Is Inter-generational War too harsh? How about an Inter-generational Police action then?
My favourite mentor and political commentator, Comrade Chris Trotter, has made some worthy points in his blog criticising my identification of inter-gednerational frictions in the intensification debate raging in Auckland.
But he also attempts to draw some incredibly long bows.
‘Boomer bashing’ as you put it needs some definition. You are of course right that boomers didn’t pick their parents anymore than I did, or anymore than a person picks their race, or sexual orientation, or gender BUT what you do with your priviledge you can be judged on.
Boomers were the first youth generation, you did so much comrade to force liberal and progressive change in NZ and around the world. We generations who have followed you can be nothing but grateful for the liberal society we have inherited from you. Nuclear free NZ, the Springbok tour activism and an environmental movement alongside feminism, personal freedoms and genuine reflection on racism against Maori and Pacific Islanders are momentoues achivements in the face of power.
But – and here’s where we get to the but Comrade – somehwere along the line, in the 1980s, Boomers stopped pushing for universal cradel to the grave social services and started wanting those just for themselves.
The golden environment of full employment, strong unions, free education and a job at the drop of a hat was replaced with user pays selfishness. There is no way of course that all boomers fell into this, many – yourself included comrade- never lost the beliefs your hearts cherished, but many boomers did and it was those boomers who jeered and laughed at Generation Zero last week as they attempted to voice the aspirations of Gen Xers and Gen Y and millenials who have been left to rot in an ocean of debt.
Calling ones elders out on their priviledge is no easy task, but to claim boomer priviledge is somehow sacred and criticising it unfair can not match up with the reality that 30 000 of your peers Comrade stopped the apsirations of 206 000 of my peers last week.
The irony of a rich boomer group like Auckland 2040 is that by then, the planets climate change problems will probably be out of control and they won’t be here to deal with it. Wealthy boomers have voted for and continue to vote for political parties who feather their nests, not think about everyones nests.
Gen X, Gen Y, millennials and the poor have been betrayed by a user pays culture while many of those boomers who benefitted from cradle to grave support jeer and mock. To turn criticism of a generations privilege into a comparison with the way Jews have historically been treated as you did in your blog seems a tad absurd comrade.
Where I do agree with you Chris is the need to reach out to boomers and try to get them on board with change. To rekindle that idealiosm that they channelled so effectively in their youth to make the here and now better, to have their place in the progressive struggle filled by their voices and experiences and their wisdom.
So let’s welcome those boomers with the same passion as their youth, but expect no easy ride for your fellow brothers and sisters who have merely lifted the ladder up after themselves.
And that, as they say …. is that.
Yes ,…many of the baby boomers got tired of living in the commune with a leaky roof and a weta crawling over their bedding at night…and migrated to the city lights…and after going back to school earned a degree and rose rapidly in the company they procured a job with… and never looked back…
But then…the majority of them never did live on the commune with a weta crawling across their bedding at night…those ones just enjoyed the good times and slowly acquired their wealth…
And got lured by the siren call of the neo liberal wretch Douglas…”Heavens!!…we cant have men leaning on their shovels in the union award rate council job” !!! We’re paying for that !!!…..
And so the privatization and poverty began…and the end of social democracy as we knew it.
Sector divided against sector,.. fear of financial insecurity , jealousy and envy … and the people were herded thus…
From my memory, and I was there, they (we) acquired much of that wealth overnight following Douglas’s neo liberalism. Convincing themselves they were deserving of the windfall through hard work and good choices came next.
What about Muldoon’s neo liberalism of the previous National government that Douglas felt “tinkered with the economy” to “pander to entrenched interests”?
Muldoon was constrained within the confines of social democracy- he was also head of the IMF – He knew what was coming and probably set it up for an easy transition.
You may think its a contest between Labour/left and National /right… but is in fact none of the above.
It is a contest between Social Democracy and the neo liberal wretch.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And this inter-generational friction is but a mere symptom of the fall out of the neo liberal wretches ideology.
Kick out the neo liberal wretch and peace will be restored, encourage it?… and you will see a continual and steady drive towards generalized poverty.
Guaranteed.
“It is a contest between Social Democracy and the neo liberal wretch.”
