. It won’t be long before the other 95% are going to be truly under nourished and dying of starvation. Egalitarian Society is a myth these days. There is so much wrong with this country that it beggars belief how one could begin to tackle the injustices that are present in our everyday lives. The country has lost its soul.

    • 100% Whispering Kate.

      It’s so entrenched now only a revolution could restore equality of some form. I’m tired of saying this.NZ has nothing, it’s just another money grubbers paradise! Look forward to the rot in years to come getting worse and worse and stinking to high heaven if you ain’t rich! 🙁 It’s so far gone commenting is hopeless! 🙁 won’t change anything! I see Double Dipton is copying Key and has gone on a working holiday to England!

  7. Before I even BEGIN to read the article AND THEN the response from Steven (vanity Choice) …. I was struck by his media response.
    He said (to paraphrase) that some people were always going to be more SUCCESSFUL thanothers. So Mr “Choice bro’s” measurement of success is based on pirely economic criteria! Let the sociopaths reign FFS
    I’m not sure if others have picked up on it – but THAT was his first reaction.
    and THAT is the measure of the Tory St wanderer–Buffoon-like-spin-doctoring, win-at-all-costs, complete and utter munbter that leads the Neshnool Pardy.
    A complete and utter cnut (with apologies to females – whether feminist or subserviant) and manyh other. If it makes you feel better substitute cnut for rpick).

  8. Could we have some raw data? Some real numbers? percentages are meaningless.

    30% based on what? A Median what? Whats that number in people & dollar terms?
    There was also another article saying 1% of the “Rich” own 20% of the Nations wealth. So the same question(s).
    20% of what? GDP $264b? Or Anne Gibson’s article on the weekend saying NZ’ders are $1trillion wealthier!? So that makes them worth $200b?
    Need some real data, in figures! No more %’s.

  10. You’re looking at this from the wrong angle.

    Ignore the rich – they look after themselves, but what’s wrong with that broke-ass bottom 30% that they’re still in the gutter despite a free education, free health care and a welfare system?

    • …despite a free education…

      Education is not “free”, Andrew. If you think it is, you’re one of the sleepy hobbits that have not been paying attention;

      An annual ASG Education Programmes survey of more than 1000 Kiwi parents found the cost of putting a child through school was rising faster than inflation.

      For a child born this year, 13 years of state education will cost up to $37,676, state integrated schooling up to $107,962 and a private school education is estimated to cost $323,814.

      ref: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/65329208/School-costs-pile-up-for-parents

      Parents paid $161.6 million towards their children’s “free education” in 2014. Of that, $61.4m was spent in Auckland.

      New numbers obtained by the Herald on Sunday reveal mums and dads are giving more and more money to schools every year.

      Voluntary donations are expected to top the $1 billion mark when school goes back in a few weeks’ time.

      Ministry of Education figures show nationwide donations and fundraising went up $1.2m from 2013 to 2014, reaching $161.6m. That’s $8.4m more for New Zealand schools than in 2010.

      ref: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11576508

      …free health care…

      Hospitals are free, Andrew. As are doctor’s visits for Under 13s. Everyone else pays for doctor’s consults; specialists; increased prescription fees; scripts for repeats, etc, etc.

      …a welfare system…

      … which is not as generous as you believe it to be, Andrew. Nor is it easy to register and comply with increasingly complex WINZ demands.

      One of the bureacratic bundles of red tape are the number of forms issued to WINZ applicants.

      For those readers who have never had the “delight” of dealing with WINZ – these are the forms that are required to be filled out. Note: every single applicant is given these forms (in a little plastic carry-bag).

      And if you have to reapply to WINZ for a benefit (if, say, you’ve lost your job again) you are required to fill out these forms all over again.

      This is where taxpayer’s money is really going to waste in welfare.

      All up, seventythree pages of information and forms to read, understand, fill out, to collect information…

      ref: https://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/winz-waste-and-wonky-numbers-up-date/

      On top of which, healthy food is more expensive than crap food and some families are paying up to 60% of their income in rent;

      Mangere Budgeting Services chief executive Darryl Evans said many families in Auckland were forced to live together to afford basic means of living.

      “Families simply can’t afford to pay between 60 to 65 per cent of their weekly income to the landlord, which the vast majority of them are having to pay, and unfortunately there is little left over after you have paid rent to pay the power, buy food and live,” Mr Evans said.

      “So some families are losing their homes to rental arrears. There has been a lot of people made redundant this year which has also added to it and there are not enough social houses available,” Mr Evans said.

      “What happens is, existing families living in a state house will naturally want to support their family that have lost their home and they get them to move in, but the difficulty of getting them to move in is … overcrowding,” he said.

      While overcrowding has become a solution for many desperate families, Mr Evans said it was dangerous because those families became far more prone to serious illness.

      To combat the issue, Mr Evans said raising the minimum wage and increasing the number of social houses available would help.

      ref: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11561036

      You may not want to believe it, but since the advent of neo-liberalism and the bullshit “trickle down” theory, housing affordability has worsened; home ownership has fallen; child poverty has increased; and inequality between the rich and poor increased.

      I regret bursting your bubble. These are the realities of 21st century New Zealand.

  11. ‘all that is needed is some political courage from the Opposition’

    What Opposition is that, Martyn?

    There hasn’t been any opposition for decades. That’s why thing are the way they are in NZ.

    If you are talking about Labour and the Greens etc., ‘accomplices in crime’ would be a better description.

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