It is really surprising how many people I come across who harp on about how their hard earned taxes are going to lazy people on the benefit and if they wanted the money they can earn it. This statement is so factually incorrect that I can’t even begin to point out its flaws.
I can however tell you where at least some of your taxpayer money is going. Since I was diagnosed in 2003 my disability related expenses have been next to nothing. I have never had to fork out ridiculous amounts of dollars to pay for housing modifications, every day equipment, electric wheelchairs or school-related necessities to date. Recently I got a new power chair that is worth approximately $10k. Add all of these expenses up and you will get a six-digit figure, all paid for by the government so that I can have the best opportunities at life, given that this is an expense that most families including my own simply cannot afford. Not having this equipment means not standing a chance.
Could it be better? Sure. Of course there is always room for improvement. For example, when it comes to the time it takes to be seen by someone because there is simply not enough occupational therapists, physiotherapists and resources to cater to every single person’s needs is something to be desired. But this will be difficult to improve on when we constantly have to deal with budget cuts in the health sector, effectively meaning that the quality and amount of service given to people with disabilities has to be compromised.
These compromises are made for the sake of the pockets of people who already have enough money and resources to live comfortably for the rest of their lives without ever suffering the consequences of such compromises. This is not to say that people in the higher income bracket don’t have disabilities. Obviously. But it’s easier for them to pay the difference. Then of course higher decile schools and wealthier areas have more money that gets poured into that specific community, thus widening the gap. My point is that there needs to be equal access to resources no matter what your background is and this is the whole point of public schooling and healthcare systems.
To say that you are anti-tax is to say that you don’t believe in equal opportunities for all, no matter their situation.
I have a friend who works really hard full time, he has a car worth $600 which won’t get the next warrant without lots of rust fixing. He risks not being able to get to work at all as he cannot afford a new car or the repairs. All the tax he pays is what he needs to live on and keep his life going. I wish he could get a ten K car to enjoy driving to work in.
I think you will find that it is his low wages, which are a direct subsidy to the wealthy, are the real problem here.
Your mates situation, Nice Wheels, is the reality for the overwhelming majority of disabled. Worrying about the next bill, stress about living conditions and the grind of existence of the next day and the next day, and the next day.
Nice Wheels, don’t forget Latifa comes from privilege – the privilege of a family who know how to tap the system. She’s going to University so she has access to much of the disability funding which is targeted to a section, the ministry, consider worth while.
Also, many disabled in this country who need a powered chair won’t see a power chair, unless their family puts up much of the money – or they have a disability which means fast degeneration and it is kind of – forlorn hope gift.
Being able to bitch about the fact she can’t see health professionals when she likes, is another problem of her class. I know many middle class disable who have moaned and bitched to get every little drop of bloody from the system, and it does my head in as well. Especially, when the bulk of disabled are looked after by their family, on the smell of an oily rag.
I think disabled have the right and and with it obligation to work as well – disable have the right to pay taxes. Hell, with disabled in the work force, the tax base would increase and grow – which so many economists love, and it would expand for at least the next 10 years.
Also I don’t think there should be any taxes on anyone’s income for the first $45,000. This would mean all working people get a break.
The disabled community is like the rest of society – it has a class structure – and the problems of the middle class disabled are not the problems of the majority of disabled.
Yes I wish he could earn a living wage that suplied his needs… This is all part of the same issue. Workers don’t get paid enough, the unemployed and sick are in dire straights etc etc… but we throw money at “feel-good” and money making projecys for an elite few… I’m sorry to see this country and its people in such a sad state…
Nice Wheels, your friend can get a $10k chair. Just chop his legs off. While you’re at it, cut your heart from your chest and feed it to eels, then your brain. You are not using either.
So she should crawl instead?
This isn’t about disabled people. Its about the low wages. Doesn’t have anything to do with helping people who are disabled or not. This is just another example of divide and conquer. It keeps us at each others throats so we don’t notice how we are all getting screwed in different ways by these neo-liberal governments. We need a new deal where all these things are addressed and the taxes are taken from the wealthier rather than them getting unfair amount of profits from screwing everyone else..
There may be a simple way to resolve the issues around waste and corruption:
If political parties chose to start crowdfunding for government departments, they could transition to a zero tax system that relies on providing good services.
The people can vote with their wallets.
The Lamb
This is a joke, right?
Not at all. Perhaps you aren’t aware that the whole system is built around a lie?
Search ‘meet your strawman’, if you want more information.
The current problems can be put down to a few things. At the top is the for profit corporations(The Beast).
One of the primary factors is that the legalese system built on top of common law requires it to break common law.
For starters, it’s a swindle. All the tricks the ‘police’ do to get you to agree to a contract demonstrates that.
Secondly, if someone doesn’t agree to the swindle, the ‘police’ have to use force to get you to comply, one way or another.
This again breaks common law.
Go against The Beast like JFK did, by trying to generate a new currency set against a real reserve, and you’re likely to end up dead of course.
Doing what’s right doesn’t necessarily mean survival. 🙂
Right now we’re facing enslavement under a fascist regime.
Some things are worse than death.
@ Ovicula . Again , I agree totally . @ Nice Wheels . What a dumb , cruel little shit you are . Are you Paula Bennett ?
It’s my view that poor wages , declining health care funding and an overall sense of media cultivated anxiety radiating out from society serves only one purpose . To create a fertile market for the insurance industry . Like banksters , the Insurance Industry ( which is really a gambling industry ) knows how to capitalize on the human condition . Or , as in @ Nice Wheels , the inhuman condition . It all serves one purpose . So as the banksters and the Insurers ( bookies ) make huge profits at the expense of the sick and the powerless .