Absolutely bloody spot on! There’d even be one or two National Party members either wriggling in their graves these days or wondering what the fook has happened – even suspender belt SKeith is probably sqirming at the current crop. Spud’s been known to pass a comment or two about the state of the party and what’s become of it.
……. and there’s Hooton desperately trying to spin the Key junta as somehow left – ‘ish’.
Pathetic really.
I’m still trying to reconcile how the once were protesting, compassionate and concerned morphed into the I I I me me me ‘my kuds are moi best friends’ “I didn’t get where I am today” crew that they used to criticise their parents of.
One thing I’ve learned:
Guys generally (consciously or unconsciously) TRY to emulate their fathers; Girls fear turning out like their mothers, yet they do so just like previous generations – no matter how hard their youthful protestations were.
Actually when you think about it, there’s no better example of this theory than with the John Key pathetirati.
Trotter’s right that inter-generational warfare is counter-productive, but he should at least acknowledge that his (and my) contemporaries are responsible for creating/fostering it all, and that the boomer’s offspring have a right to be angry.
Christ – if I was the child of many of my boomer contemporaries, I’d be thoroughly ashamed.
It’s all still at play too. I’m not sure why the reluctance to publish some of my comments (maybe it’s a case of them disappearing up their own arse due to the inadequacies of various technologies in play) such as those where the likes of a Simon Wilson’s ‘shift right’ is concerned.
But you are absolutely correct – and bloody pointless really – I think they probably believe they are going to be able to take it all with them when they pop their clogs
+100
I watched the hippy generation at primary school, they were sort of the biggest “look at me, me firsters” you ever met, all mystical narcissism addled with drugs. Thank God they couldn’t take selfies. This was the generation who turned from Timothy Leary to even more egocentric me firsters as the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and Ayn Rand. I watched in horror through the eighties and nineties as I saw the neo liberal dream driven by these people “doing their own thing” at the expense of others.
Whilst at Uni in the 70s my generation had the benefits of Keynesian economics, lucky we were in so many ways. Grateful, hell no. So many were drawn like flies to the “rationalism” of neo liberalism, bugger the side effects and the social consequences. I remember one who used to sell the Trotskyite paper end up editing a business journal, swapping one mechanical theology for another. Peter Dunne was Pres at Canterbury, he blithely became a grey aficionado of the new order, if you wish to view the bland politics of my generation look no further.
So are we “Baby Boomers” to blame? Well yes there is a case to answer, but as Trotter suggests this is not helpful as an us versus Next Gen issue. What would be helpful would be a mass reflective moment from the Boomers to realize that to hang onto the wealth they have captured is both socially dangerous and morally wrong. We have the power to surrender this through political agreement, otherwise we face the prospect of coercive removal.
Um, blame, arr? yes, except it’s all out in the open.
Boards of executives choosing executive compensations for others and then having the favor returned, laws written specifically to benefit the wealthy (look at Kiwi saver), the low tax rates on types of income that largely benefit the already wealthy, the massive bailouts of financial firms to ensure that their investments wouldn’t fail like they would in the truly free market they claim to represent … these aren’t secrets.
Carried interest, really low capital gains taxes, signing each others’ paychecks (executive compensations being determined by boards of other executives – that’s why executive compensation has gone up 8x since the 70s, not because they’re 8x times more productive), sheltered inheritances enabling dynastic wealth, etc.
That and the modern financial sector is locked into a self-righteous “we’re not allowed to lose on an investment” mindset, which they’ve accomplished by privatizing their profits while socializing their losses. They’ve made sure that the slot machines at the Great Main Street Casino always pay out to the people running the securities.
If National party voters can be hurt by John Key the comedian, they deserve it.
Because it is then a joke. Literally.
5 stars Martyn Bradbury. Very nice response.
yup. Pretty much that
the boomers got it all and sharing is not in there vocabulary
excellent article Marty
Martyn, if anyone is drawing a long bow it’s you. The idea that a generation all suddenly turned greedy in the 1980s is hugely unlikely. It seems to me like fatuous intellectual sloth. However, they did grow up and have children, which, as anyone who has had them will tell you, changes everything.
In New Zealand, since 1984, what “safe” electoral choices did boomers have? Neocons, and stealth Neocon lites. Politicians are the ones to blame.
The Alliance? NZ First? The Greens? Boomers have had plenty of alternatives to voting for the neo-liberal grand coalition of the 1980s to 2000s LabNats. The vast majority continued to vote LabNat, and they are at least partially responsible for the consequences.
but you must factor into that that many people just run with the(ir) herd..
..and are basically irrational/unexplainable..and are easily persuaded to vote against their own best interests..
(..the most recent example of this is in sth carolina..where african-americans turned out for a person who in her political career has wreaked havoc on black lives..gutted welfare programs..been a major driver of poverty..)
..there are a variety of causes/reason..none of them in any way a reason to declare intergenerational warfare..
..and anyway..the millennials will get their way..time will take care of that..
..cue a glut of old bomer properties hitting the market..soon enough..
..and like boomers..millennials also have their very own population-bulge..and so they will soon hold sway..
..the ones i feel sorry for are those in their 30’s/40’s..
..to a certain degree they have spent their lives being dictated to by boomers..
..and the power is going to skip them..and go to those younger..
..and they will have more townhouses/apartments than you can poke a stick at..
..this call for intergenerational warfare..is just (dangerous) silliness..
..turn yr wrath on the arsewipe politicians who did/still do this..
..and whoare the only ones who can effect the changes we need..
“The Alliance? NZ First? The Greens?”
Mainstream New Zealand didn’t trust them enough. I’m well left of centre, and I didn’t become disillusioned with Labour until Clark’s third term. I didn’t know what was going on. I don’t think many people did. There was, and still is huge inertia which favors the two main parties.
I think it is a mistake to think that the bulk of the baby boomer generation was progressive in New Zealand or any other similar countries. The so called “hippies” were always a minority. Most of them got a job and raised kids. They are only dropping out now by becoming the “motorhome” generation or buying a Harley Davidson motorbike.
Absolutely spot on, EP.
Both the New Left political activists and the alternative lifestyle Hippies (with a certain degree of overlap there) were a distinct minority of the Boomer Generation (and we’re really talking here about the FIRST WAVE of the Boomers – those born 1946-c1954).
The thing is: Older Boomers have dominated the media and humanities/social sciences for the last 35-40 years and if there’s one thing you can say about the affluent middle class section of the first wave Boomers, it’s that they’re inherently self-promotional.
It was inevitable, then, that they’d take sole credit for all the progressive advances made during the so-called “Clash of Values” 1965-85 (“We’re a New Generation with a New Explanation”, “So Young and yet so Wise Beyond our Years”), while spitting venom back at earlier generations who had to live impossible lives through Depression and War.
Reality is: with the exception of liberalism (and a touch of hedonism) around lifestyles and sexuality, a significant chunk of Boomers have never been particularly Left-leaning. And, of course, as Bomber implies, today they disproportionately vote National (Male Boomers in particular).
Equally, significant strands of liberal and progressive thought had always existed among older generations, even if, for the most part, still a minority sentiment. Former Boomer activists have claimed far too many post-1960s accomplishments for themselves and have been less than generous to the often pioneering work done by older members of the Left in much more difficult social circumstances. Equally, they’ve failed to distinguish between those issues where older New Zealanders genuinely were conservative and those where they weren’t.
I like Chris, but I find it hard to suppress a wry smile when I think of all the times he’s angrily spat venom back at the so-called Veteran Generation (people who were young adults during WWII). Dare I say: what goes around, comes around ? The boot, it seems, is on the other foot.
I’m a boomer and by not lifting a finger my wealth has increased by $500,000.00 in the last 5 years simply by owning a house in Auckland.
Do I think I am some sort of financial genius by receiving such a windfall?
No. I’m not that delusional. But I do know plenty of boomers who some how think they are.
I wince every time I see those house prices rise . I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve muttered at the TV, “this is just bloody ridiculous . It’s out of control !!”
I’ve watch nieces, nephews, relatives in the 25 to 40 year old bracket struggle to even manage a deposit for a modest dog box only to see them gazumped time and again by Asian ‘investors’.
Did boomers have to put up with that shit ?…no they didn’t.
And here we have boomer Bill English,’the double dipper from Dipton’ . Born into multi generational farming wealth built on the back of decades of farm subsidies , buying multiple houses and rorting the Wellington housing market with financial skullduggary.