As an example , I think this is where our Insurance Industry Lobbyists are dragging us down to .
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/08/201381615448464851.html
Here’s a zany idea for all you young people .
Lets just kick the fuckers out ? The banksters and the insurance racketeers ? Lets boot them out of Aotearoa / New Zealand and go Cuba ( but not necessarily with the hard line communism thing . ) . Or Iceland ?
Why not make do with what we’ve got ? We do have quite a bit and there’s only 4 million of us and I’m sure there must be countries out there that want what we produce . You know , food , clothing , fish . Fish ? Instead of dumping it dead and back into the sea we could eat some of it then sell the surplus ! I bet if all you poor bastards struggling to make ends meet in Auckland moved into the country and set up farming co-operatives you could do quite well .
All the money we made from exporting our food etc would stay in NZ / Ao’ and it could be spent on us , for us to help each other out when dreadful things happen to us . Like getting sick or becoming disabled . Instead of lining the pockets of some foreign fucker in their plush retirement .
While we’re at it . Lets take back our electricity and return it to us . And our forests , and all the other stuff and things that disappear off-shore in the sneaky deals done over the last 60 years or so . Deals brokered by the very politicians who we entrusted to take care of those things for us .
$ 400.00 a month power bills , $650,000.00 average Auck’ house prices and $200.00 a week food bills ? In New Zealand / Aotearoa ? Are you kidding me ? Does that not make you go ” Hey ! Wait just a God damned minute ? ”
Do you know who’s behind that kind of outrageous rorting and gouging ?
No , it’s not people like Latifa Daud @ Nice Wheels , you dope . It’s the banksters and insurance bookies . They’re the ones who can , and do , constantly ratchet up the costs of living so lets save ourselves some money and kick the bastards out !
And if the Banks / Insurers sued us / our Government … so what ? What are they going to do ? Evict us and have a mortgagee sale ? Where would we go ? Australia ?
Jesus ! There’s a thought to call anyone to arms .
Violent uprising is only using The Beast’s tools to bring it down…you’re just joining in on the control system.
The real solution is to treat those working for The Beast with compassion. Realise they’re only doing their jobs and may well be coerced into acting the way they do.
Brainwashing chips away at the edges of someone’s innate ethical knowledge of common law. A little breach of honesty and integrity is just the thin end of the wedge.
Help those who have been influenced this way, then use your rights under common law to refuse legalese.
Stop paying taxes.
Ask for a full accounting of your debts and have them cancelled.
@Ant Go do that. We’ll wave at you in prison.
If the legal system is unlawful, why would I be imprisoned?
Shouldn’t it be those insisting on using a legal system(breaking common law in the process), who should be imprisoned?
You seem to think common law forms the basis of both the political and legal systems. It really only forms a small part of the legal system. Sovereignty (i.e. power) remains in the hands if the Crown and the representatives of the Crown ( i.e. the Government of the day). Your fantasy view of what is lawful ir nit is irrelevant.
New Zealand Government(on behalf of New Zealand) = Corporation
New Zealand Police = Corporation
Major political parties = Corporations
Corporations have no sovereign rights, meaning they require a contract to have any rights over a sovereign individual.
Search ‘meet your strawman’.
Given that technology should be able to provide the means to crowdfund the things people think are important, now is probably a good time to sort out the mess.
This is why I believe that many comments made on this blog site are made by slightly unhinged individuals.
The legal nature of corporations have been established by legislation and confirmed by the courts. Just because you disagree with the concept does not make you right.
If you want to campaign for a change in the law around corporations by all means do so. I think you will find very little traction even amongst political party’s like Mana.
The current corporate nature is to squeeze out competition and create a legal system that supports profit, corruption and waste.
What seems like a reasonable idea can easily turn into a monster.
People should be able to make an informed decision about what they’re voting for.
Should political parties, police and government be for-profit corporations?
I’m sure there are a great many people who don’t sleep well because of the guilt they feel about what they’re required to do on a daily basis. Their bosses can always keep their hands clean.
“If you don’t swindle those old folks out of their pensions, find another job!”
I honestly hope they are able to forgive themselves some day.
I hope you too can find peace, happiness and wellbeing.
It is the ones who perpetuate unlawful actions who suffer the most.
I doubt you have any actual figures to back up your claim. If you did you would be able to substantiate the claims on competition decreasing and also on profit margins increasing.
You only need to look at the pay gap between employees and management for evidence.
Perhaps the biggest concern now is the way common law is being eroded by the legal system.
There was a minister on the radio a few days ago, saying that the people going through boot camps weren’t committing crimes that are as bad as they were before.
This erosion of common law is extremely dangerous, especially when crime statistics are deliberately excluding unlawful actions.
IMO, we need to get back to basics and ensure that common law is considered before interpretation by the legal system. Being able to be dishonest ‘legally’, should be considered unconstitutional.
A friend of mine works for a disability agency and she sees the spectrum from severely disabled and disadvantaged to the ones who seem to be milking the system and racking up benefits they are not really entitled to. She assesses their real needs and tries to apply social justice in her dealings with these people. Family as caregivers seem to be a grey area where payments get bulk funded, so they are applied for and paid out this way, and then you have to go back and check the client is being well cared for and that the money was actually spent on them. She points out that the system has holes in it and she cannot change them, although they talk about it and report it to the Minister regularly.
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