He then tells everyone that free education is a ‘nice to have’ and Auckland is going to have to “get ugly” if people want to be able buy a
house there.
No mention of stopping foreign buyers. No mention of moderating immigration flows.
This has got “fuck you jack . I’m alright”, written all over it .
Is there any wonder that there’s going to be friction!!!
Spot on. 5 star comment there Grant. Yes, still not a word on the fact that non resident foreign speculators are fueling the housing market/crisis.
And the unprecedented flow of immigrants also has a destabilizing effect. Notice countries like UK etc all have the same problem, it’s standard conservative right wing ideology.
if you big deeper you ll find that the funds are sourced as a result of quantitative easing and near zero interest rates overseas and those funds have been creating bubbles all over the place Auckland fantasy bubble world is just one example the government want stop it because without migrate inflows of cash there isn’t anything else. the economy is dead and boomer house prices would face the reality what new zealanders could pay and boomers wouldn’t want that
@ Grant. You’ve yet to grasp the full story. I understand your frustration, but you’re only half way there. Let me ask. Since farming is undeniably our primary industry, who, then, do you think subsidises farming? Farmers subsidised themselves of course. I know ! Head-fuck right?
Bill english is just a guy paid easy money to perpetuate a lie. The logical truth is as unpalatable as a Stinky Bishop on a rice cracker when you just know, someone isn’t wearing fresh undies at the dinner table. You’re getting there though. You’re getting close to your WTF ! ? moment.
You have touched on something I have struggled with for years….we as a nation make our cash from primary sector exports. So yes the farmers fishermen and foresters are the base export earners…..but to do that they need support services, workers, etc etc. We are not talking about who makes the wealth, its all of them. We are talking about who thinks they should get what, which is why farmers and freezing workers clashed….”I grew the sheep, you only processed it, so I’m worth more”.
So here’s the rub….what the hell do all those 90 % or so other Kiwis who are not connected to the agro processes do in places like Auckland? Strikes me that the rest of the economy produces stuff all exports..and maybe that is not a bad thing…we need to rethink what we actually do to make this a good worthwhile place to live.
Well said Nick J.
This idea that farmers are the backbone of our economy is problematic. It foregrounds GDP as a measurement of of our society’s economic wellbeing. That is the last measurement I’d use! The Nats use it – we shouldn’t.
Our primary industry is in fact financial services, sad but true.
Recently I was at an after-work pub session where a couple of over-50’s talked about their ‘rental’ portfolios and how rents were going ‘gangbusters’ and how much (untaxed) capital gain they had made – while a couple of young guys (late 20’s early 30’s) fumed silently.
I tried to break the tension by saying in a jokey way, “ah the propertied classes!” Later one of the younger guys asked me – “do you do this stuff?” I shook my head – but it felt a bit like arguing I was a “good German”.
Those of us boomers who don’t speculate in houses (on principle and to our own financial cost), have voted against neoliberal parties since the late 80’s, support free tertiary education etc. do feel a bit offended at blanket talk of ‘greedy boomers’.
And like Chris I think that viewing it in generational terms is a false perspective that stops short of identifying the underlying ideology and attacking that instead.
But the question is being asked why that particularly poisonous ideology has had such appeal to so many of my generation from mid-life onwards. And that’s a tough question, even for a ‘good German’ like me.
Hey, wait just one fucking minute!
There are many levels to head fuckery. Pitting one sector of society against another is de rigueur for the ruling riche.
Pig ( No disrespect to actual pigs ) muldoon discovered that one. While that particular criminal was doing his particular criminal acts he’d pit one ideal against another and while that particular shit fight was being fought he’d sneak off with the money. Abortion, race, sexual orientation etc. Out it’d come from the closet and just like dopy , angry , mongrel dogs, people’d attack it/them while the real crook made off with the loot.
Dividing people, by any means, is bullshit yet profitable. You should know that @ Martyn Bradbury. Baby Boomers? Baby fascists, Baby Beaters, Baby Educators beyond their intelligence’ers ? All the same man. The real problem? It’s those who promote the friction. To hide the swindle behind seemingly righteous indignation. Baby Boomers are just lucky schmucks born at the right time. They’re not really the problem. They’re weirdly and bizarrely a symptom and now , seemingly, used to distract us from the real problem. The Great New Zealand Institutionalised Lie.
( I feel deeply uncomfortable criticising @ Martyn Bradbury here . Without you , none of this would be possible. )
It’s a tribute to Bomber’s principles that you (or anyone) can disagree with and criticize his views here as much as you like. Try that on Whale Oil.
I agree with the ‘feeling deeply uncomfortable’…
It is patently obvious that we as a country have been divided radically over the last 32 years…perhaps even before… but by whom?…
The neo liberal wretch, of course!
The neo liberal wretch who hides behind his grotesque ideology of greed and self interest. These rapers and dividers of society , ever intent on plunder of other people money , the wealth of the commons…, whereby stealth and ulterior motives and its inevitable fallout in the form of societal breakdown and division is but the normal mode of achieving his goals.
It is these who are at the forefront of these events, …and the populace are merely used as their tools. And by lying . stealth , and wearing down of any resistance they gained compliance .
If anyone was to fire any political shots it would be at these maggots that we should take aim…as prior to 1984 we had very strong laws prohibiting and holding back such wretches who were predisposed towards unethical rorting and theft.
John Key is but a long line of criminal neo liberal wretch plunderers that WE as a people enable . It is these neo liberal wretches we need to focus on, – these maggots – not each other.
Country Boy you seem to see past the symptoms and got to the real cause ,pity the rest of the left can’t see it.(passion can sometimes overtake common sense even when they are barking up the wrong tree)
DIVIDE AND RULE oldest trick in the book ,WAKE UP NZ
Even though a few baby boomers may have caused a raucous this doesn’t mean they were responsible for the current crisis and many boomers don’t like the crisis more than any one else (they have children and grandchildren )
It was the Labour government that started this crisis with Rogernomics
And national is just finishing the job that’s historical and that’s who are really are the instigators
first off..i think those who sneered/jeered at those gen zero etc…just for wanting what they themselves got so much easier..
..they are absolute shites..and the council sucks for their craven bowing to those howling nimbys..
(i mean haven’t these fucken morons travelled and seen variations on the 1/4 acre paradise..?..haven’t they been to vibrant alive cities that have townhouses/apartments..?..(and i am not talking those hideous towers in nelson st..)
..but as others have noted..this isn’t intergenerational war..
..this is a mixture of class..neoliberalism..and the evil fucken doings of politicians..from both national and labour..and nimbyism..
..theses protestors are all quite happy for townhouses etc to be built ‘down south’..and ‘out west’..just not where they live..
(and i mean..have you ever lived in remuera..?..full of truly hideous/shallow gargoyles of people..they are fucken welcome to it..)
..to try and whip this up into some sort of intergenerational warfare..
..is both dangerous and bullshit..and bordering on yellow journalism..
..and above all..illogical..the facts don’t fit..
Having watched the footage of that extraordinary meeting on YouTube, I felt sorry for dreary old Len Brown. It was like watching a careworn elderly maths teacher desperately try to keep a roomful of unruly teenagers in line. It gave me a newfound respect for the man. Having to deal with braying imbeciles like Dick Quax and Mike Lee would try anyone’s patience, and then you’ve got professional rules lawyer, Cameron “Point Of Order” Brewer, to sour your evening further.
The young folk spoke eloquently and articulated their points with both humility and passion. This was often in spite of some sociopathic pustule on the arse of humanity who kept shouting, “Rubbish!” over the top of them. Sharon Stewart gave a speech that would embarrass a fifth-form debating team, and her ability to construct a strawman leads me to believe her true occupational calling lies with City Parks, rather than Auckland Council.
It was a depressing spectacle to say the least.
never quite worked out why there is such a hatred of the Boomer generation. Most of the people I knew where intent on turning on and dropping out. Some dropped back in and played in IT but for the majority they do not have lots of houses – that was the 80’s children after they had been indoctrinated with the “me first” Rogernomics era. Have noticed that after the boom of ideas, change in social order and innovation from the hippies the subsequent generations have spent a lot of time sending us back to a medieval mindset. I like the society that was attempting to have women and non Europeans on equal footing with nice white men – unfortunately the people who got into power (mainly Gen X, Gen Y) pulled up the ladder behind them.
When it comes to inter-generational grabbing of wealth, this is a problem I pondered five years ago; https://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/greed-is-good/
It’s worth noting that voters, en masse, rejected a form of capital gains tax in 1975 (introduced briefly by Labour) by voting for Muldoon. In that same year, Muldoon over-turned Labour’s superannuation savings scheme – thereby saddling future generations with having to pay for retirees.
Had Labour’s super-savings scheme been allowed to work, New Zealand would have accumulated over $280 billion so far in funds. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/9916584/Compulsory-super-would-be-worth-278b
By comparison, Australia’s compulsory super savings scheme (which was introduced in 1991/92) is over $2 trillion. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/australians-superannuation-savings-reach-over-2-trillion/news-story/b3d3ac2188e755afea55144751fa18a2
In 2014, voters once again rejected a capital gain tax. Despite the proposed CGT not applying to the family home, voters balked at paying tax on their capital gains.
Is this Baby Boomers voting as a ‘bloc’ for self-interest?
It is said that people vote with their wallets/back pockets in mind at election time.
And considering that “Millenials”, “Gen X”, etc, are not in the same property-owning class as I am – well, we can connect the dots.
By the way, as esoteric pineapples wrote above in his
February 28, 2016, 8:03 pm post, most Baby Boomers were by no means hippies. (I wasn’t.) And even some of those who were, “dropped out” of “dropping out”; regained their card-carrying Establishment creds; and took on some very high-powered jobs.
Case in point, where Chris Trotter railed;
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/08/08/revolution-in-pipitea-street-the-listener-celebrates-the-baby-boomer-takeover-of-the-sis-and-the-gcsb/
Very well put Frank.
At the last election Labour had a lot of ‘seeing past the end of one’s nose’ policies, but we had boomers like Paul Henry running interference for boomers like John Key .
Instead of discussing the merits of these policies they chose to wilfully and criminally focus on destabilizing David Cunliffe.
Remember the ‘ tricky’ campaign .
Womens refuges plight was ignored because of a pathetic and deliberate mis interpretation of a speech.
The Capital Gains Tax was also not allowed a proper airing either.
All this by a boomer controlled media!!
Yeah. Second that, “very well put Frank.” You would never hear half the stuff published here at TDB. Very informative replies and blogs.
Thanks, Sam!
I’ll blame the Boomer generation for one thing: Breeding a generation of narcissistic, self-entitled whiners who expect to have everything presented on a plate for them.
Its over for you , buddy.
Nothing like a bit of turning on the lights for all to see.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11510969#sthash.Loft9CWt.dpuf
I see a few people object to what you said Andrew, not surprising BUT before we dismiss your accusation out of hand lets have a look at reality:
* yes there are a lot of “entitled” individuals who believe that because they paid for their education they should gget their dues….not surprising I suppose, another reason why user pays is dangerous.
* yes give a kid too much because Dad has done well on the Forex casino, et voila, Max Key.
* narcissim, yes plenty of selfies, and by the way, look at me on the beach in Hawaii or on dads’ private jet. Sent from my IPhone….
Thats what the rich side of neo lib breeds, then theres the kidz from Otara, Porirua and Aranui who have to find other ways to make their way in the world.
Yeah, except they’re the ones who are voting for a more collective economy. Go read some stats on the age voting patterns of Sanders vs Clinton. Your theory is completely wrong.
Much of the impetus for anti apartheid, anti nuclear, anti vietnam and the feminist etc movements came from the the preboomer generation, ie those born in the thirties and early forties.
Absolutely true. See my reply to ES (half-way down the discussion thread). Older Boomer historians and journalists have given themselves and their friends far too much credit for post-1960s progressive change (what I call the ‘Heroic Boomer’ version of post-war social history).
There’s nothing wrong with a generational analysis. It’s sociology 101.
If I was a Boomer I’d be disgusted by the economic policies our generation introduced – neoliberalism is disgusting.
It’s devisive to play this ‘we’re all in this together’ card. That’s bullshit. The youth have a right to be angry with the economic policies of the last 40 years. Boomers should stop individualising that critique and reinforce the idea that a generation fucked up.
The experiences of the Boomers and Generation Y are vastly different. If you don’t get it then go read some Zygmunt Bauman – his liquid modernity concept is a good start
So what are the answers, my friends? What are the solutions? And why is nobody attacking the main culprit for the disaster we have with unaffordable housing in Auckland, that is Central Government?
They can manage immigration and overseas investment flows, they have the power, also to do more for the regions, to attract more new migrants in other centres and so, but they do stuff all.
Perhaps target the government, than make this a generational issue and slinging match. That is just a thought.
And people can vote, we have the near one million of “missing voters”, many of whom are young. Go and vote, please, do take action, also submit to plans such as the Auckland Unitary Plan, instead of running around blaming and moaning.
I am getting sick of cheap shots, we need to take action, it is damned simple, and focus on who deserves to be attacked. Some “boomers” may deserve to be attacked given their activities, views and vested interests, also in housing, but others do not fit the speculator and privileged prick label.
I want to focus on the issues that matter, not on age groups and generalisations.
Oh well done Bradbury & Trotter.I have thoroughly enjoyed the discussion you have raised & have found some truth in just about all the comments above.
Some thoughts.It is true that the 70’s activists were always a minority.We on the left had some success in creating majorities for change but mainly only around value & moral issues involving overseas situations – Vietnam,south Africa,Imperialism in Africa.etc.We largely failed to get those issues discussed in terms of what was happening economically in NZ & the class issues it had created.Overwhelmingly students were from middle class backgrounds funded by grants & by their parents.We never sheeted home to them their priviliged class status,nor did we provide a convincing economic analysis of of that privilige.Hence when they left University they simply picked up their middle class lives & became progressive only around the value issues of the day – the 81 tour, feminism,gay rights,the peace movement.
Because they had no socialist economic understanding they were left gob – smacked by the Rogernomics coup were overtaken by events & by an economic arguament they found difficult to oppose.They moved into a survival mode.
Only now as their children & grandchildren face un & under employment & the old value & moral issues – child poverty,income distribution etc – are they beginning to stir
@David – someone told me, it is the middle class that are the revolutionaries. If you look throughout history it is the middle class who change history, from Mandela to Kate Shepherd.
The middle class are the ones that the politicians watch the most and the class that they first try to destroy under dictatorship.
So don’t knock them!
Boomers at retirement are shit scared of losing their greatest investment and anyone who suggests that the housing market is not manna from heaven is subjected to overt abuse like we saw last week at Council
Not to mention the numerous lobbies that continue tilting the market towards the biggest bludgers in NZ: the landed gentry, bankers, estate agents, and rich immigrants who have contributed nothing to NZ.
It’s class war facilitated by boomers, who else bears responsibility for rejecting CGT, LVT, the leaky homes saga (that has wasted years of potential construction), and Auckland’s latest slap in the face to the homeless gen X & Y ?
Migration is the driver behind the lack of housing supply and that has not been addressed.
The developers & environmental lawyers are trying to change the RMA and unitary plan to make themselves more money by putting in high value spec mansions and apartments often aimed at the migrant market, and ways to create future slums, with intensification. There is no decent affordable housing being built in the city – it is a rout to get the left and the poor to endorse a way to make the city more unaffordable, more litigation for consents and ugly by pretending it will somehow help the poor.
In Europe and the UK planning is very strict and they have enviable character in their developments. Care is applied to make new developments blend in, not take over the privacy of neighbours and so forth. They have transport links so that people do not need cars. The poor can afford to live in the city in flats. Try to do any sort of flat conversion like a granny flat in Auckland and the council are onto you like a on of bricks. Put up a yurt and you will face legal action. However a bunnings out of zoning or stealing our harbour and the council will approve it and take it to environment court at rate payer cost.
Auckland planners and developers want to throw out regulation so that developers can develop as cheap and characterless as possible without preserving the natural environment or character of the area and avoid regulation of height and boundary.
Before the ‘left’ fight for this so called ‘intensification’ and join the developers, actually grow a brain and notice that the Auckland councils planning has so far meaning a lack of standards, cutting down of ancient trees, exploration of mining off the cost of Muriwai and zero public transport being included, McMansions expansions and more inequality due to litigation.
The government sold off the state houses, but where is the new affordable housing? (Still on the drawing board as they try to find a PPP type arrangement to drive their ‘social bonds’ agenda through).
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